The Los Angeles Dodgers will be facing the New York Yankees in a best-of-seven World Series starting on Friday night in LA. They have left behind some really solid teams like the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets, but the Yanks will be their toughest challenge yet in terms of roster depth and quality.
Dodgers announce 26-man roster for the World Series
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced his 26-man roster on Friday with 13 pitchers.
Brusdar Graterol and Alex Vesia are among those 13 hurlers, immediately giving an already strong bullpen a huge boost. Graterol left behind a bout of shoulder inflammation to make his return in the most important series of the season after missing the matchups against the Padres and Dodgers.
Vesia, one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball without making too much noise, suffered an intercostal injury in Game 5 of the NL Division Series against San Diego. That forced him of the Championship Series, but he was deemed healthy enough to be included for the Fall Classic.
The Dodgers will badly miss Evan Phillips
However, everything wasn’t perfect for Roberts and the Dodgers as they won’t be able to have Evan Phillips. The right-hander had to depart his Game 6 outing of the NL Championship Series against the Mets with arm fatigue, and wasn’t able to reach full health ahead of the series against the Yanks.
The 30-year-old being out represents a punch in the gut for Roberts and Dodgers fans. He had posted a 3.62 ERA in 54.2 frames this year, but his ERA checked in at 2.05 last year.
The Dodgers did get back infielder Miguel Rojas, who has a tear in his adductor and will need surgery after the season. For now, he will gut it out and give LA a nice glove with some offensive upside, likely from the bench.
