LOS ANGELES, CA—The Dodgers finally snapped their season-high losing streak Monday, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding the club as they enter a crucial stretch of the season.
Dave Roberts challenged his team to find more “urgency” and “focus,” while reinforcements are on the way with Blake Snell returning and Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith continuing their respective injury recoveries.
With October approaching, here’s the latest on the Dodgers’ roster, rotation and playoff push.
With the Dodgers Spiraling, Roberts Delivered a Blunt Message and Challenged His Team to Turn Things Around
With the Dodgers mired in a brutal stretch and a crucial seven-game homestand ahead, Dave Roberts delivered a blunt message to his team before Monday’s series opener.
Los Angeles had dropped eight of its previous nine games, and Roberts pointed directly to a lack of “urgency” and “focus” as issues that needed to change. The Dodgers have also seen their grip on a top-two National League playoff seed slip, putting a first-round bye increasingly in jeopardy.
Roberts acknowledged just how quickly the situation can change if the Dodgers don’t turn things around.
“Kind of thinking about it on the plane yesterday,” Roberts said, “we’re a wild-card team right now. We gotta get going.”
Roberts was particularly frustrated with an offense that has struggled for much of the last two months, especially against the increased fastball usage opponents have deployed against the Dodgers.
“It never feels good to be bullied,” Roberts said. “And to know that teams go after us with the fastball more than any team in baseball, that’s bothersome. That would bother me.”
Roberts also took responsibility for the Dodgers’ 9-15 stretch over their last 24 games, saying it was on him to raise the team’s intensity and potentially start “managing more urgently.”
“Everyone’s trying,” he said. “But I think the effort could still be enhanced and improved and more focused. So yeah, I think it’s just a reminder. A good reminder. There’s plenty of time. We’re still plenty good. But we gotta play like it.”
The offense is an obvious place to start. While the Dodgers rank fourth in MLB in runs and second in OPS this season, they are 24th and 21st, respectively, since the start of July.
The offense came together during Monday’s 6-5 win over the Royals, including a clutch bases-clearing double from Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman’s go-ahead RBI single in the 7th.
Still, there is plenty of baseball left for the landscape of the National League postseason picture to change, and if Los Angeles wants to be in the best position possible to three-peat, they’ll need to take Roberts words to heart over the final month plus.
Glasnow Is Getting Closer, but There Are Still a Few Key Milestones to Clear Before He Rejoins the Dodgers
During this current lull, one part of the team that has not been lacking is the starting pitching, and coming into Tuesday, that depth is going to get even better with the activation of left-hander Blake Snell.
However, down the line, the Dodgers, just as last year, will activate not only Snell but right-hander Tyler Glasnow, hoping that both stars can be healthy for yet another deep October run.
Glasnow, who is a bit further behind than Snell, pitched his second rehab game on August 9th, where the tall righty punched out two batters in 2.2 innings of work for the Oklahoma City Comets in Triple-A.
While the team initially had optimism that Glasnow could be activated after a third rehab start, that is no longer the case, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts laying out the road map for his starters' soon-to-be activation.
Glasnow’s next rehab outing is expected to last four innings and around 60 pitches. From there, the Dodgers plan to build him up to five innings and roughly 75 pitches. If all goes according to plan, Glasnow could be nearing a return to the major-league rotation.
Roberts further elaborated that Glasnow would be activated after he completes three more rehab starts, which gives him another three to complete. That timetable would push a late-August or early September return, which makes sense as rosters expand to 28 players on September 1st.
Eric Lauer Set for Another Start Wednesday, Could Rejoin Dodgers Bullpen Afterward
While Snell is set to come off the 60-day IL today, left-hander Eric Lauer is slated to follow on Wednesday with yet another start.
Lauer’s role has been in purgatory, as the acquisition of Tarik Skubal and Snell’s activation should push him out of the rotation and to the bullpen as a bulkman, but that is yet to be the case as the team keeps a six-man rotation.
That roster shuffling was why Lauer’s name was on the trade block leading up to the deadline; however, a deal was unable to take shape, leaving Lauer on the roster.
Still, the lefty has been serviceable on the Dodgers despite a recent hiccup in Chicago where he was tagged for six earned runs. Prior to that, Lauer posted a sub-three ERA, and the team was 9-0 in games he appeared in.
Lauer’s status will likely stay in limbo for the rest of the regular season, especially due to the recent struggles of left-hander Justin Wrobleski, who is over his career high in innings pitched, and the status of Shohei Ohtani's left knee still uncertain.
However, when Glasnow and Ohtani return to the mound, expect Lauer to shift roles, possibly piggybacking off Ohtani as he works his way back up.
It’s a Big Week for Will Smith as He Works His Way Back From a Season-Altering Neck Injury
It will be a massive week for All-Star catcher Will Smith, who continues to work his way back from a lingering neck injury as the right-handed hitter is expected to take on field batting practice this week.
Dave Roberts confirmed as much and said it’s encouraging that his backstop is pain-free heading into the homestand, as they hope to get him back by September.
“Will is supposed to do some flips on the field today, do some throwing, the weight room stuff,” Roberts said. “Each day it’s been better.”
That should allow the Dodgers to begin advancing Smith toward more meaningful hitting work as he continues his recovery. Roberts emphasized that this week could be an important one for the veteran catcher.
“This is going to be a big week for Will,” Roberts said. “My expectation is that he should be taking some pitching, some coaches batting practice at some point in time this week.”
Roberts did not provide a specific timetable for Smith’s return to the lineup, and there are still several steps he must clear before he is ready to rejoin the Dodgers. However, progressing to the point where he can face more realistic pitching would mark another significant step forward in his recovery.
The Dodgers have had to piece things together behind the plate in Smith’s absence, with Hunter Feduccia and Ben Rortvedt currently handling the catching duties. Getting Smith back into more advanced hitting work this week would provide the Dodgers with an encouraging indication that his return is beginning to come into focus.