The Dodgers will have more pitching at their disposal for the National League Championship Series, carrying 12 pitchers on their roster against the Brewers, along with 14 position players.
Ben Casparius was added to the roster for the NLCS after not being active in the first two rounds. He also spent the final three weeks of the regular season in Triple-A Oklahoma City after getting optioned. In 46 games for the Dodgers this season, Casparius had a 4.64 ERA and 3.57 xERA in 77 2/3 innings, with 71
strikeouts and 21 walks.
Dalton Rushing was left off the roster after the Dodgers carried three catchers in each of their first two rounds as Will Smith worked his way back from a hairline fracture in his right hand. Smith played all four games against the Phillies, starting the last two, lessening the need for three catchers, so it’ll just be Smith and Ben Rortvedt active against the Brewers.
Dodgers NLCS roster
Two-way player (1): Shohei Ohtani
Starting pitchers (3): Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow
Right-handed relievers (4): Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Blake Treinen, Ben Casparius
Left-handed relievers (5): Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer, Anthony Banda, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Wrobleski
Catchers (2): Will Smith, Ben Rortvedt
Infielders (4): Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas
Outfielders (4): Andy Pages, Teoscar Hernández, Alex Call, Justin Dean
Infielder/outfielders (3): Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández, Hyeseong Kim
The Dodgers had 15 position players and 11 pitchers in both the wild card round against the Reds and during the NLDS against the Phillies. Those 11 pitchers did not include Shohei Ohtani, who is considered a two-way player and doesn’t count toward the limit of 13 active pitchers.
The previous two rounds were structured in a way in which the Dodgers could condense the pitching side of their roster. The wild card round at most is three games in three days, and the NLDS included an extra off day between Games 1 and 2, making for potentially three off days within a five-day series. While the NLCS has only two off days in a seven-game series.
“You’re talking about a potential seven-game series versus a potential five-game series,” manager Dave Roberts said on a conference call Saturday. “Obviously pitching becomes more paramount.”
Starting pitching has been the hallmark for the Dodgers this postseason, with their rotation — not counting the various starting pitchers used in relief — has a minuscule 2.02 ERA and 32.6-percent strikeout rate. Dodger starters have lasted at least six innings five times, and the team has won all five of those games. In the one game a starter didn’t complete six innings — Game 3 of the NLDS — the Dodgers saved three relievers while trailing, leading to Clayton Kershaw soaking up the final two innings while allowing five runs, a situation exacerbated by Tanner Scott’s unavailability and subsequent roster replacement the next day. After getting replaced due to injury, Scott is ineligible to pitch in the NLCS, but hasn’t been ruled out should the Dodgers advance to the World Series.
With Rushing off the roster, outfielder Justin Dean and utility man Hyeseong Kim remain in purely reserve roles.
Asked about Kim on Saturday, manager Dave Roberts said, “The versatility from the shortstop to the second base, potentially in the outfield, the left-handed bat, the speed, which we’ve utilized. He’s a valuable player.”
