The Dodgers announced their roster for the National League Division Series earlier today, and the only thing resembling a surprise — after reserve outfielder Justin Ruggiano said he was in Thursday — lay in the final bullpen spots.
Maybe the biggest surprise was the exclusion of pitcher Carlos Frias, who had allowed one run in eight innings after returning from a back injury in September.
“Carlos was really kind of a long man,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We looked to him for some length, but also could get guys out. He’s a little bit like Juan (Nicasio) — kind of had trouble with the lefties over the course of the year. But, again, with our combination of guys, how we look at possibly how this series kind of works itself out, we had — it was a tough choice, actually, but we didn’t feel like we were going to need that length.”
Alex Wood said two days ago that he would begin the series in the bullpen. He’s really the only other option as a long reliever, so Mattingly’s remarks only reinforce the notion that the club is leaning toward using Clayton Kershaw on short rest in an if-necessary Game 4 next Tuesday in New York.
As for Nicasio, the Dodgers can replace his innings with another hard-throwing right-hander accustomed to short stints, Pedro Baez. Baez has been almost equally good this season against lefties (who have slashed .255/.304/.431 against him) and righties (.245/.282/.396).
“Just kind of more the match-ups with the Mets as far as their combination of how they line up in left, right, back and forth,” Mattingly said. “Juan struggled with the lefties. We didn’t really feel like we were ever going to get sections against (the Mets’ lineup) that you’re going to get a number of righties together. Different team, different set of circumstances.
“It could have easily have been Juan. Just more about feeling like the other guys were better against their combination of guys.”