The NL West and NL East champions will square off when the Dodgers host the Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS in Los Angeles.  Tarik Skubal will start for the two-time defending World Series champs, while Atlanta counters with Dylan Dodd (as per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) as the opener in what is expected to be a bullpen game.

The Braves have made three changes from the roster of 11 pitchers and 15 position players they carried into their NL Wild Card Series victory over the Phillies.  Right-handers AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie have joined the roster, as has outfielder Lane Thomas.  This trio takes the place of Dominic Smith, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and Luke Williams, bringing the Braves up to 13 pitchers to use against the mighty L.A. bats.  Some extra hurlers were needed given the all-hands-on-deck approach Atlanta took in the deciding Game 3 against Philadelphia, since ace Chris Sale (who would’ve ostensibly been today’s starter) came out of the bullpen to close out Thursday’s game.

Thomas and Williams are both right-handed hitters but Thomas has a lot more experience as a regular, so he’ll get the roster as a pinch-hit or even a starting option against such southpaws as Skubal or Blake Snell (the Game 2 starter).  By that same tactic, Smith and Keirsey are left-handed bats, who could’ve been redundant against the lefties on the Dodgers’ pitching staff.  Thomas has been on the 10-day injured list for almost a month, as a strained intercostal muscle sent him to the IL on September 8.

Edgardo Henriquez is also back from the 15-day IL to rejoin the Dodgers’ roster, as the hard-throwing reliever has been sidelined by lower back discomfort since September 13.  Edwin Diaz and Kris Bubic join Henriquez in the bullpen, as the Dodgers have apparently chosen to go with experience over more direct results.  Diaz has battled injuries and posted an ugly 8.68 ERA over 18 2/3 innings in his first in Dodger Blue, but the former closer has looked more like his old self in tossing five scoreless frames over his last five appearances.  Bubic also hasn’t allowed a run in his last five outings, which double as his first five outings in an L.A. uniform since being acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline.

The Dodgers have enough pitching depth that some kind of tough roster decision was inevitable, though there’s some added risk in opting for Diaz and Bubic over pitchers who have been more consistently healthy and productive over the season.  Justin Wrobleski (a playoff hero in 2025) and Jack Dreyer are probably the two most prominent members of the staff left out.

Josue De Paula and (in a bit of a surprise) Hyeseong Kim will take bench spots, as Alex Call and Dalton Rushing didn’t make the position-player side of the roster.  De Paula and Rushing were both essentially bat-only options, and the Dodgers opted to go with the highly-touted De Paula over Rushing, who has battled injuries for the last two months.  Kim hasn’t played in a big league game since May 27, but he’ll return from Triple-A and likely serve as a pinch-running option.

If the Dodgers can outlast the Braves and get deeper into October, Blake Treinen might yet emerge as a future roster option.  A shoulder issue last week put Treinen on the 15-day IL and seemingly shut him down for the season, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Newsweek’s J.P. Hoornstra and other reporters that Treinen isn’t dealing with a structural problem, so he might yet be available later in the playoffs.

Braves catchers: Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy
Infielders: Ozzie Albies, Ha-Seong Kim, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Rowdy Tellez
Outfielders: Ronald Acuna Jr., Michael Harris II, Brewer Hicklen, Lane Thomas, Mike Yastrzemski
Utility player: Mauricio Dubon
Left-handed pitchers: Dylan Dodd, Ray Kerr, Dylan Lee, Chris Sale, Brent Suter
Right-handed pitchers: Didier Fuentes, Grant Holmes, Raisel Iglesias, Tyler Mahle, Victor Mederos, JR Ritchie, AJ Smith-Shawver, Robert Suarez

Dodgers catchers: Hunter Feduccia, Will Smith
Infielders: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Hyeseong Kim, Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas
Outfielders: Josue De Paula, Teoscar Hernandez, Andy Pages, Kyle Tucker
Utility players: Tommy Edman, Enrique Hernandez
DH: Shohei Ohtani
Left-handed pitchers: Kris Bubic, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia
Right-handed pitchers: Edwin Diaz, Tyler Glasnow, Edgardo Henriquez, Evan Phillips, Roki Sasaki, Brock Stewart, Yoshinobu Yamamoto