Miguel

Rojas

Rojas, 37, said prior to the season that he expected 2026 to be his last as a player, though he seemed open to reconsidering at times. Late-season flareups of his shoulder and back brought an end to that, though. Rojas finishes a rare career with a .260/.313/.363 line in 4,411 plate appearances over 13 seasons. He had a career .627 OPS in the minors, a .644 OPS in the majors through age 29 and then a .692 OPS in his thirties. He came in at .732 and racked up 5.5 bWAR in 217 games between the Dodgers’ championship seasons in 2024 and ’25.

The slumping slugger battled cleanup in each of the first two games of the series and was dropped down to sixth against a southpaw in Game 3 on Wednesday. Perhaps the move back to the top of the lineup will provide the offensive jolt that the Dodgers need to stave off elimination and keep their dreams of a three-peat alive. Here’s the full lineup that they will trot out against Brewers’ southpaw Shane Drohan on Thursday: Ohtani (DH), Mookie Betts (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Kyle Tucker (RF), Teoscar Hernandez (LF), Miguel Rojas (2B), Andy Pages (CF) and Enrique Hernandez (3B).

Rojas exited Game 3 of the NLDS and sat out Game 4 due pain in his lower back, but he’s feeling much improved after a recent cortisone injection. He was able to take ground balls and swing the bat on Saturday without issue and should be good to go barring any setbacks.

Rojas exited Game 3 of the NLDS due to pain in his lower back and sat out Game 4 on Wednesday. While he has progressed steadily during their time off, he’s still not ready to return and could potentially be left off of the Dodgers’ roster for their NLCS battle against the Brewers. Expect the Dodgers to make a final decision on his status on Sunday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Rojas isn’t feeling great and won’t be available off the bench after leaving Game 3 with lower back pain. However, they’re not considering removing him from their playoff roster since that would require him to miss the NLCS against the Brewers or Padres as well. It’ll be Enrique Hernández taking over at second base in his absence.

It doesn’t sound like a massive concern, but back issues can be a complicated matter, especially without additional downtime and significant travel during the postseason. Rojas was lifted during the eighth inning of Game 3 in Atlanta after going 0-for-3 at the dish. He’s presumably day-to-day for the remainder of the series.

Rojas appeared to be in some considerable discomfort after fouling off a pitch during an eighth-inning at-bat. He was 0-for-3 prior to exiting. The 37-year-old veteran has been an indispensable role player for the Dodgers in the postseason for the last couple years. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

With left-hander Chris Sale on the mound, the Dodgers will sit both Tommy Edman and Max Muncy and go with a right-heavy lineup. The Dodgers will also move Shohei Ohtani down to fifth in the lineup, as the reigning MVP has struggled in the first two games of action after returning from injury. The full lineup with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for Los Angeles: SS Mookie Betts, 1B Freddie Freeman, RF Teoscar Hernandez, C Will Smith, DH Ohtani, 2B Rojas, CF Andy Pages, RF Kyle Tucker and 3B Enrique Hernandez.

This is a little surprising, since Muncy would probably face Kerr just the once, but they’ll go with Miguel Rojas initially. That’s the lone change from Saturday, which was also against a lefty opener in Dylan Dodd. The lineup: SS Mookie Betts, DH Shohei Ohtani, C Will Smith, 1B Freddie Freeman, LF Teoscar Hernández, RF Kyle Tucker, CF Andy Pages, 3B Rojas, 2B Tommy Edman.

Max Muncy is also taking a seat with lefty Matt Wilkinson serving as San Francisco’s opener. It appears to be a routine off day for Freeman, who missed time with a right knee issue a couple weeks ago. The 37-year-old veteran has already played 152 games this season, hitting .290/.364/.432 with 74 runs scored, 16 homers, 70 RBI and seven steals in 654 plate appearances. It’ll be Enrique Hernández and Miguel Rojas at the infield corners in this one.