Dreading October? Los Angeles Dodgers close in on their postseason wall

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PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers are baseball’s marquee franchise.

No one scouts better than the Dodgers.

No one develops their players betters than the Dodgers.

No one wins more regular-season games than the Dodgers.

But here we are in the final stages of the most anticipated season in Dodger history, and the team is moving ever so close to the most heartbreaking word in its vocabulary: October.

Let’s face it, you don’t drop $1.3 billion in the offseason, spend the year watching Shohei Ohtani put on one of the greatest shows in baseball history, pack Dodger Stadium night after night and rake in tens of millions of dollars in Japanese advertising, only to have the same chances of winning the World Series as the Minnesota Twins.

The Dodgers, even with the best record in baseball, are once again set up for playoff disappointment – but this time the warning signs have been there all year.

Just when the Dodgers thought that future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, 36, would be coming to the rescue, they now openly wonder if he’ll throw another pitch.

Kershaw lasted just seven batters in his start Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks, leaving the game with a bone spur in his toe after giving up a home run to Corbin Carroll on a 67-mph curveball – the fourth-slowest pitch of his career – and headed straight to the injured list and a world of uncertainty about his future.

“It’s obviously not good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s swelling. There’s pain ... He’s doing everything he can. He’s got a lot of miles on him.

“So, it’s just unfortunate. It’s frustrating for everyone."

The loss of Kershaw was just the Dodgers' latest pitching malady.

If the postseason started tomorrow, their rotation would be Jack Flaherty (10-6, 3.07 ERA), Gavin Stone (11-5, 3.33), Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.88 ERA) and Bobby Miller (2-3, 7.25 ERA).

Yikes.

Meanwhile, $325 million man Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been out since June 15 with a strained rotator cuff, and is pitching rehab games.

Tyler Glasnow, a trade acquisition who signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension, has been out for the last two weeks with elbow tendinitis, and is just starting to play catch again.

Buehler, who came back from Tommy John surgery in May, has scuffled along to the tune of a 5.88 ERA, failing to get past five innings in eight of his 11 starts.

And now, having made just seven starts (2-2, 4.50 ERA) after missing the first half of the season with shoulder troubles, Kershaw’s future is uncertain.

“Not a lot of answers right now," said Kershaw, who has given up nine hits and nine earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings (60.75 ERA) in his last two starts against the divisional rival Arizona Diamondbacks, dating back to last year’s postseason.

In the meantime, the Dodgers are going to have to rely heavily on that star-studded offense.

Ohtani, their $700 million man who became the first 43-43 man in baseball history Friday, with 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in his last 78 games, has lived up to all of the hype and more, already nailing down the MVP award.

Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez has been just the power-hitter the Dodgers coveted with his 28 homers and 87 RBI.

Mookie Betts is back, playing right field where he’s a Gold Glove winner, doing Mookie things.

Second baseman Gavin Lux has bounced back dramatically and has become a huge cog in the lineup, slashing .328/.396/.605 in the second half.

Third baseman Max Muncy, who was out three months, has four doubles, two homers and seven RBI in his first 10 games back.

And then there’s first baseman Freddie Freeman, who sat out three games with a broken right middle finger, returning Friday night to hit a two-run homer.

Offensively, the Dodgers are still one of the most dangerous teams in baseball, scoring the second-most runs and producing the most total bases in the National League.

Their bullpen, particularly after stealing Michael Kopech at the trade deadline, who has struck out 20 of the 50 batters he has faced with a 0.63 ERA, is still strong.

But, oh, that wobbly rotation, even with a five-game lead in the NL West, is causing a whole lot of sleepless nights for Roberts and the Dodgers front office.

“This is sort of the scene of the crime last season," Roberts said, remembering that three-game sweep to the hands of the D-backs in the NLDS. “It’s very fresh in my mind. Going back to the last two years, very disappointing, certainly an understatement, how it ended.

“We’re playing better, but no one said this was going to be easy.

“We still have a lot of questions."

And precious little time for answers.

October, the cruelest of months for the Dodgers – responsible for keeping them from winning a World Series in a full season in 36 years – is just around the corner.

Around the basepaths

– New York Mets starter Sean Manaea, barring unforeseen circumstances, will opt out of his contract and hit the free-agent market for the third consecutive winter, this time in line for a lucrative multi-year contract.

Manaea signed a two-year, $26 million contract in the offseason, but he can opt out of the remaining $13.5 million in 2025, making him a free agent for the third consecutive year.

“I like to think it's fun because it’s a new adventure," Manaea told Paste BN Sports. “I mean, it’s a little nerve-wracking when you’re not with a team most of the offseason, but it’s all part of the adventure.’’

Would he rather have a long-term contract without going through short-term deals with opt outs year after year?

“I don’t know," Manaea says. “I never had the opportunity for something like that."

This winter, considering his season, he may have those options.

He has been stellar, going 10-5 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 starts this season, including 149 strikeouts in 143 ⅔ innings.

“He’s been absolutely carving,” Mets All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso said. “He’s been on fire for us.”

Manaea, who studied Cy Young favorite Chris Sale when facing Atlanta on July 25, dropped his release point like Sale, and voila! In his six starts since, Manaea is 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, striking out 48 in 37 ⅔ innings, while pitching into the sixth inning or later five times.

– While the Los Angeles Dodgers are ecstatic they stole reliever Michael Kopech from the Chicago White Sox, the Kansas City Royals quietly are seething.

They badly wanted Kopech, too, but the White Sox refused to trade him within their division.

The Royals can only grimace, watching Kopech turn into one of the elite relievers in baseball, yielding just four hits and one run in 14 ⅓ innings, striking out 20.

He hardly looks anything like the guy who was 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA with the Chicago White Sox, yielding 59 baserunners in 43 ⅔ innings.

“When we got him, he was good, but he was inconsistent," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The stuff was always there. But I thought he was going to be a mid-leverage guy with big stuff, with the hope that he could be a leverage guy.

“I truly didn’t see it coming to develop this quickly, but he’s earned every bit of it. He’s that power arm in our bullpen, which is something that we didn’t really have.

“He’s been one of those sneaky deadline moves."

– The Royals, who also tried to acquire White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham at the deadline, finally got their man when they claimed him on waivers after he was designated for assignment by the St. Louis Cardinals.

It’s a shrewd pickup after losing first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and his 97 RBI for the remainder of the regular season.

– This has been a season like no other for Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. He missed three games this week after fracturing his right middle finger, after missing eight games last month to be with his 3 year-old son Max, diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological condition that left him temporarily paralyzed, and is still requiring extensive physical therapy.

“A lot’s been going on the last six, seven weeks,” Freeman said. “It’s been a lot for our family. Grinding and making sure my kids are OK, (my wife) Chelsea’s OK, family’s OK.

“Now, I’m back here and giving everything I can to the game.”

Said Roberts: “He’s had a heavy heart for quite some time."

– Congratulations to Dusty and Melissa Baker, whose son Darren is being called up Sunday by the Washington Nationals to make his major-league debut.

Ironically, the Nationals are facing the Chicago Cubs, two teams that Baker managed in his career.

– Oh, where have you gone, Brian Sabean?

The San Francisco Giants (68-69) have only once had a winning record since 2016.

– Baseball executives are stunned that Texas Rangers GM Chris Young is still without a contract after this season.

Sure, this season has been a mess, but they’re still the reigning World Series champions and should bounce back in 2025.

– Please, enough with the narrative that the Washington Nationals will try to sign Juan Soto and bring him back into the organization.

He’s signing with the New York Yankees or New York Mets, although the Toronto Blue Jays and perhaps San Francisco Giants will at least make an attempt.

– It’s no longer a question whether the White Sox will break the 1962 Mets' record for the most losses in baseball history with 120, but by how many games they’ll shatter it by before this season ends.

How bad are they?

On May 17, Yankees were 31-15

On Aug. 30, the White Sox are 31-105.

It’s hard to fathom that just three years ago the White Sox were 93-69, while the Orioles and Diamondbacks each went 52-110. This year, the White Sox will set the all-time record for losses while the Orioles and D-backs could meet in the World Series.

– Go ahead and try to find any pitcher or scout, who doesn’t believe the baseball has been juiced since mid-summer.

– Believe it or not: The St. Louis Cardinals won their first game Saturday at Yankee Stadium for the first time since Oct. 12, 1964, in Game 5 of the World Series.

The winning pitcher: Bob Gibson.

– The Padres can finally take a deep breath and exhale on Tuesday after playing 18 games in 18 days, and 27 games in 28 days. Now, they’ve got the cavalry on the way, too. Yu Darvish, Fernando Tatis Jr. and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim are all expected to be active by mid-September.

The Padres will have five off-days in September beginning Tuesday, giving their vaunted bullpen plenty of rest for the stretch run. The Padres bullpen is the best in baseball after acquiring Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing at the deadline. Those three relievers have yielded a 1.50 ERA in 38 appearances.

Certainly, third baseman Manny Machado has been vital to their success. Machado is hitting .306 with a .935 OPS since June 19, spanning 60 games, with the Padres going from three games under .500 to 17 games over.

The Padres are 22-0 this season when Machado drives in two or more runs.

– Texas Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi needs to pitch just 16 more innings to trigger a vesting option for $20 million in 2025.

Yet, the way he’s pitching, he’s expected to hit the free agent market.

He was marvelous for the Rangers, who have gone 29-20 in his starts the past two regular seasons, and 6-0 in the postseason.

“He has been tremendously important to our team,” Rangers GM Chris Young told the Dallas Morning News. “We brought him here to be a frontline pitcher and to help create a winning culture within our pitching staff. He has done just that.”

Now, we’ll see if the Rangers can find a way to keep him after wanting to reduce their payroll to avoid crossing the luxury tax for the second consecutive time.

– Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player in baseball history to hit 43 homers and steal 43 bases in the same season, is also moving closer to producing the most extra-base hits by any player in the 40-40 club.

Ohtani has 80 extra-base hits, just nine behind Alfonso Soriano.

– The hottest pitcher in baseball?

Look no further than Toronto Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, who has yielded one run in seven or more innings in three of his last four starts.

In his last four starts: 4-0, 0.62 ERA, six hits, three walks, two runs, 32 strikeouts, and an opposing .065 batting average.

Certainly, he has a spot in the Jays' starting rotation awaiting him next year.

– The five smallest crowds at Busch Stadium III have all come within the past week, which could force Cardinals ownership to hit the free-agent market this winter after yet another disappointing season.

– Maybe the laughter can finally stop about the AL Central – well, at least outside Chicago.

After having only one team with a winning record each of the past three seasons, the division entered the weekend with four teams over .500: Cleveland, Kansas City, Minnesota and Detroit.

–The Milwaukee Brewers, who demoted non-roster invitee Tobias Myers to the minors in their second round of cuts in spring training, can hardly believe it themselves: He is now one of their frontline starters and should be in their postseason rotation.

Not bad for a guy who was 1-15 with a 7.82 ERA pitching in Triple-A in 2022.

Myers has a 2.20 ERA since June 5, third-lowest in baseball.

Hey, just another anonymous hero for the Brewers, who entered Saturday with a Magic Number of 17 to clinch the NL Central.

– The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants pulled back their $300 million offers two years ago to sign All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa after being concerned with his physical.

Well, Correa has not played a single game since the All-Star break with plantar fasciitis.

– Mets first baseman Pete Alonso doesn’t know where he’ll be playing next year, but was ecstatic to carve out a piece of Mets history by tying Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for third place with his 221^st career homer (he now has 222).

“Mike Piazza is one of my childhood heroes,” Alonso said. “Darryl Strawberry, David Wright and Mike Piazza, those guys mean so much to the organization.”

– The Yankees are awaiting the postseason before deciding whether to pick up manager Aaron Boone’s option for 2025.

– Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black and the front office discussed a contract extension for 2025, but nothing was finalized, with the two sides expected to talk again towards the end of the season.

Black says he isn’t ready for retirement and would like to return.

– You want to know how the Astros have bounced back from the dead and are now as dangerous as any team in the American League once again?

Look no further than the rotation, which yielded a major-league best 2.48 ERA in August. Three times this month they have taken a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

– Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll, who had only two homers on July 4, has now hit 10 homers in his last 22 games and 13 since the All-Star break, the most by any NL outfielder.

“I think the beginning of the year was very much a grind, there were some great lessons learned from it,’’ Carroll said. “It’s been a couple mechanical things and just as much an approach thing, as well. I think a combination of those two, as well as getting some confidence back.”

– “YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME." That was the tweet from Paul Skenes’ girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, echoing the thoughts of all Pirates fans.

The Pirates had a 10-3 lead entering the seventh inning after Skenes left the game and somehow lost, 14-10 to the Cubs.

Teams were 1,192-0 in the last seven years in games they led by seven or more runs entering the seventh inning, according to researcher Jay Cuda, and now are, well, 1,192-1.

It will be fascinating to see who pays the price this winter.

– Rich Hill, 44, who came back once again for the Boston Red Sox this week, has now signed contracts with the Red Sox’s last five heads of baseball operations:

• Theo Epstein
• Ben Cherington
• Dave Dombrowski
• Chaim Bloom
• Craig Breslow

– While the Royals continue to be the best surprise in baseball after losing 106 games last year, it’s time to remember their legendary groundskeeper, George Toma, who wrote the book, “The Sodfather" with Craig Handel.

– Remember when Yankees rookie first baseman Ben Rice hit three homers on July 6 and became an overnight household name in New York?

Well, ever since then, he is hitting .116 with a .456 OPS in 30 games and 112 plate appearances.

Little wonder why the Yankees are counting down the days until first baseman Anthony Rizzo rejoins the team.

– No one is getting more bang for their buck in the outfield than the Padres, who are paying NL Rookie of the Year favorite Jackson Merrill the minimum $740,000 and veteran Jurickson Profar, perhaps their team MVP, a base salary of just $1 million.

– Strange times:

The Minnesota Twins’ lone move at the deadline was acquiring right-handed reliever Trevor Richards, and they designated him for assignment three weeks later.

The St. Louis Cardinals traded outfielder Dylan Carlson to the Rays for pitcher Shawn Armstrong, and they put him on waivers, where he was immediately picked up by the Chicago Cubs. They also traded for outfielder Tommy Pham of the White Sox, and then designated him for assignment, with the Royals picking him up.

– The record for most victories following a 100-loss season is 87, set by the 1967 Cubs and 1989 Orioles, which should be eclipsed by the 2024 Royals.

– The D-backs, who have the most potent offense in baseball, are averaging 5.4 runs a game, their most since 1999.

– The White Sox are expected to shut down ace Garrett Crochet in early September, making sure he’s healthy and has no issues when they trade him this winter.

– The book is closed on Tigers shortstop Javier Baez’s season. He is undergoing season-ending back surgery.

He ends yet another season, hitting .184 with a .221 on-base percentage.

The Tigers still have to decide whether they will release him at some point and swallow the remaining $73 million on his contract.

– Astros Cy Young winner Justin Verlander badly wants to become just the 25th pitcher in baseball history to reach 300 victories, and the last since Randy Johnson in 2009.

He has 260 victories, and would need to average about 13 victories a season for the next three years.

– Rival executives were surprised the Pirates decided to move 25-year-old shortstop Oneil Cruz to center field with a month still remaining in the season, and not simply waiting until this winter.

– If the Baltimore Orioles are going to have a deep October run, they need ace Corbin Burnes to snap out of his worst slump in four years.

He went 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA in August, lasting just 25 1/3 innings in his five starts.

– The way to stop the Padres may be as simple as preventing them from scoring first, particularly with their vaunted bullpen.

The Padres are 55-12 when scoring first, best in all of baseball.

When they don’t, they are just 21-48.

– Just how far does a little offense go for the Seattle Mariners with their fabulous rotation?

The Mariners are 44-4 when scoring five or more runs, and 56-11 when scoring at least four runs.

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