With just two regular-season games remaining on the docket, there aren’t any critical injuries for the Dodgers that may play a part in the 2019 postseason, but there are a few lingering ailments worth keeping an eye on.
A.J. Pollock was hit on the knee by a pitch in the fifth inning on Friday and was immediately pulled from the game after limping to first base. The early diagnosis was a simple bruise. Skipper Dave Roberts said that he would hold Pollock out of Saturday’s middle game against the Giants; however, he sees no problem with Pollock returning for the season finale on Sunday.
After a bit of a hamstring scare on Thursday and being held out of the lineup on Friday, Corey Seager appeared to be fine in Friday’s opener in San Francisco. At the plate, he went 1-for-4 and recorded his 19th home run of the season. It wouldn’t be surprising not to see Seager in either Saturday or Sunday’s games if only as a precaution.
The team still has not revealed what has been ailing reliever Joe Kelly. The hard-throwing righty has not appeared in a game since September 18. He threw a bullpen session on Friday evening, prompting Roberts to comment on his condition.
“It was really good,” Roberts stated regarding Kelly’s bullpen. “We got out of it what we wanted, just kind of the intensity. The command wasn’t where it needs to be, we expected that. Shape of breaking ball, letting the fastball go, the changeup, using whole mix. Really encouraging.”
Kelly is expected to make an appearance on Sunday.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Roberts also said Rich Hill will start Sunday with a target of three innings. The skipper still would not rule out Hill’s chance of making the postseason roster as a reliever or an “opening” type of option. The veteran lefty’s bullpen on Friday went extremely well.
“Today was the best he’s thrown the baseball, including the games,” Roberts said. “It was electric today.”
Now dealing with stiffness in his back, Justin Turner missed his third consecutive game on Friday. Roberts has reported improvement, though, indicating JT’s absence could be more precautionary than anything else.
“He’s taking a regular day of pregame practice,” Roberts explained. “The hope is to get him back in there tomorrow, but I’ll lean on Justin and the training staff, and if not it’ll be Sunday.”
While Alex Verdugo has officially been ruled out of the NLDS, there’s still a sliver of a chance he could play in the NLCS, should the team advance that far. Still, without logging any actual game time, it could be a struggle for the youngster to battle his way back on the roster this year.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Verdugo said this week. “I love to play. This is my happy place. I’ve always been like that, even when I was a kid. No matter what happened outside the field, I could go out there between the lines and nothing mattered.”
Think Blue Planning Committee 
I really miss Verdugo’s swagger and enthusiasm and his defense. I think the team does as well. But I dont see him making the playoff roster after being out so long.
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Barring injury or massive regression, I really look forward to seeing a full season of Verdugo and Lux in the lineup next year as well as having May and Gonsolin for a full year in some capacity.
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Maybe the 2020 rotation will look something like this:
-Kersh
-Buehler
-Maeda
-May
-Gonsolin
(What happned to all the lefties?)
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It could happen but somehow I think that either Hill or Ryu will be part of the 2020 rotation. Maybe Strip is traded and Gonsolin becomes the swing man for a year or two.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the following traded this winter: Stripling, Maeda, Rios, Beaty, Joc, Garlick, Kike, Yimi, Chargois, Sborz, Floro, Barnes.
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Go fishing with all of them Jefe. Bring back a Trout.
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Just think, if the Angels had Trout in the 90’s or early 2000’s, they would have had an outfield that had both a Trout and a Salmon. Then they could have drafted Cod-y Bellinger.
Boy, I’m feeling the season has run just a few games too long for me.
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Dennis,, what about Urias? He could be our ace by the end of the year!
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And I think either Ryu comes back on a 3 year deal or Hill is back on a 1 year incentive deal.
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And Dodgers need to,redo Maeda’s contract and put him in the pen! His stuff plays much better in shorter stints. With Jansen, Kelly, Baez, Ferguson and Maeda that’s a nice start to a pretty good bullpen. Then May and Gonzo pick up the injury depth
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As backup starters
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But first let’s set a franchise records for wins tomorrow and go win ourselves a WS!!!!!!
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But first let’s go set a franchise record for wins tomorrow and then win ourselves a WS!!!!!!
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Jansen shaky again. With a 2 run lead he came within one pitch of losing the game, but, closed it out for the Save.
I guess we are ready. Turner should be ok. Verdugo will miss at least the first series. Houston owns the tie breaker. We are currently up on the Yankees, and they are about to lose so, they won’t catch us.
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