Miguel Rojas takes 'step in the right direction' but NLCS roster status still unresolved

Miguel Rojas is moving in the right direction. Whether he is moving toward an NLCS roster spot is still an open question.

MLB.com's Courtney Hollmon reported that Rojas has taken a "step in the right direction" in his recovery, though the Los Angeles Dodgers are still awaiting further evaluation before making any determination on his postseason roster status. No timetable has been attached to that decision, and no announcement has been made.

What happened

Per MLB.com, Rojas is recovering from an injury and has shown enough progress to prompt cautious optimism, but the Dodgers have not yet committed to a roster decision ahead of the NLCS. The phrasing — "step in the right direction" — is the kind of language that keeps a door open without walking through it, and the club appears content to let the evaluation process run its course before closing anything.

Why it matters

Roster construction for a postseason series is one of the more consequential puzzles a front office and manager face, and it gets more complicated when a player's availability is genuinely uncertain. The Dodgers are preparing to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, with Game 1 on the horizon, and every roster slot carries weight when the margin for error narrows to a best-of-seven.

Rojas is a veteran infielder whose defensive versatility and experience in high-leverage situations give him a particular kind of roster value — the sort that is easy to overlook until the moment you need it. Whether that value makes it onto the active roster depends entirely on what the next evaluation reveals.

The Dodgers have been managing a layered set of health questions throughout this postseason run. A week removed from the NLDS, Freddie Freeman's knee was reported to be feeling better as he heated up at the plate, per earlier coverage. Shohei Ohtani's second-half offensive struggles were tied to injury concerns as well, per reporting during the NLDS. The Rojas situation adds another thread to a roster picture that has required ongoing attention from Dave Roberts and the front office.

Where the club stands

The Dodgers finished the regular season at 100-62 (.617), first in the NL West, and enter the NLCS on a three-game winning streak. That record reflects a team that built enough of a cushion to absorb adversity — and has needed to.

The upcoming schedule places the Dodgers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Sunday, October 11, with Tarik Skubal listed as the probable starter against a Brewers pitcher to be determined. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the probable for Monday, October 12, also in Milwaukee. The series then shifts to UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium for Wednesday, October 14.

Skubal, who was acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline, made his first postseason start for Los Angeles in NLDS Game 1 against the Braves, per earlier Posterior Wire coverage. He is back on the mound to open the NLCS.

Is Rojas on the NLCS roster?

No announcement has been made. Per MLB.com, the Dodgers are still awaiting further evaluation before making a roster decision. The "step in the right direction" characterization suggests progress, but it does not constitute a roster inclusion — or exclusion.

In postseason play, clubs submit their roster for each series, and those rosters can differ from round to round within the limits of league rules. That flexibility gives the Dodgers some room to wait on Rojas's evaluation without foreclosing the option entirely. General postseason roster mechanics allow clubs to make adjustments for documented injuries, which means the timeline on a decision may track closely with whatever the next round of evaluation produces.

The numbers

The Dodgers' 100-62 (.617) mark placed them atop the NL West and gave them home-field advantage through the National League bracket. They carry that standing into a series against Milwaukee, where the first two games will be played before the action returns to Dodger Stadium.

What we don't know yet

The nature and specifics of Rojas's injury have not been detailed in the reporting. No diagnosis, no timetable, and no indication of what "further evaluation" entails or when it is expected to conclude. MLB.com's Courtney Hollmon reported the progress without attaching a deadline to the decision, which means the Dodgers' hand may not be shown until roster submission is required.

It is also unclear how the club would configure its infield depth if Rojas is not available. Dave Roberts has demonstrated a willingness to shuffle his lineup — dropping Andy Pages to ninth amid a postseason slump and moving Ohtani to fifth for NLDS Game 3, per earlier coverage — but those are lineup decisions, not roster construction. The two are related only in the sense that who is on the roster determines who Roberts has to work with.

What to watch

The Rojas evaluation is the obvious thread to follow as the NLCS approaches. Any update from the club — in either direction — will clarify the roster picture before Milwaukee. Given that no timetable has been offered, the next meaningful signal is likely to come either from a club announcement or from the roster submission itself.

Beyond Rojas, the Dodgers' offensive construction will be worth monitoring. Roberts has already shown he is not locked into any particular lineup configuration, and with Ohtani's second-half injury concerns still part of the backdrop, how the club deploys its depth across a seven-game series could matter as much as any single roster decision.

The series opens Sunday in Milwaukee. Skubal gets the ball.