SEATTLE — Locked in as the National League’s No. 3 seed with the regular season winding down, the Dodgers have been able to spend the weekend series at T-Mobile Park preparing for the NL Wild Card Series.
That has involved resting their regulars — Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández sat out of Saturday night’s 5-3 win, while Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were out the prior game — and taking a critical look at their roster to decide who should make the cut for the postseason.
“Now you see guys playing, competing for an opportunity to be on the postseason roster and also potentially getting innings,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I like that fight, and they’re leaving it all out there. That’s all I ask. And not be afraid to fail. Leave everything you have out there on the field.”
The Dodgers won’t find out which team — either the Reds or the Mets — will seize the third NL Wild Card spot until after Game 162. That could influence some of their decisions. Here are some of the biggest roster questions facing them before their postseason begins on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium:
Could Tyler Glasnow be available out of the ‘pen?
Friday ended up being a bullpen game, giving L.A. a look at seven arms — including an electric Roki Sasaki — who could be part of the postseason relief picture. Saturday’s starter, Glasnow, had a planned short outing, pitching three scoreless innings. He will likely be on the roster for the Wild Card Series, Roberts said.
“I think that right now, where we’re at, we want to go with our best,” Roberts said. “However that looks, that’s kind of the reason why we shortened Emmet [Sheehan], shortened Tyler.”
The team has not announced its rotation for the Wild Card Series, but Ohtani, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are lined up for the three games. If Glasnow makes the roster, he would be used in relief for the first time since he was with the Pirates in 2018.
“If you boil it down, pitching is pitching,” Glasnow said. “Just try to go out there and treat it like another inning. Maybe have a little bit more adrenaline. But I’m looking forward to it.”
What’s the latest on Will Smith, and could he make the roster?
Roberts said the other day that he was “hoping,” rather than “hopeful,” that Smith would be available in time for the Wild Card Series. Smith hit foam balls in the cage on Saturday, his first time swinging since imaging revealed he had a hairline fracture in his right hand.
The Dodgers could opt to carry three catchers if they feel Smith is close, but time is not on their side.
“It’s a balancing act because, obviously, he’s incredibly talented and we want to do everything that we can to have him in there,” general manager Brandon Gomes said Friday. “But we may get to a point where, hey, it may not make sense that some percentage of Will is worth putting on the roster. So we’ve got a few days. I don’t want to close the door on him yet. But we’ve got to go fast in the next few days to see where we’re at.”
How about others dealing with lingering injuries?
Tommy Edman (right ankle) and Max Muncy (lower body) are both dealing with some lingering discomfort that has limited their playing time recently. Edman returned to the lineup on Saturday, albeit as the DH, while Muncy has not played since Wednesday. Both are expected to be ready to go on Tuesday.
If either Edman or Muncy is compromised during the postseason run, then that could open the door for more playing time for Kiké Hernández, who hit a go-ahead two-run double off Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning on Saturday.
Either way, Hernández could feasibly earn himself more playing time going forward. He’s a proven postseason performer, with an .875 OPS in the playoffs, compared with .708 in the regular season, in his career.
“We needed to finish the season strong,” Hernández said. “October is all about whoever’s playing the best baseball at the end of the season. And that’s a really good team over there.”
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