The Dodgers are spending the last week of the regular season juggling health, timing and a few postseason decisions that still need answers.
Blake Snell took a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday as he continues to come back from the left groin discomfort that forced him out of last Wednesday’s start. Dave Roberts said Snell is lined up to start Saturday in San Francisco against the Giants, with Tarik Skubal - who is currently on the bereavement list - scheduled to start Friday night at Oracle Park. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will go Wednesday, and Tyler Glasnow is set for Thursday against the Padres.
There was also a small but telling rehab-style matchup on Tuesday, with Will Klein throwing a simulated inning against Dalton Rushing. Klein is on the 60-day injured list with elbow discomfort and cannot be activated until September 30 at the earliest, but the Dodgers appear to be keeping him in the mix if they have room to carry him later in the postseason. Roberts pointed to last year’s path as the model.
“With Will it’s more get healthy, show that you’re healthy, throw to some hitters,” Roberts said. “He’ll throw during the week off, then we’ll kind of see if there’s an opportunity later on in the postseason, sort of like last year.”
Klein’s postseason usage in 2025 included a delayed arrival, but it turned into a big one once he was active. He pitched five scoreless innings, including four innings in the marathon Game 3 of the World Series.
Rushing is working back from elbow discomfort he suffered while practicing throwing, and his place on the roster is part of a broader bench conversation. His value would come as a left-handed bat, while Josue De Paula is currently filling that kind of role with Shohei Ohtani out. Ohtani is expected to be activated Wednesday barring an unforeseen setback.
That leaves Rushing and De Paula competing for a postseason spot, and Roberts said the club plans to activate Rushing sometime this week so he can get back into game rhythm.
“Quality of at-bat, conducting an at-bat obviously, the ability to swing at strikes, take balls, get on base, get a hit. There’s potential slug with both guys.
I think it’s a good debate,” Roberts said. “Hitting off the bench is very difficult so we’re trying to figure out who gives us the best chance.
“And to be quite frank, it’s going to be tougher for Dalton given the time he’s missed, and to think that you have [three] games to get back into playoff form, it’s tough to do. It’s not a knock on him, he’s been great for us, but it’s still tough, right, Given that we talk about having the consistency of at-bats recently from Josue. But we have to have those conversations and make a decision.”
In Other News...
Dodgers Just Got An October Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
The Dodgers got a familiar September jolt with two important reinforcements coming off the injured list as the club heads into the final week of the regular season. Dave Roberts said right-hander Tyler Glasnow is healthy and ready to help when October arrives, a welcome development for a team that has spent much of the year trying to keep its pitching group intact for the stretch run.
Los Angeles also had to make room on the roster by sending two players back down, another reminder of how quickly the picture can change at this time of year. Beyond the immediate playoff implications, there is already some offseason intrigue swirling around the Dodgers, with ESPNs Jeff Passan reporting that pitcher Tarik Skubal could be in line for a massive free-agent deal this winter, a detail that will only add to the teams long-term planning conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal showed up at SoFi Stadium on Monday night with another Dodgers star in tow, as he and Mookie Betts took in the Rams-Giants matchup. Skubal was down at field level while Betts watched from a suite that also included Myles Garrett and Aaron Donalds wife, a small but notable reminder that the Dodgers biggest names do not exactly disappear when the baseball schedule pauses.
For Los Angeles, Skubals appearance comes at an interesting moment. He was recently placed on the Dodgers bereavement list and is currently expected to start the final regular-season game, though that could still change. Even with the season winding down, the Dodgers are keeping an eye on anything that might affect the rotation, and a night out around the NFL only added another layer to the intrigue around Skubals week. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Letting Ryan Ward Go Took An Unexpected Turn
Ryan Wards exit from the Dodgers organization moved quickly. Just six days after being designated for assignment, he agreed to a contract with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball, ending a run that had kept him in the Dodgers system for his entire professional career. It was a familiar kind of roster churn for this time of year, but the destination made the move stand out.
For the Dodgers, Wards recent minor league production had already made his standing uncertain, and the roster rules created an unusual layer to his departure. He was only eligible to play for the Dodgers in the 2026 postseason, which meant Los Angeles still had some control over his future in a narrow sense, even as the organization opened the door for him to continue his career abroad. [Read more 🡒]