The Dodgers have less than a week left of the regular season to round into playoff form. And their roster moves this series reflect that time crunch.
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Shohei Ohtani was on track to be reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday. Ohtani is feeling “considerably” better than he was before the IL stint, according to Roberts.
“I would say if he was a five, he’s probably an eight or a nine right now,” Roberts said.
On Tuesday, they returned two other important postseason pieces, reinstating center fielder Andy Pages (fractured left hand) and right-hander Roki Sasaki (right middle finger blister) from the injured list.
In corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned right-hander Emmet Sheehan and catcher Eliézer Alfonzo to triple-A Oklahoma City.
But there are still questions the Dodgers have to answer in the last week of the season:
Where will Ohtani hit?
At least at first, Roberts plans to write Ohtani in at the top of the order, per usual. But shortstop Mookie Betts has entered the conversation.
“Certainly versus right-handed pitching [Ohtani] will be there,” Roberts said. “I do think I should think through the Mookie versus left situation, but I have to think about the entire lineup structure.”
Ohtani has hit leadoff in every game he’s started this year. But he hit No. 2 in 79 games the two previous seasons combined.
Is the rotation healthy?
Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell, who exited his start last week with left groin tightness, threw a bullpen on Tuesday. He’s scheduled for one final regular-season start Saturday, Roberts said.
That means all four of the Dodgers’ projected playoff starters are lined up to pitch this Wednesday through Saturday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow on the mound for the last two games against the Padres, and Tarik Skubal and Snell in the first two games in San Francisco.
Who is the closer?
In short, it could change by the day.
“In a perfect world, as we all know the world’s not perfect, I would love [a set closer],” Roberts said. “I think if there’s an opportunity, for example, for Tanner [Scott] to pitch a high-leverage inning in the seventh or the eighth inning, it’s just hard to pass that up if he’s the best option right there. Because you just don’t know where the ninth inning is going to be.
“Those are things that you have to kind of toil with, and those are always good things for people to debate. Right now I don’t see a one-person closer.”
Sasaki stepped into that role last year. It’s unclear exactly how Roberts will use him this time around, but Roberts said he could be an option, depending on how he pitches coming off the IL.
“Last year it was one of those things where it was a situation of need, as far as where we were at with performance and health and guys,” Roberts said. “He filled that role admirably.”
Who gets the last bench spot?
The battle to serve as the left-handed bat off the bench in the postseason has come down to rookie Josue De Paula and injured catcher Dalton Rushing. But with Rushing still on the IL, De Paula appears to have an edge.
Don’t read too much into the Dodgers’ corresponding move for Ohtani on Wednesday. If they option De Paula 10 days out from the first game of the National League Division Series, he can still be included on the roster.
The Dodgers will have to make another roster move later in the week, when they plan to activate Rushing. If they option a player to make room for Rushing, that player would only be eligible for the start of the NLDS as the corresponding transaction for an IL move.
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