The Los Angeles ‘ steady march towards consecutive World Series championships continues.
After defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in four games during the NLCS, a World Series berth awaits Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the rest of the Boys in Blue.
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As we did prior to the Wild Card, NLDS, and NLCS, this roster projection is intended to assemble a group that Dave Roberts might field against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Two-way (1): Shohei Otani
Ohtani’s incredible performance in Game 4 of the NLCS left the entire baseball world gasping. If the adopt a similar format to the previous series, Ohtani will pitch in Game 4 of the World Series at Stadium. The team must be hoping that Ohtani’s three home runs against the Brewers will get him back on track in terms of performance at the plate.
Starting pitchers (3): Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow.
Along with Ohtani, these starters have carried the ballclub through the postseason. The Phillies’ lineup had some dangerous batters, but Toronto’s top-to-bottom lineup is likely the strongest this quartet has faced to this point. Add to that the presence of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Considering how strong he was throughout October, the can’t take him down alone.
The Blue Jays are similar to the Brewers in that they are a rough-and-tumble team that puts the ball in play. Aiming to wear out the pitcher. Against Milwaukee, the attacked the strike zone instead of pitching on the edge and getting close to the opponent’s hands. We’ll see if Los Angeles approaches with a similar game plan, aiming to be more aggressive instead of chasing off-speed pitches.
Relief pitchers (9): Aki Sasaki, Blake Treinen, Emmett Sheehan, Ben Kasparius, Clayton Kershaw, Jack Dryer, Anthony Banda, Alex Beshear, Tanner Scott.
This is the most difficult grouping to follow in this series. Toronto has a lot of very good right-handed hitters throughout the lineup. This includes Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Beau Bichette, Ernie Clement, and Alejandro Kirk. You can make a real argument that they are the Blue Jays’ top five hitters.
That means the fully expect their starting pitchers to pitch six or seven innings, with Bashear, Treinen and Sasaki potentially following suit. Having five left-handed players is a bit of a gamble considering the number of right-handed opponents. That being said, LA may just believe that these nine weapons are the best possible options.
It wouldn’t be too surprising if Edgardo Henriques was added to the fold to provide even more balance from the right side. Justin Robleski will be absent from this practice due to the return of Tanner Scott. If Scott could do anything to make up for a lackluster 2025 season, it might be to give the quality games in the most important series of the year.
Position Players (13): Will Smith, Ben Rotvedt, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Miguel Rojas, Tommy Edman, Hyesung Kim, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, Quique Hernandez, Andy Pages, Justin Dean, Alex Cole
This group remains intact from NLCS.
Toronto likely only has three left-handed pitchers on its World Series roster. There’s a world where Dalton Rushing or even Michael Conforto could be slotted in strictly as pinch-hitter options. In that case, Cole would likely be cut from the team.
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However, by comparison, Cole is a much better defender than both, and a much faster runner when asked to pinch run. Cole also looked very good in his limited time at the plate this postseason.
Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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