Injured Dodgers SS experiences another setback

Miguel Rojas was left off the Dodgers’ NLCS roster due to a partially torn left adductor muscle, and the infielder has already said he’ll need to undergo surgery to correct the problem after the season is over. However, as Rojas told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, he is also dealing with a sports hernia that will require more surgical attention.

Despite it all, Rojas is still hoping he can heal up enough in the interim to be part of a potential World Series roster if the Dodgers can get past the Mets. Rojas suffered the adductor injury in the last week of the regular season and was able to play in three games in the NLDS (hitting two singles in eight plate appearances) but hasn’t played since he was removed for a pinch-runner in the third inning of Game 3.

Assuming Los Angeles did advance to the Fall Classic, there’s an obvious risk for the Dodgers in rostering a player who clearly won’t be at anything close to 100 percent. Teams could make (with league approval) injury-related roster substitutions once the World Series begins, yet that wouldn’t prevent the Dodgers from finding themselves short-handed during a game if Rojas had to make another early exit.  

The decision will ultimately hinge on both Rojas’ health and what the team feels a limited version of Rojas can still bring to the infield mix. Other injuries will also be factors, like the hip flexor issue that kept Gavin Lux out of Game 2 of the NLCS.

With these health issues mounting, Enrique Hernandez has been a godsend for the lineup, as the utility man moved into the starting lineup once Rojas went down. Since Tommy Edman took over for Rojas at shortstop, Hernandez has become the new primary center fielder, though Hernandez has also seen action at third and second base, including a start at second base in Lux’s place in Game 2.  

In addition to the defensive versatility, Hernandez has been hot at the plate, with two home runs and a 1.084 OPS in 20 PA in the Dodgers’ last five games. Hernandez had already established a reputation for himself as a clutch postseason hitter before 2024, though his improved form might’ve been sparked during the summer when he started wearing glasses.  

As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal notes, a conversation with Martin Maldonado in June inspired Hernandez to undergo an eye exam, which revealed an astigmatism in his right eye. Hernandez started wearing glasses to help his vision, and after an adjustment period, he hit .274/.307/.458 slash line over his final 180 PA of the regular season. While not standout numbers, it was still a marked improvement over the .191/.258/.299 line Hernandez posted in his first 213 PA.

In other Dodgers injury news, right-hander Daniel Hudson didn’t pitch in Game 2 due to what manager Dave Roberts revealed to media (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) as a “lower-body” problem. Hudson was deemed available for Game 3, and while he wasn’t one of five pitchers used in the Dodgers’ 8-0 win, that might’ve had more to do with the increasingly lopsided score than with any lingering concerns over his injury.

With gamesmanship in full effect in the playoffs, it isn’t surprising that Roberts wasn’t specific with the nature of Hudson’s issue. Any sort of lower-body injury is of particular concern in Hudson’s case, given that he tore his ACL in June 2022 and then pitched just three innings during the 2023 season due to recovery from that ACL tear and then an MCL strain.

The good news is that Hudson returned from these injury-marred years to deliver a healthy and productive 2024 season. Hudson allowed a ton of hard contact and benefited from a .225 BABIP, but he finished the year with a 3.00 ERA and an above-average strikeout and walk rates over 63 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen.  

A postseason hero for the Nationals in their 2019 World Series run, Hudson has continued his strong work in October with 3 1/3 scoreless innings so far in these playoffs.