LOS ANGELES — Less than two weeks after being removed from the Dodgers’ National League Division Series roster due to an injury, lefty reliever Tanner Scott is optimistic that he could be active for the World Series.
Scott was replaced by Justin Wrobleski on the active roster before Game 4 of the NLDS after undergoing a procedure to treat an abscess somewhere in the lower body. He declined to go into detail about the nature of the injury during the Dodgers’ workout Monday at Dodger Stadium, believing it to be in the rearview mirror.
“It was just an infection. Bad timing,” Scott said. “Healthy now, so just keep going. That’s about it.”
Manager Dave Roberts was noncommittal on whether Scott would be activated, explaining that the team is waiting on doctors to give the left-hander the green light to be full-go.
“I know that he’s anxious, which is a good thing,” Roberts said Tuesday. “But I think fortunately, we get to see for a couple more days how he responds to throwing and bullpens and things like that.”
Scott resumed throwing not long after having the abscess procedure. He has thrown some bullpen sessions and expects to face hitters at some point in the days leading up to the World Series, which begins on Friday.
While Scott was on the roster for the Dodgers’ first five postseason games, he did not make an appearance or even warm up during a game. His last game action was on Sept. 26 in Seattle, nearly a month ago. He’s not concerned about being rusty because, in his words, “playoff energy is different.”
If Scott does make it onto the World Series roster, his role is unclear. Scott was the team’s de facto closer for most of the season, but Roki Sasaki has emerged as Roberts’ arm of choice to lock down games this postseason.
After signing a four-year, $72 million deal to join the Dodgers this past offseason, Scott was unreliable for much of the year, posting a 4.74 ERA with an MLB-worst 10 blown saves.
Because the Dodgers’ rotation has been so effective, pitching deep into games, Roberts has been able to limit exposure to a bullpen that combined for a 4.27 ERA during the regular season, tied with the Phillies for 20th in the Majors. Only four L.A. relievers appeared during the NL Championship Series: Sasaki, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda and Blake Treinen.
