SB Nation • 5 min read

Dodgers wild card roster: Will Smith returns, no Michael Conforto

The Dodgers on Tuesday announced their active roster for the wild card series roster against the Cincinnati Reds, including 15 position players and 11 pitchers, plus catcher Will Smith returning after

missing over three weeks, and Michael Conforto notably absent.

Smith took a foul ball off his right hand on September 3 in Pittsburgh, and played only one of the Dodgers’ final 23 games of the regular season. Subsequent testing revealed a hairline fracture. Smith faced live pitching during the Dodgers’ workout on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Smith is one of three catchers active for this round, along with Ben Rortvedt and Dalton Rushing. Rortvedt, who was acquired from the Rays in a three-team deal at the trade deadline, started 15 of the Dodgers’ final 21 games behind the plate, including eight starts in 12 games after Rushing returned from a right shin contusion.

The truncated nature of the wild card round — up to three games in three days — lessens the need for using all of the allotted 13-pitcher limit. This is a scenario where Shohei Ohtani’s status as a two-way player — the only player in MLB who qualifies for this status — has tangible benefits, as he does not count against the pitcher limit.

During Monday’s media availability at Dodger Stadium, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani, “If there’s a Game 3 he’ll probably start Game 3.”

Blake Snell starts on the mound in Game 1 for the Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — the September National League pitcher of the month — starts Game 2 on Wednesday, with both pitchers on five days rest.

The Dodgers also have starters Emmet Sheehan and Tyler Glasnow available to pitch in relief during this series. Clayton Kershaw, who pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Sunday’s regular season finale in Seattle, was left off the wild card roster, as expected. Roberts reiterated Monday that if the Dodgers advance, Kershaw would be on the Division Series roster.

In addition to the southpaw Snell starting the series opener, the Dodgers have four left-handed pitchers available in relief. Anthony Banda is not one of them. The Reds as a team hit .229/.300/.353 against left-handed pitchers with a 79 wRC+ that ranked 26th among 30 MLB teams.

The Dodgers gave Conforto 486 plate appearances this season, and he was bat offensively and defensively, hitting .199/.305/.333 and was below replacement level. He’s not active for the wild card round, but speedsters Justin Dean and Hyeseong Kim are.