8 Dodgers players who won't be back after suffering humiliating NLCS sweep by Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers proved that the Los Angeles Dodgers are not infallible on Thursday night, when they swept the two-time champions out of the postseason to advance to their first World Series since 1982.

It's going to take Dodgers players a second to regroup from this stunner, but the front office will have to get back to work immediately trying to figure out what went wrong and how to restore the team to full power in 2027.

A considerable chunk of LA's roster is made up of players on long-term deals, but a handful are either entering free agency or should be shown the door ahead of Opening Day.

8 Dodgers who won't be back after being trampled by the Brewers in NLCS

Blake Treinen, Dodgers pitcher

Treinen went onto the IL on the last day of the regular season after feeling his shoulder flare up during warmups on September 26. Although the Dodgers teased a return later in the postseason, they either scrapped the idea entirely or didn't make it deep enough in the playoffs for him to come back.

Treinen, 38, has yet to announce his intentions regarding retirement, but the writing is on the wall. Entering free agency, he's only managed to pitch 29⅔ innings this season between injuries. The Dodgers are loyal; sometimes to a fault. But with an older roster, LA needs to let him go even if he wants to stay in the game.

Evan Phillips, Dodgers pitcher

The Dodgers re-signed Phillips to a one-year, $6.5 million deal during the offseason. It was kind of a head-scratching move after he underwent Tommy John in May 2025 and was non-tendered at the end of the season. The Dodgers knew he wouldn't be back by Opening Day but, and to his credit, he bounced back relatively quickly and was pitching again by July 7.

But he's no longer the miraculous reclamation project the Dodgers picked up off of the Rays' scrapheap in 2021. Though only 32 years old, Phillips' case is similar to Treinen's. The Dodgers roster needs to get younger.

Miguel Rojas, Dodgers infielder

Rojas has flipped-flopped on retirement a few times over the course of the season. During his last update, he said he would consider a return if the Dodgers offered him a contract, but he wouldn't play for any other team. That's a big 'if.'

If this postseason taught the Dodgers anything, it's that Father Time comes for us all. Injuries have plagued all parts of the roster progressively throughout the year, and the wear-and-tear of a 162-game season showed during the month of October. Rojas will always be remembered for his home run in Game 7 of last year's World Series, but it's time to move on.

His retirement after Game 4 on Thursday night made this inevitability a mutual one.

Kris Bubic, Dodgers pitcher

Picking up Bubic from the Kansas City Royals at the trade deadline was a fine idea — they were confident he would be ready for the postseason, and the bullpen needed the boost — but his failures in the postseason should prompt the Dodgers to let him walk in free agency.

In Game 3 of the NLDS, LA's only loss of that series, he gave up a go-ahead run on a wild pitch. In Game 2 of the NLCS, he gave up a game-tying homer to William Contreras. Someone will sign him and probably turn him back into a starter, but he's looking pretty extraneous for the Dodgers.

Eric Lauer, Dodgers pitcher

Lauer has (sort of) overstayed his welcome in LA. While it was nice to pick up a former World Series foe and remake him into a viable swingman, Andrew Friedman lost the gamble to stick with him when he went onto the IL with elbow inflammation in early September and didn't return for the postseason.

Like Bubic, Lauer was just a stopgap. The Dodgers tend to take a few of these on per season to paper over cracks left by injuries. Occasionally, one of them sticks — but Lauer shouldn't.

Brusdar Graterol, Dodgers pitcher

It's a minor miracle that the Dodgers haven't non-tendered Graterol. He's only pitched 7⅓ innings since 2024. Receiving a piece of bad news on his health is essentially a spring training ritual at this point. The injury history should make him pretty cheap in free agency (he made $2.8 million this season to avoid arbitration), but LA has spent long enough waiting on him to get healthy.

Alex Call, Dodgers outfielder

Call could present the Dodgers with a small conundrum going into the offseason. He's still highly controllable and inexpensive, but he was left off of both the NLDS and NLCS rosters in favor of Josue De Paula, who the Dodgers are no doubt going to want to give more runway in 2027.

LA could deal Teoscar Hernández for a respectable package, which would allow the Dodgers to put De Paula in left field on a regular basis, but it seems more likely that Call is dealt to ease their No. 1 prospect into defensive duties slower as a fourth outfielder.

Tarik Skubal, Dodgers pitcher

Skubal's free agency will be the story of the season (other than, you know, the lockout). Although it's likely he and Scott Boras attempt to move quickly and get him signed before the CBA expires and the Dodgers are widely seen as the favorites to keep, the New York Mets aren't going to make it easy on them. Per Chelsea Janes of SNY, the Mets are gearing up to match any offer Skubal receives in free agency.

They'll probably have to go even higher if they want to tempt Skubal away from LA, but they may be desperate enough to do it. For his part, Skubal has stayed mum on his prospects and stuck to a neutral "I've really enjoyed my time here." The Dodgers are still the frontrunners, anything could happen before he puts pen to paper.

Add us as a preferred source on Google