LOS ANGELES — Before the bullpen gates even opened for the first time in the World Series, the Dodgers’ relief corps took two steps forward and one step back.
Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol both returned from injuries and were added to the active roster. However, Evan Phillips was left off the roster due to shoulder fatigue.
“Obviously not having Evan available for this series certainly is disappointing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Game 1 against the New York Yankees on Friday. “We’ve got to make sure we protect him – short term, long term. But being able to add Brusdar and Alex to this roster is a huge addition. I think they match up well with this ball club, and they’ve got experience.
“So I think that obviously losing Evan was a blow, but getting two nice additions is big.”
Phillips pitched the sixth inning of Game 6 in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, walking back-to-back batters before escaping the inning. He was supposed to go back out for the seventh inning and face right-handed hitter Starling Marte. But Phillips’ shoulder tightened up and he didn’t go back out.
An MRI showed no structural damage to his shoulder but Phillips continued to have fatigue in the days leading up to the World Series.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the deciding factor in leaving Phillips off the roster was the rules governing injury replacements during the World Series.
“The way the Major League Baseball injury rule is written, we wouldn’t be able to replace him in that it was something that was pre-existing,” Friedman said.
Phillips led the Dodgers with 18 saves this season and pitched 6⅔ scoreless innings over the course of the NL Division Series against the Padres and the NLCS.
“Obviously, Evan has been a huge part of the success we’ve had in the bullpen,” Friedman said. “Even more than the talent of Evan, just the amount that he has poured into this, it’s hard for him not to be a part of this. I know he’s going to do everything he can with the guys in the ’pen to get them ready, but obviously it’s really disappointing.”
Vesia (rib injury) and Graterol (shoulder) both faced hitters during the Dodgers’ workouts in the days leading up to the World Series.
Graterol made just seven appearances during the regular season due to a recurring shoulder problem and a hamstring injury. He has not pitched in a game since Sept. 24. It remains to be seen if he will be able to pitch on back-to-back days or more than one inning in an outing.
“He’s healthy,” Friedman said. “He’s been building back up. He’s faced hitters. He’s up to 97 (mph). He’s bounced back well. Stuff’s in a good place.”
ROJAS RETURN
The Dodgers also added shortstop Miguel Rojas back to the active roster and dropped outfielder Kevin Kiermaier.
Rojas has been playing with a strained adductor muscle for weeks and expects to have surgery to address the injury during the offseason. He aggravated it during the NLDS and was left off the roster for the NLCS. But Rojas participated in the Dodgers’ full workout Wednesday and was cleared to return.
Roberts said Rojas will be in the starting lineup for Game 2 against Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón. Other than that, he will be available to pinch-hit or be a late-game defensive replacement.
Rojas’ return won’t affect utility man Kiké Hernandez’s playing time. Roberts said Hernandez will be in the lineup each game.
FREEMAN STATUS
Because he did not play Game 6 of the NLCS, Freddie Freeman has had a full week off to rest and treat his injured right ankle.
“He’s kind of in the position he was when he started the DS (because of the down) time before that series,” Roberts said. “We’re all just sort of hoping that we’ve got out of the woods and we can kind of maintain where he’s at now – because what happened as the (NLDS) series progressed, prolonged, then it went south.
“Right now he’s in a good spot so we’re just hoping that we can kind of sustain it.”
Freeman finished the NLCS with just one hit in his last 15 at-bats and hasn’t had an extra-base hit since injuring his ankle on Sept. 26.
“I feel pretty good walking and I feel okay hitting,” Freeman said earlier this week. “It’s all the more movement stuff of running and stuff like that.
“When you get hurt, I think every day away from that injury, and every day you treat it, it’s only going to be better. So I’m hoping that these pretty much six, seven days that I will have off – because I didn’t play in the last one – will be what I need to be able to go.”
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