Ahead of the final regular season series for the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts had some answers for integral questions regarding the playoff pitching staff.
First, he shed some light on the status of rookie right handers Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May.
Roberts said it’s possible both rookies Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin could make a postseason roster.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) September 28, 2019
Usually with Dave, an “it’s possible” often leads to a “they’re on.” Over the last week — and especially in the San Diego series — it became very apparent that May had moved up the chart in terms of relief options in October. After a rough beginning to his relief career, he has rebounded to toss 9 consecutive scoreless innings over 7 outings. Moreover, May has allowed only 5 hits and 1 walk against 13 strikeouts.
Gonsolin could make the roster as a long reliever, but would likely be viewed as a contingency plan for Rich Hill. The veteran Hill is penciled in as the likely game 4 starter, but much of that is contingent on his final outing of the regular season on Sunday.
As it stands, the Dodger are quickly running out of room on the 25 man roster. Roberts reiterated the fact that the club will carry 12 pitchers for the division series.
Roberts repeated that he intends to have nine relievers plus starters Kershaw, Buehler and Ryu for the NLDS.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) September 28, 2019
I broke down the up-to-date expected roster as of Tuesday here, but from the looks of it, creating room for May, Gonsolin, and Hill may cause the manager to re-neg on his stance with Ross Stripling’s roster spot.
One concern — and potential open roster spot — has been Joe Kelly’s status of late. However, he put some concerns to bed on Friday afternoon.
Joe Kelly threw a bullpen session here in Northern California, as coaches and executives watched. He survived it.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) September 27, 2019
Kelly has suffered from… well, he doesn’t really know, but it has limited him to only 4.1 innings in the month of September. Roberts maintains that Kelly would be pitching if it were meaningful games, but a dominant run by Los Angeles afforded the opportunity for patience.
The NLDS starts on Thursday, October 3.
