Miguel Rojas, Alex Vesia ready to rejoin Dodgers World Series roster

LOS ANGELES — Rosters for the World Series are due to Major League Baseball by 10 a.m. PT on Friday, and the Dodgers are still discussing a few potential changes from the National League Championship Series.

“We’re going to have some more difficult conversations,” manager Dave Roberts said Thursday at Dodger Stadium. “Which is a good thing.”

Shortstop Miguel Rojas and left-hander Alex Vesia seem like the likeliest to be added back to the roster.

Rojas has been playing through a torn adductor muscle for over a month and aggravated the injury in Game 3 of the NLDS. He was left off the NLCS roster so the Dodgers could have more in-game flexibility with substitutions, and with the hope he might be ready to return.

“I put myself in the best position to have an opportunity to be on the World Series roster,” Rojas said Thursday.

“Miggy Ro is doing well. Yesterday he participated in the entire workout — running well, taking at-bats, catching grounders,” Roberts said. “Everything looks really good. So I think there’s a really good possibility we’ll see him on the roster.”

If Rojas is added back to the roster, presumably it would be for Kevin Kiermaier, who was active for the NLCS and got into four games late as a defensive replacement in center field, batted twice, and scored a pair of runs.

Vesia pitched a bullpen session on Sunday and faced hitters on Wednesday. For the latter, he mimicked a game situation as best he could, paying catch hours earlier, then warmed up before taking the mound.

Vesia left Game 5 of the NLDS while warming up in the eighth inning, suffering an intercostal injury. He said he felt perfectly normal Thursday morning, which was a good sign as he prepares for Friday.

“I feel like I’m ready,” Vesia said Thursday. “I feel very confident with the preparation and the training staff.

“With an intercostal, there should be a 30-day shut down and then full boar, but with what we’ve done, we’ve kind of created that in the last 10 days. I feel very strong.”

Vesia said his velocity was maybe one mile per hour down with his fastball while facing hitters on Wednesday.

“I’m big adrenaline, I feed off of that. I always have,” Vesia said. “I’m very confident that, how I felt last night, I’ll be be even better when I go out with some adrenaline in my system, and facing some Yankees.”

Roberts wasn’t specific with Vesia, saying that he was trending in the right direction, echoing his sentiments from Tuesday.

Brusdar Graterol is also trending in the right direction, but also hasn’t pitched in a month, sidelined with the shoulder inflammation that also cost him the first four months of the season. Roberts said Graterol’s time away will be a factor in whether he makes the World Series roster.

“The other part is his track record in the postseason, how good he’s been, how good the heartbeat’s been. We believe in the person, the stuff,” Roberts said of Graterol. “If it plays out as he’s on the roster, then it’s more of a decision on when I feel comfortable using him. I just don’t know that answer, but I am hopeful that he’s in a good spot right now.”

Michael Grove, who was removed from the NLDS roster with a shoulder injury and missed the NLCS, said he’s thrown two bullpen sessions, and also faced hitters on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

“Hopefully I’ll be available,” Grove said. “It’s just one of those nagging things we’re trying to keep under control.”

Joe Kelly, who like Graterol has been sidelined for a month with shoulder inflammation, won’t be an option for the initial World Series roster, but Roberts said Kelly might be considered later into the series should the Dodgers need to replace a pitcher.