Dave Roberts Reveals How Dodgers Will Use Emmet Sheehan in Postseason
The postseason is (almost) here.
The Dodgers will start a best-of-three Wild Card series against either the Cincinnati Reds or the New York Mets on Tuesday as they begin their campaign to repeat as World Series champions.
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All the questions surrounding the Dodgers’ postseason roster strategy are starting to be answered, including how the team will use starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday that Sheehan would pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason and would be available on Tuesday if his number is called. Sheehan will have a one-inning role.
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“Since we clinched, then we could look forward to the postseason and align with the pitching and what that means is getting your best possible arms on that postseason roster,” Roberts told reporters after the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over the Mariners. “Kind of assessing Emmet and how we can make him viable for the Wild Card series and the best way to do that is to shorten him up. He’ll come out of the pen and he’ll be ready to go on Tuesday for whatever’s asked of him.”
Roberts’ announcement came after a one-inning performance against the Mariners on Friday. Sheehan allowed one hit, one run and struck out three batters on 22 pitches.
Sheehan’s relegation to the bullpen is more of a testament to the elite group of starting pitchers the Dodgers can boast rather than an indictment on his performance this season. The 25-year-old holds a 2.82 ERA and a 6-3 record as a starter this season. Sheehan is coming off his best month of the season, allowing just four earned runs in 25.1 innings in September.
Sheehan loses out on a starting role to pitchers Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, who are almost guaranteed to be the Dodgers’ starting four pitchers. Ohtani, Snell and Yamamoto are all slated to be LA’s starters, in that order, for the Wild Card Series.
The Dodger bullpen has a 4.28 team ERA this season, the 10th-highest in MLB. Sheehan’s addition to the bullpen will hopefully bring a sense of stability to what has been the shakiest part of the Dodgers’ roster this season.
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