The National League Wild Card series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the snuck-in-through-the-back-door Cincinnati Reds begins later today, and both teams have submitted their rosters for the series. In the case of the Dodgers, having had the ungodly amount of pitching injuries they have had to deal with all season, they have had to make some calls regarding their excess of players, and the constant state of flux from balancing all the injured list situations.
On the pitching staff, the Dodgers have opted to bring only 11 players to the series, meaning no spot was available for Anthony Banda. Despite having by far the best season of his career, pitching to a 3.18 ERA across 71 outings, the journeyman left-hander loses out on a spot in favor of keeping 15 position players around, including third-string catcher Ben Rortvedt, brought along for the ride due to the injury-related uncertainty of Will Smith’s status.
Even with 15 position players, though, the Dodgers still had to make some cuts. And so despite appearing in 138 regular season games – including starting 122 in left field – the team made the surprise decision to leave veteran Michael Conforto off the roster.
Conforto’s Season-Long Slump
To be sure, 2025 absolutely has not been Conforto’s best season. His first season as a Dodger was also his worst as a professional – across 486 at-bats, he hit for only a .199 batting average and a .333 slugging percentage, never fully getting going after a terrible first half. Some bad luck with his batting average on balls in play notwithstanding, he never found his timing at the plate.
Conforto also is better against left-handed pitching, and the Dodgers should not expect to see much of that. Although Andrew Abbott is slated to pitch Game Three of the series, staff ace Hunter Greene and mid-season pick-up Zack Littell, two righties, will start the first two games of the series. The only regular left-handed Reds reliever is Brent Suter, and although regular starter Nick Lodolo will move down to the pen, the Dodgers can expect to see a barrage of righties.
It is nevertheless a surprise to see Conforto be dropped at this juncture, given Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’s loyalty to him throughout the season.
Dodgers Make Latest Possible Switch
One player who did make the roster is Alex Call. The veteran outfielder, who turned 31 this week, appeared in 38 games with the Dodgers after being picked up in a trade from the Washington Nationals at the deadline, and played as a depth option at both corner outfield spots. Even though Conforto had the starting left field spot up to and including the final game of the regular season, his backup just took his place.
The roster flexibility created by Shohei Ohtani’s ability to fulfil so many roles allows the Dodgers to take one extra position player, and yet still Conforto did not make the cut. The surprise is not that Conforto was deemed surplus to requirements as the roster got smaller and the rotation got shallower; instead, it is the fact that it took until now to do it.
Teams can change their postseason rosters after every round, and thus if the Dodgers win the series, Conforto can come back. Despite making the roster, Call should not be expected to play much. But if he is now considered of more value to the Dodgers this week, why was he not also deemed so for the last month?
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