Category: Baseball

“Here we go again,” says the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in what is now a popular meme. For the third time in nine years, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers face off in the National League Championship Series, and Brewers fans are hoping that this time they can get past the well-funded boogeymen who reside in the LA hills.

On paper, this year’s version of the Dodgers do not seem to be in as strong a position as they have the past two years, in which they’ve won back-to-back World Series titles. Yes, the starting rotation is formidable, as good as any we’ve seen in baseball in recent years. But Shohei Ohtani is banged up, key contributors in the lineup are a year older, and questions remain about the team’s bullpen.

Let’s take a position-by-position look at what each team has to offer, and determine who might have the edge in the series. I’ll list a few regular season stats with each players and give a quick breakdown, then determine who has the advantage.

Catcher

Brewers: William Contreras (2.9 bWAR, 108 OPS+, 18 HR), Gary Sánchez (0.6 bWAR, 112 OPS+, 12 HR)

Dodgers: Will Smith (1.7 bWAR, 115 OPS+, 10 HR), Hunter Feduccia (0.5 bWAR, 75 OPS+, 1 HR)

Contreras’s full-season numbers don’t look as good as they have in previous years — his 108 OPS+ was his worst in any of the five seasons in which he has played over 52 games. That doesn’t quite tell the whole story, though; Contreras was mired in a brutal slump that lasted most of July and August before he hit .292/.359/.562 over his last 23 games and then went 6-for-16 (.375) with two homers against the Padres in the Division Series. Sánchez is a capable backup who should get plenty of action as a pinch hitter in this series: by OPS+, Sánchez had his best season since 2019, and against left-handed pitching this season he hit .238/.366/.436. Sánchez also posted a career-best 16.7% walk rate, an elite mark, and showed the value of that patience during his at-bat against Mason Miller in the ninth inning of NLDS Game 2 on Sunday.

Smith has been one of the league’s premier catchers since his debut in 2019; from 2021-25, he had five straight seasons with at least 3.3 WAR and made three All-Star teams. But he struggled with health this season — an inflamed disc in his neck limited him to just 73 games, by far the fewest in any season since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Smith, who is now 31, still performed well when on the field, with a 115 OPS+ and 10 homers in those 73 games. After missing nearly three months with his neck injury, Smith returned to the lineup on September 1, and hit .290/.400/.548 over the final month, though he struggled in the NLDS, managing just a single in 16 at-bats.

Feduccia, acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline, was meant to be LA’s third-string catcher — a temporary backup to Dalton Rushing, who took over the starting job when Smith was injured. But Rushing is dealing with an elbow injury and cannot catch, and did not make the NLDS roster, so Feduccia is on the roster as a “break glass in case of emergency” backup.

Advantage: Brewers, but it’s slight. Contreras raked in the NLDS and Smith was awful, so this is mostly based on recency bias. I wouldn’t count on Smith staying down for long, though, as he was quite good for the entire month of September. Sánchez has way more value as a backup than Feduccia has; don’t be surprised if there are a couple of important Sánchez at-bats in the series.

First Base

Brewers: Jake Bauers (3.3 WAR, 140 OPS+, 26 HR), Andrew Vaughn (1.5 WAR, 130 OPS+, 6 HR)

Dodgers: Freddie Freeman (2.7 WAR, 118 OPS+, 16 HR)

Bauers and Vaughn combined for one of the more potent platoons in the majors this year. Bauers, in a surprising season, was amongst NL leaders in on-base percentage and OPS, finishing seventh among qualified NL hitters in OPS+. Vaughn was a capable complement, and after missing some time at the beginning of the season had what was, by rate stats, his best season, over 331 plate appearances. Vaughn has been used pretty strictly as a platoon player of late, and Pat Murphy chose to use him as a high-powered pinch-hitter against the Padres, so he got only two plate appearances in that series. With more lefties available for the Dodgers, Vaughn may get a start or two, but there is some logic to Murphy’s approach, giving him maximum flexibility to play defense and keeping a good defensive unit while keeping Bauers in the lineup.

Freeman is, of course, well on his way as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He also recently turned 37 years old, and that age finally appears to be slowing down one of the best hitters of the 21st century. Freeman still had a good year — one of the iron men of modern baseball, Freeman played in 153 games (he’s played in at least 90% of his team’s games in every season since 2017) and was solid, with a .288/.362/.430 batting line, 32 doubles, and 16 homers. But that’s his worst season by OPS+ (118) since he was 22 years old way back in 2012, and his 2.7 WAR was his lowest total since that same 2012 season (even including 2020, when he played only 60 games but won the NL MVP). Freeman remains a dangerous hitter who has a ton of playoff experience, which showed in the NLDS, when he homered twice against his former team.

Advantage: Brewers, but again, it’s slight. Bauers and Vaughn’s combined performance was definitely better than Freeman’s over the course of the season, but I’m not about to doubt Freddie Freeman in the playoffs.

Second Base

Brewers: Brice Turang (7.3 WAR, 124 OPS+, 21 HR)

Dodgers: Tommy Edman (1.6 WAR, 97 OPS+, 8 HR), Miguel Rojas (0.8 WAR, 93 OPS+, 4 HR)

Turang was the league’s best second baseman in 2026, by a comfortable margin. He’s become a good offensive player with pop, he still runs the bases well, and he’s one of the league’s best defensive players. The only question here is whether Turang can shake whatever is bugging him in the postseason; since his offensive awakening during the summer of 2025, Turang has been unable to translate that success to the playoffs. In 55 plate appearances since the start of the 2025 postseason, Turang has just six hits (.118/.182/.196). He hit singles in each of the last two games of the Padres series and looked a little more comfortable at the plate in Game 4, so hopefully this is beginning to turn. The Brewers need him.

Edman is one of those guys who doesn’t seem threatening when he’s on almost any other team but then he joins the Dodgers for nothing and you can’t help but wonder how LA was allowed to get a guy like him. Edman is a versatile role player who, outside of his first couple of full seasons with the Cardinals in the early 2020s, hasn’t done a whole lot in the regular season. But he’s been a crucial part of the Dodgers’ World Series teams the last two years; he won NLCS MVP in 2024, and coming into this season was a .273/.303/.435 hitter in 32 playoff games with the Dodgers (in that same timespan, he hit .229/.280/.392 during the regular season). Edman went 0-for-7 against Atlanta, so hopefully the magic dust has worn off a bit.

Rojas is 37 and doesn’t figure to be a major part of this series, but he’s absolutely the kind of guy who you can’t believe just homered.

Advantage: Brewers. It’s not going to be an easy series for Turang, with Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal in LA’s rotation, but if he can find a way to break out offensively, it could be a key to the series.

Third Base

Brewers: Joey Ortiz (2.6 WAR, 101 OPS+, 9 HR), David Hamilton (1.8 WAR, 80 OPS+, 4 HR)

Dodgers: Max Muncy (4.1 WAR, 128 OPS+, 29 HR), Kiké Hernández (-0.1 WAR, 82 OPS+, 4 HR)

Ortiz had a roller-coaster season but hit .329/.379/.532 in 51 games after the All-Star break, a real sample. He also might be the Brewers’ best defensive player. Hamilton is one of this team’s more divisive players, but it certainly looks like Murphy prefers him in matchups versus right-handed pitching at the moment. Hamilton is not the defensive player that Ortiz is, and while he’s a better hitter against righties (.668 OPS), he still wasn’t as good statistically against them as Ortiz, the right-hander, was (.768 OPS, significantly better than against LHP). Ortiz mostly didn’t look good against the Padres — just one hit in 11 PA — but he did hit the ball hard into outs a couple times.

Muncy, who turned 36 at the end of August, somehow just had one of his best seasons. He graded as a solid defensive third baseman, hit for his highest batting average since 2018, and slugged 29 homers, the fifth time in his career he’s had at least that many. By WAR, it was the fourth-best season of Muncy’s 11-year career and his highest total since 2021. Qualitatively, he’s just one of those guys who it feels like he’s going to pop a homer every time he swings the bat. I hate it.

Speaking of things I hate: Hernández is 34, and over the last five seasons is a .225/.281/.360 hitter. In that same timespan, in the playoffs, he is a .271/.317/.411 hitter. He went just 1-for-6 in the NLDS, but his one hit was, of course, a homer. There’s a very good chance he does something extremely annoying during this series.

Advantage: Dodgers. Muncy is a dangerous hitter. Ortiz’s defense will help, but this is the most likely spot on the roster to be a complete offensive black hole.

Shortstop

Brewers: Cooper Pratt (1.7 WAR, 99 OPS+, 3 HR)

Dodgers: Mookie Betts (3.9 WAR, 113 OPS+, 23 HR), Hyesong Kim (0.5 WAR, 81 OPS+, 1 HR)

Pratt debuted in mid-June when Ortiz’s season had hit a low point. Most expected him to be a good defensive player who would struggle offensively. As it happened, Pratt held his own offensively — he was just about exactly a league average hitter in 74 games, and the defense was as advertised. At least until the NLDS, when Pratt committed as almost as many errors in four games — three — as he had in his 74 regular season contests (five). Pratt did pick up a few hits, including a ground-rule double, against San Diego, though, and looked like he belonged.

At shortstop we meet the Dodgers’ second future Hall-of-Famer, one of the best defensive right fielders of all time, Mookie Betts. Betts looked on his way to an underwhelming season at the plate, but he salvaged his season with a scorching-hot September; he hit .337/.438/.674 with seven homers and nine doubles in 23 games. Perhaps beneficial for the Brewers, that didn’t seem to carry over into the NLDS, where he was 3-for-14 with three singles and three walks.

Kim doesn’t matter much — if he’s not replaced on the NLCS roster, he’s probably just here as a pinch-runner and potential defensive substitute.

Advantage: Dodgers. Pratt is a nice player and Betts, who turned 34 on Wednesday, isn’t what he used to be. But if he’s anything like the hitter he was in September, he could carry the whole Dodger offense on his back.

Outfield

Brewers: Jackson Chourio (4.9 WAR, 129 OPS+, 25 HR), Garrett Mitchell (3.4 WAR, 112 OPS+, 11 HR), Sal Frelick (-0.5 WAR, 70 OPS+, 4 HR), Luis Lara (1.2 WAR, 77 OPS+, 1 HR)

Dodgers: Teoscar Hernández (1.0 WAR, 108 OPS+, 16 HR), Andy Pages (6.0 WAR, 122 OPS+, 23 HR), Kyle Tucker (0.7 WAR, 97 OPS+, 17 HR, $60 million), Josue De Paula (0.5 WAR, 198 OPS+, 1 HR)

Chourio’s batting line in the NLDS (3-for-16, a homer, six RBIs) belies the fact that he was on everything. Chourio looked like a star in the series, even if he only had three hits — all three of them major, clutch, run-scoring hits that either tied the game or gave the Brewers the lead — to show for it.

Mitchell should be coming into the NLCS feeling confident. After a tepid showing in the NLDS’s first three games (a couple of hits, but six strikeouts in 12 plate appearances), Mitchell was the star of the show in the clincher, where he hit a triple and an RBI single, scored a run, and robbed Manny Machado of the game-tying homer in the eighth. Frelick, battling a series of nagging injuries, had an awful season, but he looked like the vintage version of himself against the Padres, when he started three of four games, hit .333 with a couple RBI, a stolen base, and a couple runs scored, and threw out a runner at third base. Lara struggled to hit down the stretch (an abysmal .188/.243/.203 in September) but worked a walk and saw a lot of pitches in his one start in the Padres series and will always give you elite defense in right field.

Pages is the Dodgers’ best outfielder and their best position player under 30. Depending on your preferred defensive metric, he grades as one of the best defensive outfielders in the league (DRS has him even higher than Pete Crow-Armstrong) and he’s a good hitter. He started incredibly hot, though — he had an OPS over 1.000 after about a month — and hit a much more modest .259/.343/.414 from June 1 until the end of the season. He missed about a month toward the end of the season after fracturing a bone in his hand but hit well over the season’s last week after he returned. He had four singles and a couple RBIs against the Braves.

Hernández is slowing down — he turns 34 next week, and he’s seen a significant downturn offensively in the last two years from his peak seasons (2020-24). He remains a potent weapon versus lefties — .303/.392/.515 this season — so the Brewers will need to prioritize matchups in his case. Tucker is one of the bigger disappointments in recent years after signing an immense contract before the season; he looked like a shell of himself, and after five straight seasons with between 4.5 and 5.5 WAR, he looked lost at the plate for most of the season and, despite being healthy, finished with an OPS that was nearly 100 points lower than any other season of the last six years. His defense, a traditional strength (he won a Gold Glove in 2022) also graded out poorly. Tucker is only 29 — not sure what happened.

De Paula is a mega prospect who was promoted straight from Double-A to the big leagues when Ohtani went on the IL late in the season. He hit .323/.500/.581 in 42 plate appearances, and went 0-for-1 with a walk against the Braves.

Advantage: Brewers. Let’s call Chourio and Pages a wash (though I’d rather have Chourio); Mitchell was far better than anything the Dodgers got from Hernández or Tucker this season, and if Frelick looks like he did in the Padres series, he’s better than either of those guys, too. LA’s “other” guys have the ability to change a game with a homer, but are likely to be net negatives, especially over a longer series.

Designated Hitter

Brewers: Christian Yelich (0.1 WAR, 91 OPS+, 12 HR)

Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani (3.2 WAR as hitter, 143 OPS+, 26 HR)

Yelich struggled this season. We know it, he knows it. He turns 35 soon, and this is probably just how it’s going to be for him moving forward. But Yelich, who was better in the second half than the first and flashed some solid indicators for quite a while, was lively in the NLDS — he hit .357 (5-for-14) with a double and an RBI, he stole a couple of bases, he walked a couple times, and he had a couple of bad-luck hard-hit balls — a shot to deep center that looked like it was going to tie the game in Game 2 but was caught, and his 107-mph game-ending double play in Game 3.

Even whatever optimized version of 34-year-old Yelich is going to be at a disadvantage against the game’s biggest star, though. Ohtani is banged up — he’s been dealing with knee and biceps injuries, neither serious enough to threaten his season but bad enough that he had an IL stint late in the season to try to get healthy. He doesn’t look healthy. In early summer, it looked like he was on his way to a fourth straight MVP — he was hitting .296/.412/.542 at the end of June and pitching as well as we have ever seen from him. But the pitching went first — his last appearance as a pitcher came on July 3, and while he stayed in the lineup after that, there was a downturn in results that accelerated as we got closer to the end of the season. The former home run champ hasn’t hit one out since August 18, and in 18 games from then to the end of the season he hit just .157/.289/.214. He hit two singles and walked twice in 16 plate appearances against Atlanta, and batted fifth and fourth in the lineup in the series’ last two games, after batting first or second in literally every time he’d been in the Dodger lineup the last three years.

Advantage: Dodgers. I’m still giving it to Shohei, but it really doesn’t seem like he’s healthy, and there’s a real chance Yelich outperforms him.

Starting Pitching

Brewers: Jacob Misiorowski (6.5 bWAR, 1.80 ERA, 2.17 FIP), Logan Henderson (3.3 bWAR, 2.47 ERA, 3.32 FIP), Robert Gasser (1.3 bWAR, 3.87 ERA, 4.24 FIP), Dustin May (0.3 bWAR, 5.65 ERA and 5.06 FIP with Brewers)

Dodgers: Tarik Skubal (1.9 bWAR, 2.61 ERA, 2.36 FIP with Dodgers), Blake Snell (1.7 bWAR, 1.90 ERA, 1.72 FIP), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5.9 bWAR, 2.53 ERA, 3.33 FIP), Tyler Glasnow (1.8 bWAR, 3.53 ERA, 2.74 FIP)

The Brewers might have the best pitcher in this series, but the Dodgers are boasting a gauntlet unlike we’ve seen in the majors in some time — who was the last No. 4 starter as good as Glasnow? I’ve ordered LA’s pitchers here in the order that they pitched against Atlanta. Skubal, who of course was heavily tied to the Brewers in trade rumors, mostly shut down the Braves for six innings in Game 1; he allowed two hits, two walks, and a run while striking out seven. Skubal has a long history of postseason performance, too; he has a 1.97 ERA and 2.18 FIP in 45 2/3 career postseason innings.

Snell wasn’t sharp against the Braves — he held them to one run but walked five guys in 3 2/3 innings. But during the regular season (which, aside from one rough outing in May, didn’t start for Snell until August 11), Snell was as sharp as he has ever been: over eight starts since permanently joining the rotation in August, Snell allowed only five runs — never more than a single run in one outing — in 39 2/3 innings (a 1.13 ERA). He struck out 50 and walked 14, looking every bit of the guy who’d won Cy Youngs in Tampa and San Diego. Those who haven’t blocked it out will also remember that Snell utterly dominated Milwaukee in last year’s NLCS, when he struck out 10, walked zero, and allowed only one hit in eight shutout innings in Game 1.

Yamamoto is the Dodgers’ No. 3, a guy who finished third in Cy Young voting and won the World Series MVP last season. He was just as good this year as he was last year and shut down the Braves in his one start in the NLDS. Glasnow, the fourth starter, had a 3.53 ERA and 2.74 FIP in 74 innings this season and held the Braves to one run in 4 2/3 innings in the series clincher on Wednesday.

On the Milwaukee side, Misiorowski will look to get past his shaky start versus the Padres — two runs in four innings, in which he needed 88 pitches despite just one walk. Miz handled the Dodgers in his only start against them this season, when he allowed one run in six innings with six strikeouts.

Henderson was a bit shaky as well at the beginning of his outing against San Diego but settled in nicely. He allowed two runs, but he had no help from his defense (only one of those was earned). Gasser pitched well against the Padres and on paper he’s got a better matchup against the Dodgers, who rely on more lefties than the Padres do — I’d definitely slot him in ahead of May in this series. Milwaukee will probably need a fourth starter — I’d be surprised if Misiorowski pitched on three days’ rest in game four — and that might be the longtime Dodger May, but they also might just do a bullpen game (or effectively do a bullpen game with May getting a shot once through the order, or something like that).

Advantage: Dodgers. This is one of the best four-man rotations I’ve ever seen. Misiorowski can beat any of them, but LA has three different guys who can match him on any given day. The Brewers will have their work cut out for them, and their best bet in this series is to grind out at-bats against the starters and try to get to the bullpen as quickly as possible.

Bullpen

Brewers: Trevor Megill (61.2 IP, 2.63 ERA, 1.85 FIP), Abner Uribe (59.1 IP, 1.97 ERA, 2.68 FIP), Aaron Ashby (89.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 3.11 FIP), DL Hall (61.1 IP, 1.91 ERA, 3.88 FIP), Antonio Senzatela (21 IP, 5.14 ERA, 4.43 FIP with Brewers), JoJo Romero (13.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3.85 FIP with Brewers), Shane Drohan (124.2 IP, 4.19 ERA, 3.73 FIP), Kyle Harrison (115.2 IP, 4.20 ERA, 4.03 FIP), Chad Patrick (106 IP, 3.40 ERA, 4.17 FIP)

Dodgers: Edwin Díaz (18.2 IP, 8.68 ERA, 4.44 FIP), Tanner Scott (63.2 IP, 2.69 ERA, 2.10 FIP), Edgardo Henriquez (60 IP, 2.85 ERA, 2.50 FIP), Alex Vesia (58 IP, 2.64 ERA, 3.10 FIP), Evan Phillips (26 IP, 3.46 ERA, 3.87 FIP), Roki Sasaki (122.1 IP, 4.49 ERA, 4.73 FIP), Kirs Bubic (4.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.60 FIP), Brock Stewart (26.2 IP, 2.70 ERA, 3.81 FIP)

In the NLDS, there was a lot of talk about the Padres and their league-best bullpen heading into the series. But the Brewers got to Adrián Morejon in Game 1 and Mason Miller in Game 2, while their own bullpen — which at this point might be flying under the radar a bit as a major strength — allowed just one earned run in 19 innings against San Diego. Both Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe may have gotten away with a couple of near homers, but Aaron Ashby looked as good as he’s ever looked in game four, and the Brewers got solid work from DL Hall, Antonio Senzatela, and JoJo Romero, as well. With the higher concentration of lefties that the Dodger lineup presents, expect Shane Drohan and Kyle Harrison to have roles in this series, as well. Chad Patrick may have fallen off the trust tree with his September control issues, but we’ll see.

The Dodgers aren’t in as bad of shape here as they have been at times in the past, but I wouldn’t call the bullpen a major strength. After a disaster of a season in 2025, lefty Tanner Scott fixed himself, and had an excellent season in which he saved 25 games.

It wasn’t Scott closing games in the NLDS, though: the Dodgers went with the right-handed Edwin Díaz, despite his 8.68 ERA during the regular season. Díaz is one of the best closers of his time — he’s got a solid argument as the best reliever in his league at least twice — and he was really good for the Mets in 2025. But after his big contract in LA, something has been wrong. He’s spent some time on the injured list but there doesn’t seem to be a major injury issue — he just started walking guys and giving up hard contact. The Dodgers gambled a bit by using Díaz to close back-to-back games in Atlanta after he pitched a scoreless inning in LA’s Game 2 loss, and he’s now riding three straight scoreless outings in which he hasn’t walked anyone into the NLCS. If Díaz is fixed, that’s bad news for the Brewers… but his strikeouts are also down (three strikeouts in three innings in the postseason, well below his typical numbers) and Ozzie Albies got him for a double off the wall on Tuesday, so who knows. It’s a major wildcard in this series.

Other notables here include the flamethrowing Henriquez, the reliable lefty Alex Vesia, and converted-ish starters Sasaki and Bubic. The Dodgers only carried eight relievers in the NLDS, and it’s very possible that they’ll replace either De Paula or Kim with another reliever (Jack Dreyer? Justin Wrobleski?) for the longer NLCS.

Advantage: Brewers. Milwaukee has more depth in their pen. Scott is really good and there are a few good pitchers here, but there are some questions about roles, and Díaz is a major question mark. The Brewers also match up well with all the left-handed hitters (Ohtani, Freeman, Muncy, Tucker) in the Dodgers’ lineup.

Wrapping up

I accidentally wrote 4,000 words, so I’ll keep this brief:

Catcher: Brewers
First Base: Brewers
Second Base: Brewers, big time
Third Base: Dodgers
Shortstop: Dodgers
Outfield: Brewers
Designated Hitter: Dodgers, maybe, unless Ohtani is as hurt as he looks
Starting Rotation: Dodgers, big time
Bullpen: Brewers

The Brewers are better at more places on the field, but the Dodgers’ rotation is a major equalizer. Overall, these are two pretty evenly matched teams. If the Brewers can be pesky against the Dodgers’ starters and force them to throw a lot of pitches, I like their chances. But if they can’t find a way to get through Skubal, Snell, and Yamamoto (they couldn’t last year, at least in the case of the latter two) and into the bullpen, it may not matter much.

It’s Day 3 of a post-2026 Yankees world, and the MLB playoffs continue on without the Bombers. Tonight, the Rays will learn who they’ll be playing in the ALCS on Monday at Tropicana Field, as the 2-0 advantage that the White Sox once held vanished upon their return to the South Side. The Guardians won both games in Chicago and can complete the 2001 Yankees-esque comeback with just one win tonight back home in Cleveland. No matter who emerges, they will be heavy underdogs against the top-seeded Rays.

On the site today, Josh discusses the apathy he, and surely many other fans, are feeling after another Yankees exit that felt just so typical. Later, John writes up David Bednar for our Yankees Birthday series, while Kento analyzes Aaron Boone’s perplexing decision to bat Trent Grisham leadoff in Game 3, and Matt offers his biggest gripes with the Boone Era. With the NLCS already set and beginning tomorrow night, Peter also previews that Dodgers/Brewers rematch, which Milwaukee is hoping is a lot closer than the 2025 version.

Today’s Playoff Matchup:

American League Division Series Game 5
(winner-take-all)

Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox
(RHP Gavin Williams vs. RHP Sean Burke)

Time: 8:00 p.m. EST

TV: TBS/HBO Max, TruTV, Univision

Venue: Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH

Questions/Prompts:

1. Will any of the Yankees significant pending free agents (David Bednar, Trent Grisham, Paul Blackburn, Jazz Chisholm Jr.) be back with the team next year?

2. Does tonight’s Game 5 between the Guardians and White Sox intrigue you? Or are you left feeling empty, both because of the Yankees’ exit from the postseason, and the underwhelming quality of both these AL Central squads?

New York Post | Jon Heyman: ($) One of the most prominent names in Yankees media added his voice to the chorus calling for Aaron Boone’s dismissal Friday. The reasons are not revelatory — lack of postseason success, discipline, and accountability. Heyman offers his own “analytics,” namely the Yankees manager’s inability to lead his team to a single championship in nine years (and only one World Series berth as well). He joins a crowded field, including The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, in drawing a line in the sand.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Despite the increasing urgency for a leadership change from journalists and fans alike, there are some key indicators that Boone is likely to stick around for at least one more season. For one, he’s owed $5.5 million for last year, the last on his deal. For another, the impending lockout would make it an uphill battle for a new manager to put in the legwork necessary to build trust with his players before the new season, as they wouldn’t be able to contact each other from December 1st until a new CBA is struck. Boone also retains the vocal support of his locker room, a fact which might solicit eyerolls from the Yankees faithful but still holds sway with the front office.

FanGraphs | Brendan Gawlowski: The Arizona Fall League is a full week into play at this point, and Michael Zeno helpfully wrote up the action on how the Yankees’ prospects fared our west during this initial showing. For more on one of said prospects, here’s Gawlowski on a number of different AFL-ers (a-fellers?) who he saw in person. He’s a big fan of Dax Kilby, the Yankees’ top draft pick from 2025 who had an injury-riddled year and is catching up on lost time. Gawlowski wrote that Kilby is the best player he saw, and that he “is quick and direct to the ball, he doesn’t leak early, his swing stays on plane forever, he adjusts well off the fastball, and he can use the whole field.” Good review!

MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: The 2026 season went better for Paul Goldschmidt than his Yankees debut in 2025, when he burned bright early but faded down the stretch. There was some of that this past season as well for the veteran, but he was generally more consistent and the Yankees were more disciplined about using him less against righties. All told, it led to a 111 OPS+ and 18 homers in 380 plate appearances, good for a .452 slugging percentage that was his highest since his NL MVP-winning 2022 in St. Louis (with a reliable glove at first, too). Although Goldschmidt turned 39 in September, he would like to keep playing in 2027.

The fit might not be there for the Yankees with Luis García Jr. now joining Ben Rice in the first base mix next spring, but if Goldy wants to play for a few million again, I suspect that someone can pick him up — if not only to see if he can get the 10 homers he needs to reach 400 in an excellent career that is a bit of a dark horse Hall of Fame case.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto start the first two games of the National League Championship Series.

Those games will come on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers, who have home-field advantage after finishing the regular season with an MLB-best 103–59 record.

The Dodgers, seeking a three-peat, are making their 14th straight playoff appearance, tied with the Atlanta Braves (1991-2005) for the most consecutive postseason appearances in MLB history.

Skubal is slotted in as the Game 1 starter, the Dodgers said, with Yamamoto using his experience from last season's World Series run to his advantage in the second game. 

Tarik Skubal starting NLCS Game 1 for Dodgers

The Dodgers acquired the ace pitcher in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers in early August, sending outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith to Detroit.

Skubal has already provided the Dodgers with a postseason win this season. He allowed just two hits, a home run and a pair of walks in six innings pitched against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 3. He recorded seven strikeouts.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting NLCS Game 2 for Dodgers

Manager Dave Roberts has tabbed Yamamoto as the Game 2 starter.

Much like Skubal, the right-handed pitcher also earned a victory in his first start of the postseason. He allowed four hits and an earned run while walking one in seven innings pitched in Game 3 against the Braves. He had 10 strikeouts.

He's produced an 8-1 record with a 2.14 ERA during the postseason over the last three seasons.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dodgers set starting pitchers for beginning of NLCS vs. Brewers

Friday marked a slow day for the Atlanta Braves on the news front as the club settles into the offseason. After another early exit, the Braves will determine which pending free agents should rejoin the club. From Ha-Seong Kim to Mauricio Dubón, let’s dive into the looming free agents and the value they could bring to the clubhouse. 

More Braves News:

Isaiah Drake recorded a hit in the Arizona Fall League. More in the minor league recap.

MLB News:

Boston Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock was recently diagnosed with a fractured tibia. He is not expected to require surgery. 

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager underwent elbow surgery to remove a bone spur. The procedure is not expected to affect his 2027 season. 

From the Feed:

Didier Fuentes was selected to be a part of MLB Pipeline’s All-Rookie Team.

The New York Rangers’ 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday night was completely overshadowed by a scary lower-body injury suffered by Igor Shesterkin.

The injury occurred in the second period as Shesterkin went way out of his crease to challenge the puck carrier, Pierre-Luc Dubois. Upon sliding back into his crease, Shesterkin’s right skate made contact with the post, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, pounding the ice in pain.

The 30-year-old goaltender remained on the ice for a lengthy stretch of time before being helped to the bench by Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, unable to put any weight on his right leg.

Shesterkin was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest, and while Mike Sullivan said after the Rangers’ loss that he had no update on the severity of Shesterkin’s injury, the way in which he exited the game brought a wave of concern throughout the entire team.

“It’s concerning,” Sullivan said of Shesterkin’s injury. “He’s an elite goaltender. I mean, you don't ever want to see anybody get hurt, but obviously, he's an important player for us.”

Through his first four starts of the season, Shesterkin was playing at an extremely high level, posting a .926 save percentage heading into Washington.

Shesterkin’s stellar goaltending helped propel the Rangers to a 4-1 start to the season, but that newfound momentum came to a screeching halt when the Blueshirts’ franchise star crumbled to the ice.

“It’s awful, he’s a pillar of this team,” J.T. Miller said. “It stinks. We don't even know what's going on, but to see him leave the game is a shock to all of us, a shock to all of us.”

In relief of Shesterkin, Dylan Garand stepped in and saved 11 of 12 shots as the rookie goaltender was thrust into a difficult situation.

Despite not knowing the severity of Shesterkin’s injury just yet, it’s hard not to speculate about the long-term ramifications that could possibly be on the horizon for the Rangers.

If Shesterkin were to miss time, the Rangers would find themselves in a difficult situation given their current goaltending depth.

Joonas Korpisalo was placed on injured reserve following the Rangers’ season opener due to a lower-body injury, and he had not resumed skating as of Thursday.

Meanwhile, Hartford Wolf Pack goaltender Spencer Martin is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, which means the Rangers may be forced to call up Callum Tung from the American Hockey League, who has no NHL experience under his belt.

Garand, who was placed on waivers by the Rangers before the season began, is slated to take on the Rangers’ starting goaltending role if Shesterkin misses time.

The Rangers’ impressive start to the season brought forward so much hope and excitement for a team desperately looking to turn the page after a frustrating two-year span.

Now, the Rangers are facing down the barrel of potentially missing Shesterkin for a long period of time, which would almost certainly set back any progress the organization was hoping to make.

“We're not going to let (Igor's injury) take the wind out of our sails,” Miller said.

The only thing left for Rangers fans to do at this point is wait to find out more about Shesterkin’s status and hope he is OK, or at least that the injury was not as bad as it looked.

“Definitely not a good feeling for anyone seeing anyone on your team go down, especially a guy like that who’s kind of the pillar on the back end,” Adam Fox said. “It sucks. Obviously, we’re hoping for the best for him.”

Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock spent the final month of the 2026 season pitching through a broken leg without knowing the full extent of his injury.

The 30-year-old right-hander was diagnosed with a fractured right tibia after Boston’s elimination from the postseason at the hands of the Yankees, according to the Boston Globe.

Whitlock had been dealing with leg discomfort throughout September but continued pitching during the Red Sox’s playoff push, leading to their American League wild-card series appearance against the Yankees.

Further evaluation following Boston’s postseason exit revealed the fracture, which had not previously been diagnosed.

Despite the injury, Whitlock put together an impressive final month of the regular season.

He made eight appearances in September, allowing zero earned runs across 7 ⅓ innings while recording nine strikeouts and two walks.

Whitlock also allowed just six hits during that stretch, helping Boston secure a postseason berth.

Unfortunately, Whitlock was ineffective in the playoffs, allowing three earned runs in just 1 ⅓ innings, finishing the postseason with a 20.25 ERA.

The Red Sox were aware of his discomfort and reportedly worked with Whitlock to manage the pain, although the fracture itself remained undetected.

Fortunately for Whitlock, the fracture is not expected to require surgery, according to the Globe.

He will reportedly spend four to six weeks in a walking boot while the injury heals, with the expectation that he will be healthy enough to participate in spring training next year, assuming the season starts on time amid rumors of a potential lockout.

Whitlock finished the regular season with a career-best 1.72 ERA across 54 appearances, striking out 59 batters and walking just nine over 52 ⅓ innings.

He also recorded a career-high 26 holds while serving as one of Boston’s primary setup options ahead of closer Aroldis Chapman.

The injury adds to a season in which Whitlock already spent time on the injured list with a left knee injury and later elbow inflammation.

Whitlock remains under team control with club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

The offseason is in full swing and teams will be looking ahead to the moves they want to make. There can’t be any action until after the World Series has concluded, but that doesn’t mean teams can’t have discussions with players about their futures ahead of the potential lockout that is looming in early December.

One of the possible futures is a contract extension.

We saw the Rockies extend Mickey Moniak earlier this season, but there are a few others who might be candidates: Hunter Goodman, Jake McCarthy, and/or Cole Carrigg.

Goodman is a two-time All-Star and became the first Rockie to hit 40+ home runs in a season since Nolan Arenado in 2019. He also set all sorts of records both for catchers, Rockies, and Rockies catchers.

McCarthy was traded for last offseason and immediately made an impact on the roster. He became a threat all over the basepaths and set a tone for what the Rockies are potentially looking for in players.

Carrigg is “Mr. Utility” and that was on display this year. The switch-hitting INF/OF’s “hair on fire” style of play was on full display in 2026. While he is merely a rookie, we’ve seen plenty of teams extend young players in their first or second year.

What do you think, Rowers? Which of these players are prime candidates for an extension, or might they all be? Let us know in the comments!

---

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The Dodgers don’t believe the National League Championship Series rematch with the Brewers will be anything similar to what transpired in 2025.

LA swept the Brewers in four games on its quest to back-to-back World Series titles last year. Now, the Dodgers are looking to beat Milwaukee for a shot at a three-peat.

Mookie Betts said the Dodgers understand the Brewers are much improved team from last season.

“You got to keep them completely separate… they have more experience. They’re just better,” Betts said.

Betts is certainly accurate in his assessment of Milwaukee, who boasts the best record in baseball. Both the Dodgers and Brewers ended the regular season with a 100 wins, but it’s evident LA isn’t viewing the NLCS as a guaranteed win.

Both teams are incredibly deep in all facets so the series is bound to come down to the little things. Whichever team is nearest perfection will like be the group representing the NL in the 2026 Fall Classic.

The NLCS is not a David and Goliath situation. It’s two juggernaut baseball teams built completely differently, but both incredibly lethal.

Artificial Intelligence has already infiltrated Major League Baseball.

In a recent appearance on Foul Territory, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy discussed how teams around the league are utilizing AI to their advantage.

“I think [AI] is becoming way more and more prevalent. I’ve heard of a couple of teams starting to use AI programs,” Muncy said.

“You plug in pitches and the AI program points differences on where the glove is and hand position. That’s what you have been beginning to see with first and third base coaches.”

The Dodgers don’t appear to be implementing AI into their game strategies, but as technology advances, it’s no surprise professional sports teams have begun to utilize new and improved methods.

Tipping pitches can be especially costly in the postseason, when a team’s season is on the line. The Brewers, who the Dodgers will face in the National League Championship Series starting Sunday, managed to deduce Mason Miller’s breaking ball in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Miller blew the save after Brewers’ Sal Frelick tapped his neck at second base before Jackson Chourio laid off a slider that would have resulted in a strikeout and a Padres win.

Did Milwaukee use AI? That’s the million dollar question.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

The White Sox have played only one max-series playoff game ever: The 6-4 loss to Oakland in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series in 2020. But there are at least three other do-or-die regular season games as well, all having a direct impact on the postseason.

As we head into a very rare beast in the White Sox universe — a do-or die game for the White Sox and their opponent as we’ll have in this year’s ALDS Game 5 — let’s look back on the others in club history.

---

October 6, 1908
Regular season finale
Detroit Tigers 7, Chicago White Sox 0
The White Sox entered their final series of the season back at home, trailing first-place Detroit by 2 ½ games. So on the White Sox side, this was three straight do-or-die games (and, technically, their 3-2 win at Cleveland in their final road game of the year was do-or-die for the Pale Hose as well).

A 3-1 win in the Sunday opener of the series saw the White Sox strike for three in the first inning, and starter Doc White did the rest, holding Detroit to five hits in the complete-game win. The South Siders in fact struck just two hits in the game, but with no play-by-play data it’s hard to figure out how and why runs scored. Left fielder Patsy Daughterty had one of the team’s two hits, one of the two RBIs, and three steals to torment the Tigers. Despite the 15,000 capacity of the West Side Grounds, 26,000 fans were counted as in attendance for the game.

On Monday, the White Sox offense was much more robust, pounding out 11 hits in a 6-1 win that would make the season finale a nail biter for both teams. The 5-7 spots in the order (second baseman George Davis, shortstop Freddy Parent, catcher Billy Sullivan,) all had two hits apiece and drove home four of the team’s six runs. The Pale Hose staked Big Ed Walsh to a 5-0 lead by the fifth and the Chicago ace did the rest, striking out nine against one walk and four hits en route to his 40th win of the season. The White Sox were now just a half-game from a pennant and closer to first place than any day since June 24, with the title boiling down to the season’s final day.

On Tuesday, White was selected to go on two days’ rest and could face just four batters, touched for three hits and two runs with just a K to his name; next in was Walsh on one day’s rest, and he fared little better: five hits and three runs in 3 2/3 innings. Coupled with that was the death of the Chicago bats, who mustered just two singles, and desiccation of its leather, piling up SIX errors in the game.

And yes, the Chicago Cubs had clinched the National League pennant, so the baseball world was one game from a second all-Chicago World Series in three years. Detroit went on to roll over to the Cubs in the Fall Classic in just five games.

---

September 30, 2008
Game 163 Tiebreaker
Chicago White Sox 1, Minnesota Twins 0
Nearly a century later on the dot came the second time the White Sox saw their postseason hopes come down to the final day of the season, and just like the club of 1oo years previous it took a succession of wins to even reach a do-or-die game.

The White Sox had spent the vast majority of the season in first place, although never by more than six games. Over the course of the season the rival Twins had caught them, and even passed, several times over the course of the year. But just as the White Sox were enjoying their longest stranglehold on first of the year, three weeks comprising almost all of September, the Pirhañas struck back one last time — and perhaps with a fatal blow: A 7-6 win in 10 innings at the Twinkiedome had put Minny back in first with just three games to play (the White Sox had four remaining). Making matters worse, the White Sox dropped their next two contests, at home, vs. Cleveland. In what was becoming a race to the bottom, the Twins had also lost their next two games, keeping their lead wafer-thin, at a half-game.

Minnesota had one game left to play, a Sunday finale hosting Kansas City, an easy 6-0 win. The White Sox countered with a 5-1 win over Cleveland behind Mark Buehrle, forcing a makeup of a rain-postponed game from September 13, hosting Detroit. Game 162 for the White Sox was a hairy one, as former hero Freddy García faced his former mates and largely shut them down on two hits and one walk over a scoreless five innings. But the White Sox opened the sixth with a walk and stolen base from DeWayne Wise, running García from the game. Armando Galarraga wild-pitched Wise to third, and then to home, slicing Detroit’s lead in half, at 2-1. Three straight walks had packed the sacks, and on the first pitch from reliever Gary Glover, Alexei Ramírez did this:

It was a rookie record fourth grand slam for Ramírez, who also tied Albert Belle for the most grand slams in a season by a White Sox player. It was a fatal blow for the Tigers, and the White Sox pocketed win No. 88 on the season, 8-2.

Minnesota, forced into a tiebreaker game by the pesky White Sox, came to Sox Park for a do-or-die game for both teams, and it was a classic — the very first Blackout Game. John Danks was masterful over eight innings, yielding two hits and helped by an all-time great White Sox moment, as Ken Griffey Jr. gunned down Michael Cuddyer at home plate to end the fifth inning a scoreless tie:

Two innings later, Jim Thome led off the seventh inning with one of the best combinations of high-leverage and long distance in White Sox history:

The 1-0 lead held up, and the White Sox were postseason-bound after becoming the first and only team in major league history to win three straight games against three different opponents, regardless of the time of season or circumstance.

Michael Kenny recounted the game in 2018 in his 2008 White Sox retrospective for South Side Sox. The Cheat had the in-the-moment coverage for us in 2008, but sadly those stories (written in html code boxes?) are now just comprised of a few photographs.

---

October 1, 2020
Game 3, AL Wild Card Series
Oakland A’s 6, Chicago White Sox 4
On the heels of a late collapse during the pandemic season that saw the White Sox drop from first place to a first-round road assignment in the space of five days thanks to four losses in five games, the White Sox had rebounded nicely with a 4-1 win in Game at Oakland thanks to Lucas Giolito going six perfect innings to start the game, and seven strong. The A’s jumped on Dallas Keuchel early in Game 2 and held on for a 5-3 win, which forced the only do-or-die playoff game for both teams over the first 120 years of White Sox baseball.

In a game that saw the White Sox use nine pitchers and Oakland eight, the A’s advanced, 6-4, rallying from down 3-0 in the third.

The resulting outrage over Renteria’s pitching deployment in the game, punctuated by his hunched posture in the dugout during the game, was said to be the cause of his firing; I have long suspected Renteria was dismissed because he wasn’t willing to be demoted to bench coach to allow Tony La Russa to cosplay as a big-league manager one more time.

Leigh Allan had our recap coverage, with Joe Kiang-Resis providing the Six Pack.

---

With only one postseason do-or-die in 126 years of White Sox baseball, a win on Saturday in Cleveland will even the ledger at 1-1. It’s a tall order, and the similarities to 2020 (relative collapse down the stretch, completely taxed arms) are daunting. But Game 5 will be played, and the game starts 0-0 and runs nine innings. Let’s see how it plays out.

The Dodgers entered the postseason with the best rotation of any team on paper, led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who proved to be practically superhuman in the World Series last year.

However, with Blake Snell tweaking his right groin muscle in his penultimate regular-season start, Tyler Glasnow pitching better after a rough patch in early September and Tarik Skubal experiencing his first Dodgers playoff run, some questions remained unanswered.

Then the group gave up just four runs, one from each pitcher, during their National League Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves. Their collective 1.69 ERA was second in the postseason to only the Tampa Bay Rays (1.65 ERA), who swept the Yankees in the American League Division Series.

“We locked in and did a pretty good job,” Glasnow said Friday. “All of us together are so close. We root each other on, we help each other throughout the week.”

Read more:'I just want chaos.' Don't expect Dodgers to sweep Brewers again in NLCS

In the Dodgers’ quest for a third straight World Series title, the rotation is going to have to serve as the backbone.

“It certainly makes life easier for the team, the bullpen, if the starters are good,” said manager Dave Roberts during a conference call. “I think we’ve got the best rotation top to bottom in baseball, and it’s nice to be able to reset the rotation and get these guys going. And obviously, it gives a chance to also minimize certain looks from our guys out of the ‘pen.”

Skubal is set to start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. By ending the NLDS in four games, the Dodgers avoided having to pitch Skubal in a Game 5, making it simpler to line up the rotation. Skubal should be available for a potential Game 5, on regular rest.

The Dodgers were thinking about the NLCS when they decided to pitch Yamamoto in Game 3 against the Braves instead of Game 1. So, he’s lined up to pitch in Game 2 and 6 of the NLCS.

“From there, we’re just going to keep talking through it,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers have shown promising signs in other areas. They hit two home runs off Braves ace Chris Sale and forced him to hand the ball over after five innings in Game 3. The back end of the bullpen settled into a rhythm with Tanner Scott serving as the setup man and Edwin Díaz reestablishing himself as the closer.

The success, however, started with the rotation.

“They did what they had to do,” Kiké Hernández said. “They kept us in games when we weren’t scoring. Not surprised.”

The Dodgers lost Game 2 after Snell exited with two outs in the fourth inning. It was the shortest outing of any of the Dodgers’ starters, but he still held the Braves to one run.

Snell, however, was coming off a disjointed pitching schedule because of the injury. With his postseason experience, he could settle into a better rhythm as the playoffs continue.

Glasnow didn’t quite make it through the fifth inning in Game 4, exiting with two outs. But with runs at a premium, and more off days built into the postseason, shorter starts are common. Glasnow’s five walks drove up his pitch count, but he gave up only one hit.

In Game 1, Skubal gave the Dodgers exactly what they hoped for when they acquired him at the trade deadline. He limited the Braves to two hits over six innings.

“I’ve executed every pitch that I throw thousands of times,” Skubal said after his start. “So just trust that, trust the work that you put in. It sounds simple to try and live one pitch at a time, but I think it’s pretty difficult given [the] circumstances.”

Yamamoto raised the bar even higher: seven innings of one-run ball. His 10 strikeouts were a playoff career high.

Read more:Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Brewers in the NLCS

Yamamoto also made it clear that, like last year, he would be willing to pitch out of the bullpen or on short rest if needed.

“I’m going to get myself ready for any situation,” he said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda this week. “If they want me to go out, then I go out. But for me, just those are key things for me. Postseason is just focusing on the game right in front of me.”

The Dodgers, planning on a deep run, didn’t tax their starting pitchers heavily in their first round. That gives them the option to lean on the rotation even more against the Brewers.

“We’re all kind of in the prime of our careers, and we’re all evolving and continuing to get better and grow,” Snell said last weekend. “I think the coolest part about the whole group that no one gets to see is really how much we talk about pitching. It’s very unique. It doesn’t happen everywhere. For all of us to kind of be pushing for each other to be great, it’s a really cool starting staff to be a part of.”

Roster decision

The Dodgers plan to carry a roster of 13 pitchers and 13 position players in the NLCS, Roberts said, one more pitcher and one fewer position player than last round.

In the NLDS, the Dodgers left left-handed relievers Justin Wrobleski and Jack Dreyer off the roster. They carried rookie pinch-hitter Josue De Paula and pinch-runner/utility player Hyeseong Kim.

It remains to be seen if Miguel Rojas will be part of the roster. Rojas tweaked his back in Game 3 when his feet slid out from under him in the slick grass in shallow right field as he made an on-target throw to first base. He left the game in the middle of his next at-bat, aggravating the injury on a swing. He did not play in Game 4.

“Today was encouraging,” Roberts said. “He had imaging, and a lot of it was kind of stuff that he has had prior history. So, we’ve still got a flight to get on. See how he comes in tomorrow for the workout there. So there’s nothing definitive. But I will say today was a step in the right direction. He took ground balls and took a couple rounds of [batting practice]. So that was good to see.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers are planning to cut a position player from their playoff roster for their upcoming National League Championship Series against the Brewers.

For now, though, they are hopeful that injured veteran infielder Miguel Rojas won’t have to be the casualty.

Rojas remains questionable to be on the Dodgers’ NLCS roster, according to manager Dave Roberts, after he suffered a back injury in Game 3 of the NL Division Series this past week that left him unavailable for the team’s series-clinching victory in Game 4 over the Braves.

However, during a video conference with reporters on Friday, Roberts said Rojas is feeling better and took “a step in the right direction” during a team workout at Dodger Stadium.

“Today was encouraging,” Roberts said. “He took ground balls and took a couple rounds of BP. So that was good to see.”

Roberts emphasized that there is “nothing definitive” yet on Rojas’ status for the best-of-seven matchup against the Brewers, with the team waiting to see how he comes through another workout on Saturday after it travels to Milwaukee ahead of Game 1.

“We’ve just got to be certain that if we do have him on [the roster], he can stay healthy,” Roberts said, wary of the possibility of having to remove Rojas from the roster mid-series because of his injury, which would leave him ineligible for a potential World Series under MLB’s playoff roster rules.

But, Roberts also noted that an MRI revealed no new injury in Rojas’ back — just “stuff that he has had prior history” with — and reiterated that he was “encouraged, again, with what I saw today.”

If Rojas is good to go, then the Dodgers will have to trim another position player from their roster for the NLCS, with the team planning to carry 13 pitchers for the best-of-seven matchup instead of the 12 it had for the five-game divisional round.

The most likely candidate would be Hyeseong Kim, who was called up from Triple-A for the NLDS to serve as a pinch-running and defensive specialist. All the Dodgers’ other reserves (besides unused backup catcher Hunter Feduccia) made important contributions to their NLDS triumph — including rookie sensation Josue De Paula, who drew a pinch-hit walk during Wednesday’s go-ahead seventh-inning rally in Game 4. 

As for the extra pitcher the Dodgers could add: Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan and Jack Dreyer would figure to be the foremost candidates.

“After we get off this call,” Roberts said Friday afternoon, “I’m gonna get with the guys and figure out what arm we’re going to add.”

Rojas initially got hurt while playing second base in Game 3 on Tuesday — in what was his second straight start for the two-time defending champions as an extra right-handed bat in their lineup against an opposing left-handed starter.

He said he tweaked his back while fielding a critical ground ball that got the Dodgers out of a fifth-inning jam, then felt continued discomfort after fouling a pitch off in an eighth-inning at-bat that ultimately forced him out of the game.

Rojas was initially optimistic the issue would be minor but woke up on the morning of Game 4 feeling “sore and uncomfortable,” preventing him from partaking in any baseball activities that day.

“Tomorrow we will know a little bit more about where my back is,” he said during the team’s clubhouse celebration on Wednesday night. “Looking forward to being able to play in the next series.”

Though Rojas would likely be back in primarily a bench role for the NLCS (the Brewers have just one left-hander in their playoff rotation), his presence is nonetheless important — as a trusted right-handed bat; a defensive option at second base, third base and shortstop; and a steadying veteran presence in his 13th and likely final big-league season.

“We still have a plane flight, there’s another workout, and there’s no deadline right now; we’re not up against it,” Roberts said. “So we have time to ultimately make that decision.”

Slow news day, eh?

The Atlanta Braves are out, the 2026 NLCS is set and the winner-take-all Game 5 in the ALDS between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians won’t be happening until tomorrow night, so we’re getting a sneak peek at what the offseason is going to feel like. It’s not fun, now is it?

Still, come on in and hang out. If you’ve got predictions for the ALDS, drop ‘em in the comments. If you’re hunkering down in the path of Hurricane Isaias, give us a thumbs up if you’re making it through. If you’re having something fun for dinner, let us know below.

Let’s have a chill evening, folks. Here’s a random clip for you as well: