Rojas Makes the NLCS Roster. His Back Comes With Him.

The Dodgers are in the NLCS, and Miguel Rojas is on the roster. That second part is the news worth sitting with for a moment. I've been tracking his back since he first went day-to-day, wrote about him being back on the field Tuesday, and the update now is that the organization has decided the risk is acceptable. That's a choice, not a clearance.

Rojas slots in at shortstop depth behind Mookie Betts and provides infield versatility the Dodgers genuinely need given how thin this bench has run. With seven players on the injured list — most of them pitchers — the front office isn't in a position to leave functional bodies off the roster out of caution. Rojas being upright and moving is apparently enough.

The honest read is that this is a depth decision dressed up as a health decision. The Dodgers aren't carrying Rojas because his back is fine; they're carrying him because the alternative is a shorter bench in October. That's a reasonable call. It's also the kind of call that looks smart until the moment it doesn't — a hard slide, an awkward pivot, a situation where you need him for three innings and he gives you one. The NLCS is not the place to find out where the limit is.