Dodgers: 3 players who could be left off playoff roster

2. Andrew Vasquez

Somehow, the Dodgers managed to finagle their Aug. 31/Sept. 1 trade for Twins lefty Andrew Vasquez under the deadline, allowing the pitcher to be postseason eligible, if things came down to it. We’re not sure how it happened, either.

What’s even stranger? Vasquez got a fairly extensive early showcase immediately after joining the Dodgers. He was thrust into the fire twice against their most heated rival, the massively disruptive San Francisco Giants, and emerged with flying colors twice.

Vasquez pitched to three batters in the bottom of the 10th inning on Sept. 3, with LA briefly leading 2-1. That was his Dodgers debut. Brandon Crawford singled to score the unearned garbage run that Rob Manfred gave the Giants for free, but then he retired Thairo Estrada and whiffed Mike Yastrzemski with the winning run on third.

Evan Phillips fared far worse, losing the game the very next inning. Also, Shane Greene pitched a bunch in that game. Shane Greene! Ha! Remember him?

His next appearance came in a series-ending loss in San Francisco two days later; the lefty threw a perfect eighth inning, striking out two.

And now, in the three weeks since then, we haven’t heard a peep from him. Not a peep! Not a squeak. Not a scream. Nothing.

It seems fairly clear the Dodgers won’t be considering Vasquez for their playoff roster, which is odd, considering he already succeeded in two pseudo-playoff games on the road against the team they’re chasing.