LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will carry 12 pitchers and 14 position players on their National League Division Series roster against the Atlanta Braves, including 21-year-old rookie Josue De Paula active after impressing in his first 11 games in the majors in September.
Down from the usual split of 13 pitchers and 13 position players during the pre-September regular season, manager Dave Roberts has intimated multiple times over the last two weeks that a short series like the best-of-5 NLDS makes it less
likely to carry an extra arm. It gives them more room for more specialized players, like De Paula in what is essentially a left-handed pinch-hitting role, plus Hyeseong Kim also active as a speedster to potentially pinch-run and play defense up the middle in the late innings if needed.
Kim hit .259/.323/.328 in 43 games for the Dodgers this season, and stole five bases in six attempts. But he spent most of his season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, having last played for the Dodgers on May 27.
De Paula is 21 years, 111 days old on Saturday. If he gets into a game this October, he’ll be the youngest Dodgers position player in a postseason game since 19-year-old Willie Crawford in the 1965 World Series.
Dodgers NLDS roster
- Starting pitchers (4): Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow
- Right-handed relievers (5): Roki Sasaki, Edgardo Henriquez, Edwin Díaz, Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart
- Left-handed relievers (3): Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Kris Bubic
- Designated hitter (1): Shohei Ohtani
- Catchers (2): Will Smith, Hunter Feduccia
- Infielders (5): Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, Hyeseong Kim
- Outfielders (4): Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker, Josue De Paula
- Infielder/outfielders (2): Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández
Kris Bubic, acquired at the trade deadline from the Kansas City Royals while on the 60-day injured list, rehabbed in Triple-A in September before joining the Dodgers. He made the bullpen as the third left-handed reliever, over Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski.
“Our first two starters are going to be left-handed, you’re talking about a lot of innings being covered by left-handed pitching in a series,” Roberts said Saturday, referring to Tarik Skubal starting Game 1 and Blake Snell starting Game 2.
Roberts was asked Friday which relievers he felt might close games for the team in October.
“I think the one guy I feel that it’s easy to say I see finishing games is Tanner [Scott], but if it’s a different lane that I feel that he’s the best option in the eighth inning, then we’re going to use him,” Roberts said. “But as far as Evan, Roki, Diaz, I feel very comfortable with any of those guys closing out the game.”
