Dodgers’ backup plan if either Freddie Freeman, Migual Rojas miss start of NLDS
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas to be ready for the start of the National League Division Series on Saturday. If they can’t go, however, he has a plan.
With Freeman nursing a sprained ankle and Rojas dealing with a left adductor injury, both hope to be on the Dodgers’ roster when they face either the Atlanta Braves or San Diego Padres this weekend.
“I don’t see any reason both those guys don’t get in lineup,” Roberts said, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
If they’re still not ready to go, Roberts said Max Muncy could be an option at first base. Muncy has primarily played third for the Dodgers this season and has only played two games at first since 2022. To get him sharp, Roberts said Muncy will work out at first base while the Dodgers have the week off. Enrique Hernandez would then move to third base.
Shortstop duties, meanwhile, would probably fall to Tommy Edman, who played short 18 times in his abbreviated 37-game regular season.
Regardless of whether Freeman and Rojas are in the lineup for Game 1, Roberts expects both back soon.
“I expect this is a more short-term thing,” he added.
Miguel Rojas has quietly been a valuable piece to the Dodgers’ infield
The Dodgers’ lineup has plenty of firepower, particularly behind Shohei Ohtani’s historic season and Mookie Betts’ return to play in mid-August. It’s all made Rojas’ contributions fly under the radar.
The 35-year-old veteran began playing shortstop regularly for the Dodgers when Betts went down with his injury in June, and as a hitter, he has had arguably the strongest season of his career. In 103 games, Rojas hit .283 with a .748 OPS.
And on a team like the Dodgers, who have the best team OPS in baseball, Rojas has done his part to help the superstars around him. This season, he is hitting .286 with runners on base and .295 with runners in scoring position — especially valuable for someone who typically bats in the middle-to-lower third of the order.
As far as his injury goes, don’t expect it to go away entirely before Saturday. He will need surgery in the offseason to repair the adductor, but in the meantime is managing the pain with cortisone injections.
“It’s something that he’s had all year as far as symptomatically dealing with,” Roberts explained, per Ron Gutterman of Dodger Blue. “He’s determined to make sure he’s ready for the postseason.”
The 2024 MLB playoffs are finally here after the season wrapped up with a doubleheader of playoff-impacting baseball on Monday.
For the third year, the 12-team postseason will kick off with an action-packed wild-card round that starts Tuesday on ESPN, featuring eight teams battling for four spots to advance to the eight-team division series.
The American League playoff picture was wrapped up when the regular season was supposed to end on Sunday, with the Yankees and Guardians taking the top two spots. But the playoff picture in the National League — where the Phillies and Dodgers claimed the top seeds — wasn’t set until the Mets and Braves finished up their two games on Monday. New York and Atlanta split their doubleheader to each clinch a playoff spot (officially eliminating Arizona), and they will head to their respective wild-card opponents in a quick turnaround before Tuesday. What a way to start postseason baseball!
