ATLANTA -- One day after his early exit from NLDS Game 3 due to lower back pain, Miguel Rojas still feels "not great," manager Dave Roberts said. The veteran infielder will not be available during Game 4 on Wednesday night at Truist Park, when the Dodgers have the chance to advance to the NLCS.
The Dodgers will not remove Rojas from the active roster for the time being. Such a move would make him ineligible for the NLCS roster should L.A. advance, and the team is still determining the severity of the injury.
"To make any decisions that would compromise his status for a potential next series doesn't make sense," Roberts said. "So we're going to kick this one to another day."
Rojas' lower back flared up while he was in the field during Game 3, when he fielded a Ronald Acuña Jr. grounder to end the fifth inning. His back tightened up on him, worsening after a foul ball during his at-bat in the eighth inning. The Dodgers lifted Rojas from the game at that point, with Tommy Edman finishing off the at-bat and slotting in at second base.
"It's really early to see how I'm going to feel," Rojas said after Game 3. "I'm just going to do a couple rounds of treatment today and then see how [I] wake up tomorrow. But to be honest with you, I was just really happy to be in that game."
Because they chose to carry 14 position players for the NLDS, the Dodgers will still have plenty of infield coverage and options on their bench even with Rojas being unavailable. In Game 4, they have utility man Edman, infielder Hyeseong Kim, catcher Hunter Feduccia and outfielder Josue De Paula available as reserves. The group skews left-handed without Rojas, with the switch-hitting Edman being the only pinch-hit option from the right-hand side.
Rojas is hitting 1-for-4 with a double this postseason. He is contemplating retirement after this season, but he has not finalized his decision.