Ben

Casparius

Scott was removed from the team’s roster during the NLDS after undergoing a lower body abscess procedure. The Dodgers were hopeful that he would be ready to return for the start of the World Series, but he isn’t quite there yet. Vesia is still away from the team while navigating a deeply personal family matter. Ben Casparius was removed from the roster along with Vesia while Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein were added. Michael Conforto remains off the roster as well. The Dodgers will kick off the Fall Classic in Toronto on Friday evening against Trey Yesavage and the Blue Jays.

Even with Will Smith’s hand keeping him out of the lineup for four of the Dodgers’ six games, Rushing had received only one postseason at-bat to date. Smith is back starting now, so the Dodgers will drop their third catcher in favor of Casparius, who finished the season in Triple-A after posting a 4.64 ERA in 77 2/3 innings. This puts the Dodgers back up to 12 pitchers, not counting Shohei Ohtani.

Casparius has seen his role diminish in Los Angeles’ bullpen over recent weeks and he’ll head back to the minors to allow the club to activate high-leverage specialist Alex Vesia. The versatile 26-year-old righty has compiled a pedestrian 4.64 ERA across 77 2/3 innings over 46 appearances at the highest level this season.

Blake Treinen was given the save opportunity, but he loaded the bases with two outs, so Dave Roberts brought in Casparius to face Yandy Diaz as the winning run. Casparius fell behind 2-1 but got Diaz to ground out to shortstop to end the game. This is now Casparius’ second save of the season, and he is firmly part of a closer committee with Treinen and Alex Vesia while Tanner Scott (forearm) is on the IL.

It’s a notable development with the trade deadline looming. Scott underwent an MRI last week that didn’t reveal any structural damage in his left elbow after hitting the injured list with inflammation. The 31-year-old lefty closer figures to need at least a couple weeks to ramp up again, but should make it back to Los Angeles at some point in August. It’ll be a mix of Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Ben Casparius handling the closing duties in his absence.

So far this season, Casparius has been a high leverage reliever, middle reliever, bulk reliever, starting pitcher, and now apparently a closer. This was his first save of the campaign and came after an off-day. Yirby Yates, the Dodgers’ current presumed closer, did throw 18 pitches in the eighth inning in their last game on Wednesday and allowed two runs without recording an out. It’s anyone’s guess as to who will save the Dodgers’ next victory.

Casparius was lifted from Tuesday’s relief outing against the Twins at Dodger Stadium with a right calf cramp. It’s unclear whether he’ll ultimately require a trip to the injured list, but that’ll likely come down to whether he’s able to resume throwing at some point later this week. There should be a definitive update on his status soon, but he doesn’t appear to be a facing a lengthy absence.

Casparius has dealt with cramping issues previously, and he said he started feeling it during his warmup throws tonight. If no damage is detected during the MRI, he should be good to go in a couple of days.

Sheehan offers some immediate fantasy intrigue, especially in deeper mixed leagues, when he takes the ball for Sunday’s series finale against the Astros. The 25-year-old righty is expected to receive some runway to establish himself in Los Angeles’ rotation mix with Ben Casparius shifting back to a bullpen role. It’s a bit unclear how things will shake out once Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) returns, but Sheehan has a path to regular starts if he performs at the highest level in Los Angeles. He’s at least worthy of a speculative pickup for fantasy purposes.

Casparius, who was torched for six runs over three innings on Friday night against Houston, has been hit extremely hard since ostensibly joining Los Angeles’ starting rotation in a regular bulk role a couple weeks ago. The decision paves the way for Emmet Sheehan, who is poised to start on Sunday against the Astros, to take over the rotation spot moving forward.