The Dodgers have kept winning, but the mess around them hasn’t gone anywhere.
Los Angeles has been beating up on sub-.500 teams since the start of September, and with only one series left against a winning club on the schedule, the soft stretch has done little to quiet the bigger concerns. The rotation has taken another hit with an injury, the bullpen remains shaky, Shohei Ohtani is still sidelined, and Edwin Díaz is about to re-enter the picture.
Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ finale against the Cincinnati Reds that Díaz will be activated on Friday, though only in low-leverage situations. Roberts also said of Ohtani, "He's feeling normal...ish" as the two-way star keeps moving forward in his recovery. Neither update exactly inspires confidence.
That Díaz return is awkward for a different reason. Dodgers fans have already been left wondering whether any lead is safe once he enters.
He followed a disastrous rehab outing - ⅔ innings and five earned runs - with a much better one, tossing a scoreless inning, but the larger issue is still unresolved. That problem is likely to wait until the offseason.
The Dodgers also have bigger priorities in the standings. They’re still chasing a first-round bye over the Atlanta Braves, who sit just 3.5 games back, so there’s no real luxury to coast after clinching the NL West. Even so, using Díaz in the games ahead, blowout or not, doesn’t sound like a smart bet.
At the same time, Los Angeles can’t simply pretend its $69 million closer isn’t there. A lighter touch may be the only workable path - maybe a favorable matchup to finish an inning, maybe nothing more. But the postseason roster question is staring them right in the face.
Ohtani brings another layer of uncertainty. He is eligible to come off the IL next Wednesday, and the Dodgers will want some kind of ramp-up before October. He’ll presumably slide back into the leadoff spot when he returns, but if he looks anything like he did before landing on the IL, opponents will be more than happy to give him the easy first out of the game.
The Dodgers may have already wrapped up the division, but that doesn’t mean the roster problems have gone away. If anything, the latest updates only make the picture murkier.
In Other News...
Tarik Skubal Just Gave Dodgers Fans Real Hope About His Future
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Speculation has naturally followed, especially with so many fans reading those remarks as a signal about his intentions beyond this year. For now, though, theres still no official announcement, so the intrigue remains exactly where it should for a team that expects to keep chasing October baseball and for a player whose next move could matter a lot in Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Ace Is Buying Into Yoshinobu Yamamotos Unusual Routine
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Dodgers Pitching Picture Just Took Another Turn After Tough Minors Night
The Dodgers minor league depth chart got another jolt Monday night, with Tulsas postseason run ending in a Division Series loss to Springfield and Oklahoma Citys game with El Paso being suspended by rain and pushed to later resumption. For a big-league club constantly sorting out arms, those results matter because they shape who is available, who keeps pitching, and who is waiting for the next call.
And in the middle of that backdrop, Los Angeles made its latest pitching adjustment by optioning Bobby Miller to Triple-A and calling up Landon Knack. It is the kind of move that says as much about the clubs need for immediate stability as it does about the next layer of depth, especially with the organization still juggling a busy stretch of roster and pitching decisions. [Read more 🡒]