After securing a first-round bye in the postseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers return to action on Saturday for Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
With NLDS rosters due Saturday morning, the Dodgers have not yet decided how many position players and pitchers they will carry on their postseason roster. “Now that we’ve got the opponent and trying to figure out how those guys might construct their roster, it’s probably more along the lines of 13 and 13,” manager Dave Roberts explained during a conference call.
The Dodgers postseason roster is largely set on the position player side, but there are still questions in the bullpen and whether the team will elect to carry three or four starting pitchers.
“It could still go to 14 (position players) and 12 (pitchers),” Roberts added when further asked about roster possibilities.
“Right now is when we start to really pick up some conversations for 14 and 12 versus 13 and 13. I think that last spot is something we’ve got to talk through, if we want three left-handers, or the value and utility of having an extra right-handed bat versus a left-handed bat on the position player side.
“A really good conversation we need to have to ultimately make a final decision.”
Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1, and Bobby Miller is expected to follow him in Game 2 on Monday. Ryan Pepiot and Lance Lynn are the presumed candidates for Game 3.
Within the bullpen, the Dodgers appear to be debating whether or not to include each of Caleb Ferguson, Alex Vesia and Ryan Yarbrough. Not including one of them would potentially open the door for Kolten Wong
More intensity in Dodgers NLDS workouts
The Dodgers have kept busy during their layoff with workouts and intrasquad games at Dodger Stadium. The team invited a select group of season-ticket holders to watch them on Wednesday.
It was a change from the Dodgers’ approach last year, when all NLDS workouts were closed off to the public. Roberts said some players suggested having fans in attendance to better help with the atmosphere during the five days off between the end of the regular season and start of the NLDS.
“There’s no perfect way to simulate a regular season game, let alone a postseason game, but I thought the crispness and focus was really good the last couple days,” Roberts said.
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