Miguel Rojas hurt his lower left back and hip in NLDS Game 3, slipping while fielding a Ronald Acuna Jr. grounder in the fifth inning. He played two more defensive innings, came out mid-at-bat in the eighth as the tightness worsened and missed Game 4. The Dodgers have until Sunday to decide whether he is on the NLCS roster.
Dave Roberts sounded cautiously positive Friday. “Today was encouraging. He had imaging, and a lot of it was kind of stuff that he has had prior history,” he said. “There’s nothing definitive, but I will say today was a step in the right direction.” Then the caveat: “You just got to be certain that if we do have [Rojas] on, he can stay healthy.”
The Roster Math Is Tight
Rojas is 37 and re-signed for 2026 on a one-year, $5.5 million deal. He took ground balls and two rounds of batting practice Friday, with another workout scheduled Saturday.
Here is the squeeze. Los Angeles plans to add a 13th pitcher for a seven-game series, which means dropping a position player from the 14-man bench it carried in the NLDS. If Rojas is on, Hyeseong Kim and Josue De Paula, the 21-year-old outfielder who is the organization’s top prospect, are the leading candidates to come off. If Rojas is out or needs managing, Tommy Edman and Kike Hernandez can cover the infield.
So the decision is not really about Rojas. It is about whether the Dodgers want a defensive insurance infielder or a 13th arm against a team that won more games than they did.
Roberts Still Will Not Name a Closer
Edwin Diaz, signed in December on a three-year, $69 million contract, saved NLDS Games 3 and 4 after an inconsistent regular season. Roberts was pleased: “The last two nights, that’s the reason why we acquired a guy like Edwin Diaz.”
He has not given him the job. Tanner Scott had 25 regular-season saves, gave up a two-run homer in NLDS Game 1 and then recorded holds in Games 3 and 4. Evan Phillips converted Game 1 and has one save. Alex Vesia handles left-on-left. Edgardo Henriquez handles right-on-right. And Roki Sasaki, who closed last postseason, started all of 2026 until a blister in August and has made four clean relief appearances since returning.
Flexibility or Indecision
You can read it either way, which is the problem. Six relievers with defined uses is a sophisticated October bullpen. Six relievers and no ninth-inning answer in the middle of October is also how a team ends up using its third-best option in a tie game because the matchup chart said so.
Roberts has won titles doing this. He has also lost games doing this. A $69 million signing who just saved two straight should probably get the title.
What Has Not Been Decided
No announcement on Rojas had been made as of Friday. Diaz’s regular-season numbers and the specifics of his earlier struggles were not in the reporting. Shohei Ohtani’s health was the subject of an AMA on Thursday but its contents are not confirmed, so treat his status as open.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.