Before Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays announced their 2025 World Series rosters.
The Blue Jays’ 26-man roster includes 12 pitchers and 14 hitters with the most notable addition being shortstop Bo Bichette.
Bichette missed the American League Division Series and American League Championship Series due to a knee injury, but he told reporters this week that he would be “ready” for the World Series.
The 27-year-old Bichette last played on Sept. 6 when he injured his knee during a home-plate collision against the New York Yankees.
A two-time All-Star, Bichette slashed .311/.357/.483 during the regular season, ranking second in Major League Baseball in batting average behind only Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Bichette also recorded 18 home runs, 94 RBI and 78 runs scored, representing a significant bounce-back performance from 2024 when injuries limited him to 81 games and he hit just .225 with four homers and 31 RBI.
With Bichette missing the ALDS and ALCS, the Blue Jays utilized Andrés Giménez at shortstop, while Ernie Clement and Isiah Kiner-Falefa split starts at second base.
If manager John Schneider wants to field the best possible lineup from an offensive perspective, he may primarily go with Bichette at short, Clement at third and a platoon of Giménez and Kiner-Falefa at second depending on pitching matchups.
The Blue Jays will also lean heavily on superstar slugger and ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as well as outfielder George Springer, whose go-ahead, three-run home run in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners sent Toronto to its first World Series since 1993.
As for the Dodgers, their roster includes 12 pitchers and 13 hitters, plus the anomaly that is Shohei Ohtani, who will anchor the lineup as a hitter and start at least one game as a starting pitcher.
Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman lead the way for a lineup that is potentially poised to lead the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series titles.
L.A. also boasts arguably the best starting rotation in baseball with Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani.
The biggest shakeup to the Dodgers’ roster compared to the National League Wild Card Series, National League Division Series and National League Championship Series is the bullpen.
Alex Vesia and Ben Casparius were removed from the roster in favor of Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein, while Tanner Scott was not added back to the roster after missing the NLCS with an injury.
The Dodgers released a statement Thursday, noting that Vesia was away from the team due to “a deeply personal family matter.”
Per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, the Dodgers can place Vesia on the family medical emergency list, which would allow him to return and be added to the roster as soon as Game 3, but it isn’t yet known if the Dodgers made that move.
Vesia was a huge part of the Dodgers’ bullpen during the regular season, as his 68 appearances were second on the team, and his 3.02 ERA was second-best among Dodgers relievers who pitched in at least 23 games.
One pitcher who did make the World Series roster despite their status being up in the air is future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.
Kershaw allowed four earned runs over two innings in his only appearance during the 2025 playoffs, but with the 2025 World Series representing the final series of his illustrious career before retirement, manager Dave Roberts made the 37-year-old veteran part of the roster.
The World Series gets started Friday night with the Dodgers’ Snell facing Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage in Game 1 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
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