The Los Angeles Dodgers roster for the National League Division Series included just two changes from the Wild Card round, both on the pitching staff, as Anthony Banda and Clayton Kershaw were added.
Kershaw pitched 5.1 innings on the final day of the regular season, which effectively took him out of consideration for the initial Dodgers playoff roster. Banda being omitted was more a byproduct of the Cincinnati Reds not featuring many left-handed hitters.
Manager Dave Roberts made it clear both pitchers would get put onto the Dodgers’ playoff roster if they advanced to the NLDS. That wound up coming at the expense of Edgardo Henriquez and Justin Wrobleski.
“With Enriquez it was a little bit easier in the sense of the way they construct their lineup. It’s heavy left. You’ve got Glas in the ‘pen for this game, we’ve got some other right-handers,” Roberts said of taking Henriquez off for the Dodgers’ matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“There’s a lot of left-handed lanes. I think with Wrobo it’s difficult because he’s performed so well. And I can’t really justify it, to be honest with you. I think we just wanted Clayton. Clayton’s earned the opportunity to be on this roster. I’m going to use him accordingly.
“And also with Banda, just kind of his skillset is to really take down left-handed hitters, specifically. So that was kind of the thought on both of those guys.”
Banda and Kershaw give the Dodgers five left-handers available out of the bullpen. That would appear to be targeted for the likes of Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, but both have proven capable of hitting left-handed pitching.
At minimum, the Dodgers have versatility and different looks to combat the Phillies’ sluggers.
Clayton Kershaw took pressure off Dodgers
Although Roberts alluded to a sense of loyalty to Kershaw with adding him onto the postseason roster, it does come in a different role for the future Hall of Famer.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged such a change could be difficult to navigate or agree to, but Kershaw’s willingness to pitch out of the bullpen alleviated that.
“He’s loved watching these guys compete. Obviously he’s done really well this year as well. Usually, when a guy’s on his way out, it’s like, OK, it’s time. You can kind of see it, the performance really backs up. That’s not the case with Kersh,” Friedman said.
“He was a big part of the success we had this year. But to his credit, he cut it off really early and just said, ‘Hey, I just want to be part of this and help this team win. Whatever way I can.’ And so he helped make that conversation way easier.”
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