The Los Angeles Dodgers have released their official 26-man roster for the National League Division Series, which begins on Saturday as the Dodgers take on the San Diego Padres.
The roster begins with 13 pitchers, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, Michael Grove, Michael Kopech, Landon Knack, Daniel Hudson, Edgardo Henriquez, Anthony Banda, and Ryan Brasier.
As expected, Shohei Ohtani comes in as the designated hitter, and Austin Barnes and Will Smith are tabbed as catchers. Freddie Freeman, Gavin Lux, Max Muncy, and Miguel Rojas are listed as infielders, Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Chris Taylor, and Kiké Hernández are listed as infielder/outfielders, and Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages are strictly designated as outfielders.
There were three notable players left off of the roster — Clayton Kershaw, Joe Kelly, and Kevin Kiermaier. Kershaw's absence from the roster wasn't necessarily a surprise because he has been dealing with a toe injury and was not necessarily expected to play during this series.
Kershaw sustained his toe injury on Aug. 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has a bone spur in his toe and has yet to face live batters. Kershaw only started seven games for the Dodgers this season, as he missed the beginning of a season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. During those starts, Kershaw went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts.
The Dodgers left Kelly off the roster despite him coming back at the end of the season from injury. Kelly had a shoulder injury late in the season, but returned on Sept. 18. He appeared in four games after his return from injury, allowing one earned run across 4.1 innings.
Kelly has not been as consistent as he usually is overall on the season, posting a 4.78 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 35 games. The Dodgers have decided to go another way, putting Edgardo Henriquez on the roster instead.
The absence of Kiermaier is also somewhat surprising. However, Kiermaier has not been amazing at the plate recently. He hit just .167 games in September, only recording three total hits over 18 at-bats during the month. Instead, the Dodgers will rely on their other outfielders against the Padres.
