Postseason wear and tear leaves mark on Dodgers' Opening Day roster

Field Level Media|published: Thu 26th March, 15:42 2026

Mar 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) delivers to the plate in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be paying the bill for their 2025 playoff run with three contributors to their World Series title opening this season on the injured list.

Left-hander Blake Snell and utility player Tommy Edman went on the injured list leading up to Opening Day and Enrique Hernandez went on the 60-day IL earlier in spring training. The Dodgers were set to open the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Snell, 33, pitched through shoulder discomfort last season, including in the playoffs when he went 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in six appearances (five starts). He started Games 1 and 5 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, both Dodgers losses. He returned to pitch 1 1/3 innings of relief in Game 7 when Los Angeles clinched the title in 11 innings.

Hernandez, 34, batted .250 with one home run and seven RBIs in 17 playoff games last season while playing with a left elbow injury that required surgery immediately after the title was secured. Hernandez was the Dodgers primary left fielder during the playoff run after regular left fielder Michael Conforto was not included on the playoff roster.

Edman, 30, batted .222 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 16 postseason games while playing with an ankle injury that required surgery. Edman was the starting second baseman for most of the playoff run before switching to center field for Games 6 and 7 of the World Series when Andy Pages was benched for his offensive struggles.

The Dodgers' roster to open the season included 13 pitchers, not counting two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to make his first start from the mound Tuesday at home against the Cleveland Guardians.

The injuries to Edman and Hernandez allowed utility man Santiago Espinal to make the roster after he was signed to a minor league deal last month.

Espinal, 31, batted a career-low .243 with no home runs in 114 games for the Cincinnati Reds last season then batted .378 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 19 spring games for the Dodgers.

--Field Level Media

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