Rojas Is Back on the Field. The Back Is Still the Story.

Miguel Rojas was back working on the field Tuesday, which is the first genuinely encouraging update on his back since he went day-to-day on October 7th. That's worth noting. It is not worth celebrating yet.

The depth chart tells you why Rojas matters here. He's the second option at shortstop behind Mookie Betts and slots in at both second and third base as a reserve — the kind of versatile piece a postseason roster is built around. When he went down, the Dodgers were already managing Teoscar Hernández's situation, and the bench math got thin fast. I wrote about that thinness two days ago. A Rojas return, even a partial one, would ease it.

The problem is that back injuries in October don't follow schedules. He's on the field. That's a data point, not a clearance. The Dodgers have been good at winning through these situations all season — 7-3 over the last 10 games, and they didn't blink when Hernández and Rojas both showed up in the injury column the same week. But winning through something and having it resolved are different things.

Watch the next few days. If Rojas is taking ground balls and swings without restriction, the conversation shifts. If the activity stays limited, the back is still the story, whatever the optics of him being on the field suggest.