The Dodgers have roughly a week and a half left to figure out their postseason rotation, and Dave Roberts laid out the plan for two arms that will shape it. Speaking to reporters Thursday, the manager said Los Angeles expects Blake Snell to make one more start before the regular season ends, and that Roki Sasaki should start soon as well.

Snell's situation carries the most urgency. The left-hander exited Wednesday's start against the Reds after just one inning with left groin tightness, a scare that Snell himself described as precautionary rather than serious. He said he pulled himself rather than risk aggravating it, and he expressed optimism about taking the ball again before October.

Sasaki's role is the more interesting decision. Out since Aug. 27 with a blister on his middle finger, he threw a 48-pitch live batting practice and followed it with a four-inning simulated game this week. The Dodgers had initially leaned toward moving him to the bullpen, the role he filled during last year's championship run, but Snell's early exit changed the calculus. Los Angeles will now keep Sasaki stretched out as a starter for insurance until the postseason rotation is settled.

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Roberts explained the thinking behind the reversal. “There's benefits both ways,” he said. “One can argue it's best to take down a couple starts, keep him built up. Because if something does happen, he's built up. The other side is you can assimilate him into the ‘pen and get comfortable in that role, if that is the role. And so again, that's why we have to be really thoughtful with that.”

The caution is warranted given how the rotation has held up. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the only Dodgers starter who has not missed a turn this season. Both Tarik Skubal and Snell underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from their left elbows, and Tyler Glasnow spent more than three months on the injured list.

Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, has not yet progressed to live batting practice. Roberts said Ohtani has strung together a productive stretch and is in a good spot, though he remains eligible to return Wednesday, five days before the regular season ends.