Dodgers Announce World Series Roster Against Astros

The city of Los Angeles is buzzing today. The anticipation of 29 years without playing in the World Series has all of Los Angeles rallying behind the Dodgers this October.

Hours before first pitch, the Dodgers announced their World Series roster. There are a few key notable changes for Dave Roberts, including the return of the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Corey Seager. Dave Roberts chose to go with a more balanced roster, selecting 12 pitchers and 13 position players. The roster breakdown is below.

Pitchers (12)

Starters (4)

Clayton Kershaw – LHP

Rich Hill – LHP

Yu Darvish – RHP

Alex Wood – LHP

Bullpen(8)

Kenley Jansen – RHP

Brandon Morrow – RHP

Kenta Maeda – RHP

Josh Fields – RHP

Ross Stripling – RHP

* Brandon McCarthy -RHP

Tony Watson – LHP

Tony Cingrani – LHP

Position Players (13)

Infield (8)

Austin Barnes – C/2B

Yasmani Grandal – C

Cody Bellinger – 1B

Logan Forsythe – 2B

Chase Utley – 2B

* Corey Seager – SS

Charlie Culberson – INF

Justin Turner – 3B

Outfield (5)

Andre Ethier – LF

Kike Hernandez – UTL

Chris Taylor – CF/SS

Joc Pederson – CF

Yasiel Puig – RF

The two new additions to the World Series roster is the return of Corey Seager and Brandon McCarthy.

Corey Seager was expected to return to the roster after taking the NLCS off and rehabbing an ailing back injury. He stood in Los Angeles when the Dodgers traveled to Chicago and continued to work on drills to strengthen his back. Keeping Seager off the NLCS roster was the right move by management. It gave Seager time to rest and also allowed him to be eligible to return this World Series. If Seager had been active on the NLCS and had tweaked his back in the series, he would NOT have been eligible to be on the World Series roster. Fortunately, the Dodgers were able to power through the Cubs and get Seager some rest.

The interesting move is Brandon McCarthy. The Astros have a righty dominated lineup with five of their eight starters being right handed and the other (Marwin Gonzalez) being a switch hitter. Dave Roberts elected to go with another right-handed arm out of the bullpen opposed to a position player to neutralize the Astros offense. Dave Roberts was able to leave off a position player because the Dodgers will also be playing at least two games in Houston, which will allow them to use a Designated Hitter. Starting a lineup with a DH allows Roberts to carefully place position players in the game, and doesn’t require having to do double switches or pinch hit for pitchers.

Brandon McCarthy hasn’t pitched since October 1st in the regular season and missing about two months of the regular season with a dislocated non-throwing shoulder. McCarthy has never pitched in the postseason in his 12-year career.

Next: Who has the Starting Pitching Edge?

The two players left off the World Series roster are Curtis Granderson and Kyle Farmer. Culberson edged out Farmer because of his performance in the NLCS and as a protection to Corey Seager’s back. It’s possible that Culberson starts some games in Houston and Seager is the Dodgers’ DH.

Granderson has really struggled to deliver since becoming a Dodger. He still does not have a postseason hit, and Andre Ethier has looked far better with his at-bats. What do you think about the roster? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook!

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