Rosario's DFA just first tough decision facing Dodgers

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Over the next week, the Dodgers are expected to get a lot of key pieces back on the active roster.

The first, and easily the biggest reinforcement, came on Monday when Mookie Betts returned to the lineup after missing nearly two months with a fractured left hand. To make room for Betts, however, the Dodgers needed to make a tough roster decision.

In the end, they decided to designate infielder Amed Rosario for assignment. The Dodgers acquired Rosario before the July 30 Trade Deadline and saw him as insurance in case of another injury or bad performance from someone else on the roster.

But with Kiké Hernández playing well and Nick Ahmed’s ability to play shortstop, serving as insurance for Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers decided to pull the plug on Rosario after just five games played.

“It was a difficult conversation,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “He handled it like a pro … and it was a short stint. Where we were at, at this point in time, we weren’t playing good baseball. Guys banged up, not sure when guys were going to return to play. For us to get him here was huge, and it kind of raised the floor, and he helped us win some ballgames. … I told him he’s a championship-caliber baseball player. I look forward to seeing him some time in the postseason.”

Though the Rosario DFA came as a surprise, that’s only the beginning of the difficult decisions the Dodgers will face over the next week. On Wednesday, they have to activate Walker Buehler from the injured list, which would require a roster move. Two days after that, the Dodgers will, in all likelihood, activate Ryan Brasier. The move for Brasier will also require a move on the 40-man, as the right-hander is currently on the 60-day injured list.

The easy move for the 40-man roster would be placing River Ryan on the 60-day injured list. Ryan will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season. The active roster gets a little trickier for both Brasier and Buehler, with Blake Treinen’s IL stint also nearly at its end.

If you think that’s a lot, just wait until Monday. Once the Dodgers get back home after their seven-game road trip in Milwaukee and St. Louis, Los Angeles is expecting to get Max Muncy and Tommy Edman back. Again, the Dodgers will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster and active roster for both players.

What will be beneficial for the Dodgers, however, is that they’ll get two extra spots on the roster on Sept. 1 when teams are allowed to carry 28 players on the active roster. Still, coming to these decisions will not be easy for the Dodgers, and some deserving players might see the wrong end of the stick.

“We needed to make sure we were putting out a good team in the short term and also balancing it with the long term,” said Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes. “So this is kind of how things played out. But like I said, as far as overall construction of the team, we just felt like this was the right move.”

It all started with Rosario, and there’s much more to come.