The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their quest to win the 2020 World Series today by starting a best-of-seven series against the Atlanta Braves in Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
The Dodgers on Wednesday morning announced their 28-man player roster for the opening round of the 2020 playoffs, which begins Wednesday evening against the Brewers at Dodger Stadium.
While we all know that there’s a very good chance the Dodgers walk away with the National League’s top playoff seed, what we don’t know is how the team will put together its starting playoff rotation.
While it’s probably entirely too early to start projecting how the exact 2020 postseason roster might look for the Dodgers, it’s not too soon to think about how the team might go about building it.
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.
While some fans of the Dodgers feel that the remaining three regular-season games against the Giants don’t mean much, there’s still plenty of roster spots up for grabs heading into the NLDS. Furthermore, many eyes will be on the American League scoreboard, as the outcomes involving the Yankees and the Astros could have bearings on the Los Angeles schedule down the road.
Besides the discussions about how close the Dodgers and the Braves are for home-field advantage throughout the National league playoffs, one other hot topic gaining momentum is which players will be included on the Los Angeles NLDS roster to begin the postseason.
At the rate his recovery was going more than a month ago, many pundits felt that it would be tough for veteran Rich Hill to build up his arm enough to contribute as a starter for the Dodgers during the 2019 postseason.
As there’s still a ton of work to be done before a playoff spot is secure, the Dodgers can at least take solace in the fact that they control their own destiny, while not needing to depend on anyone else for help during the final few regular season games. That being said, the magic number is five with five games remaining on the schedule—two more against the Diamondbacks and three against the Giants in San Francisco. They won’t be easy contests by any means, but at the same time, Los Angeles certainly has the talent to win all five if they need to.