The Dodgers sent infielder Ryan Fitzgerald outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week when they finalized their one-year deal with Andy Ibáñez. The Dodgers still need to make a 40-man roster move once they announce the Kyle Tucker contract. Los Angeles will keep Fitzgerald around as non-roster depth. The lefty-hitting utilityman hadn't cleared outright waivers before, nor does he have the three years of MLB service to elect free agency.
Had Vesia been placed on the family medical emergency list or bereavement, MLB roster rules would have dictated he miss a minimum of three days but no more than seven. It could have amounted to Vesia joining the Dodgers as soon as Game 3 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. But given the situation Vesia and his family are navigating, the Dodgers chose to respect the human aspect over their pursuit of back-to-back World Series titles.
The Dodgers don't yet know whether they'll be heading to Milwaukee to face the Brewers or welcoming the Cubs into Dodger Stadium for Monday's series opener of the NLCS, but that's not stopping them from making plans for the series. In particular, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including MLB.com's Sonja Chen) this afternoon that he expects the club to carry at least one more pitcher on their roster for the upcoming series after carrying 11 (plus Shohei Ohtani) in the NLDS against the Phillies.
Los Angeles made two changes to the roster that swept the Reds in two games during the wild card round. Kershaw and Banda join the fray in place of left-hander Justin Wrobleski and right-hander Edgardo Henriquez. There was no doubt Kershaw would be returning to action after sitting out the Reds series, though in his final postseason appearance, Kershaw is slated to pitch in a relief capacity rather than in a starter's role.
The Dodgers surprised many when they got creative for their 2025 NLWCS roster, jettisoning some who many assumed were locks, and the performance of those that did make the roster in that series - both good and bad - makes the selection for the upcoming 2025 NLDS somewhat interesting due to the possibilities being endless. Arguably a more entertaining point of discussion is how to align the rotation.
"The pending returns of the injured players will jeopardize the roster spot of Michael Conforto, whom the Dodgers signed last offseason to a one-year, $17 million contract," Rosenthal writes. "Conforto, manager Dave Roberts' "pick to click" during spring training, is batting .183 with a .606 OPS." Entering Sunday's series finale, LA's left field ranked 23rd in OPS. The hope is that the return of several position players gives the Dodgers more flexibility in order to help address the glaring hole in the outfield.
