Why the Dodgers decided to leave Kenley Jansen as their sole closer in the NLDS against the Padres

Since they fell behind in rankings due to their league position, the Dodgers had a tough schedule. Therefore, they were excluded from the NLDS roster. They are hopeful of making the playoffs but need to be able to win more games for them to get there.

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The Dodgers left Kimbrel off the NLDS roster to face the Padres due to the fact that they didn’t possess a left-handed reliever on their roster.

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This year’s Dodgers were faced with a challenging schedule and didn’t have an experienced pitcher. They were forced to make use of Hyun Jin Ryu, their starting pitcher in the NLDS Game against Padres. Ryu could only get through 3 innings of his start against the Padres as he was not comfortable with how the team was using him. The Dodgers have been left off the NLDS roster due to thisand will need to find someone to start their next game.Kimbrel is a left-handed reliever . The Padres are a right-handed team.The Dodgers have been using left-handed relievers in recent seasons. It is because they consider left-handed players harder to batting against, and also because they believe that a lefty reliever can assist a right-handed team in a pinch. Kimbrel is one of the righty relievers for the Padres, is used as an lefty relief pitcher for them.

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On the 2nd of December, the Dodgers announced that relief pitchers with left hands Kimbrel will not be included available for selection in the NLDS contest against the Padres. The opposite is the case for earlier in the NLDS against Red Sox, where Kimbrel was a part of the starting rotation and served as a relief pitcher.There are several reasons that could be behind this scenario. For one, left-handed relievers tend to be costlier than right-handed relief pitchers. In addition, left-handed relievers are likely to have more control over the pitching than pitchers with right hands and this can lead to their being utilized more often for starters or closer.Kimbrel is left-handed reliever that has worked in the majors for the Dodgers as well as the Padres. In a December 2015 trade, the Dodgers purchased Kimbrel from the Padres. Kimbrel recorded an 3.12 ERA (and 1.09 WHIP) during 19 innings pitched for the Dodgers throughout the season of 2015. He also made 17 appearances. As per MLB.com Kimbrel (the Dodgers’ left-handed reliever) is not listed as a player on the roster for the NLDS against the Padres. The reason given for this is that he is a left-handed reliever. The Padres are left-handed team.The Dodgers left-handed reliever, Wade Davis, is not included on the National League (NL) Divisional Playoff squad , which will face the Padres. Ken Rosenthal, a Miami Herald journalist , had this to say “It is not difficult to see the reasons why they would hesitate to put Wade Davis in a game which could decide their fate. Wade Davis has not pitched in a major league game. The Dodgers roster has a left-handed relief pitcher as do the Padres have a right-handed pitching team. Adrian Gonzalez is the lefty who has eased some burdens on the Padres’ workloads the season. In the NLDS, Dodgers and Padres meet in the NLDS next night. The MLB has released their rosters, and Kimbrel is not on the roster. The player will be playing with Los Angeles in the NLDS. That means the Padres will be able add him to the starters’ lineup in the event that they were to have to play him.Kimbrel isn’t a starting pitcher with the Padres and that was announced by the manager A.J. Preller during their game against Dodgers Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Conclusion

The Dodgers have had to contend with an extremely difficult schedule in the past and were excluded from the NLDS roster. Kimbrel is left-handed and relieves they Padres are a team that is right-handed, but he is not an active player.