3 Los Angeles Dodgers who shouldn’t make the final postseason roster

The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently leading the NL West by 4.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks entering Wednesday, in their quest to capture yet another division title. It's noteworthy that quite a few of the Dodgers have pulled their weight this season as they dealt with numerous injuries.

However, there are only so many spots available on the postseason roster. The Dodgers have a stacked team, and they have let some contributors hit the open market midseason with injured stars returning. it will be interesting to see who is left off the final postseason roster.

Here are three candidates to be left off the Dodgers' playoff roster altogether.

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3 Dodgers to be left off the playoff roster

3. Michael Grove

First on the list is Michael Grove, who has potential to be good but has not found his groove in the majors this season. Grove's 4.94 ERA to this point in the season is not something the Dodgers can afford to bring along and hope for the best in October baseball.

He's pitched a total of 47.1 innings at the major league level this year, and allowed 42 hits, contributing to his 1.204 WHIP. Considering his walk percentage is 2.9, he needs to learn how to miss more bats before he can be trusted in a critical role such as the playoffs.

Thankfully, the team has many arms at their disposal, so this decision should be a bit of a no brainer for Dodgers brass. Of the three on this list, Grove is the most obvious choice, so let's dive right in to the second player, Bobby Miller.

2. Bobby Miller

Bobby Miller has been underwhelming in his second season with the Dodgers thus far. After recording a 3.76 ERA in 2023, Miller looked to be the next mainstay in Los Angeles' rotation, but unfortunately, that number has ballooned in 2024. Miller's currently 7.79 ERA is more than double what it was a season ago, and the biggest issue is his command.

Miller has one of the worst walk percentages in the league, with a mark of 4.5 per nine innings. Therefore, his 1.651 WHIP is unacceptable if he doesn't quickly show signs of life. Adding him to the postseason roster is already doubtful, where the Dodgers already have a strong four-man rotation of Tyler Glasnow, Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Gavin Stone.

Stone's status is questionable with right shoulder inflammation, so it's unknown if he will be ready to go for the postseason. But that wouldn't justify bringing in Miller to replace him.

1. Walker Buehler

The one player that would truly draw serious conversation from this article is my opinion that Walker Buehler should be left off the postseason roster this year.

Formerly fantastic, Buehler's injury issues early in the year have led to him being ineffective this year, and the Dodgers aren't going to win championships based on past performances. His 5.95 ERA is only good for just a -0.4 WAR according to Fangraphs this year and his 6.09 FIP (fielding independent pitching) indicate it's been all him.

It would be a foolish decision to put Buehler on the postseason roster this year, even with his previous success. Buehler owns a 3.27 career ERA dating back to 2017, and when he is on his game, he performs at an elite level. The problem is, we haven't seen that version of him all year, and the playoffs are the worst place to bet on a bounce-back performance.