The Dodgers might be getting some reinforcements on the roster for the World Series.
Left-hander Alex Vesia, who missed the National League Championship Series after suffering an intercostal injury in Game 5 of the NL Division Series, said he is “90% sure” he’ll be active for the Fall Classic, having completed bullpen sessions over the last week and a 15-pitch live batting practice session Wednesday.
“I’m very confident that with how I felt [Wednesday] night, I’ll be even better when I go out with some adrenaline in my system facing some Yankees,” Vesia said.
Shortstop Miguel Rojas is also in line to be active for the World Series after missing the NLCS with a nagging adductor injury, one that had sidelined him since Game 3 of the NLDS.
“Everything looks really good,” manager Dave Roberts said of Rojas. “I think there’s a really good possibility he’ll be on the roster.”
The Dodgers dodged another bullet in the NLCS, too.
In Game 6 on Sunday, Evan Phillips was limited to only one inning of work — in a situation where it would have made sense for him to pitch two — because of what he described as “arm fatigue” typical for pitchers this late in the season.
The issue arose after his previous outing in Game 4 in New York. “I just didn’t bounce back well after that game,” Phillips said. “It was more of the same the other night.”
However, Phillips said he has been focused on his recovery this week and has “no worries” about his availability for the World Series.
“The decision the other night,” he said, “just came down to making a smart decision to keep me available.”
The other roster move the Dodgers were considering on the eve of Game 1: Potentially activating hard-throwing right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol, whom Roberts said has been trending in the right direction from a shoulder injury that cost him four months at the start of the season, and flared up again in late September.
Roberts said the fact that Graterol has pitched only seven times in the regular season will be “part of the math.” But, he added of a pitcher with a 1.64 career postseason ERA, “the other part is his track record in the postseason, how good he’s been.”
“We’re gonna have some difficult conversations,” Roberts said of his sudden roster backlog. “But on the pitching side, we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”