Freeman & Rojas 'progressing,' expected to be in NLDS G1 lineup

LOS ANGELES -- While getting five days off before their first postseason game on Saturday does present its challenges, the Dodgers are thrilled to be able to rest given some of the injuries they had toward the end of the regular season.

Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas have been key members of the roster this season and both missed the last few games of the regular season due to injuries. Freeman is healing from a sprained right ankle he sustained on Sept. 26 and Rojas has a tear in his left adductor, an injury he’s been playing with for at least a couple of weeks now.

If this was any other time of the season, both players would’ve likely headed to the injured list. But given the time of year, the Dodgers are expecting Freeman and Rojas to both be in the NLDS Game 1 starting lineup on Saturday.

“They’re progressing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The hope would be to get them both some live pitching probably tomorrow or Friday.”

When Freeman went down last week, there was some concern the star first baseman wouldn't be ready for the NL Division Series. But after going through initial scans, Freeman felt confident he would be ready. After all, it would be nearly impossible to take him out of the lineup ahead of a postseason game.

Hitting and timing won’t be the biggest concern with Freeman, who is usually pretty in-tune with his swing, but his mobility on defense is something the Dodgers will keep a close eye on.

“We still have a few days before we play,” said Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes. “So the treatment and continuing to push that along -- we’re going to take that full amount of time. And there’s not many guys that I would bet on more than Freddie on posting and playing well. So we’ll take the next few days and continue to see how that goes.”

As for Rojas, the veteran shortstop has been managing his injury for quite some time. With the Dodgers only playing two consecutive games before Monday’s off-day, however, Los Angeles believes it'll be able to manage Rojas well throughout the postseason. Rojas is the Dodgers’ best defensive infielder; his inclusion in the lineup gives them a big boost up the middle.

“What we’re expecting is sort of how he’s felt all year,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of the hope. So it’s not going to be 100 percent, but he certainly has played well for us all year -- so given this week off, I think that’s kind of where we’ll be with him.”

STARTING ROTATION TAKES SHAPE

It’s not much of a surprise, but the Dodgers announced that Jack Flaherty will start Game 1 on Saturday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the ball in Game 2. The rest of the rotation will be determined after the first two games, though Walker Buehler and Landon Knack are likely candidates.

Since being acquired from the Tigers at the Trade Deadline, Flaherty has been the ace of the staff. With injuries to Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and Clayton Kershaw, the acquisition of Flaherty has been even more crucial for Los Angeles. Now, they’ll look for him to be the ace for their entire postseason run.

“It was massive,” Gomes said of the trade. "I think that’s part of the Deadline, where we certainly would be in a far different position had we not done that.”

Then there’s Yamamoto, who dealt with a right shoulder injury this season, but has otherwise been solid for the Dodgers after signing a 12-year, $325 million deal this offseason, the richest contract for a pitcher in Major League history. With that will come the responsibility of solidifying the rotation.

Yamamoto got up to five innings in his final regular-season tuneup, making him as ready as possible heading into the postseason.

“I think if New York was any indication, then it has a chance to be pretty special,” Gomes said. “So I don't think Yama is going to be phased by the big moment. And if anything, I think he's going to thrive on it.”