Roberts Talks Mookie’s Progress, Bullpen Progress, and Yankees Rivalry

LOS ANGELES — Ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts met with reporters for his regular pregame media session, touching on everything from Mookie Betts’ recovery to the resurgence of Max Muncy and the impressive evolution of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

First, some encouraging news for Dodgers fans: Mookie Betts is slowly ramping up his baseball activity. “He’s going to go through some work,” Roberts said. “Take some grounders, I think, on his knees. I’m not sure if he’s going to be hitting or anything like that, but it’s a positive.” The Dodgers have clearly missed Betts’ presence both offensively and defensively, but Sunday brought a hint of optimism.

Coming off Saturday’s 18-2 rout of the Yankees, Roberts was quick to dismiss any notion that the Dodgers have the Bronx Bombers figured out. “I think we’ve had their number the last couple nights,” he admitted. “But today’s a different day. We got our guy going tonight and so it’s going to be fun.”

That “guy” is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who faced the Yankees last season in what Roberts described as a turning point. “If you had to look at one point where it kind of flipped or gained some momentum, it was that start in New York. On the biggest of stages he performed, and that’s kind of where it took off for me for Yoshi.”

Yamamoto won’t be the only change to the roster on Sunday. “We’re going to activate Noah [Davis] and then we’re going to IL Luis Garcia,” Roberts said. Garcia is dealing with an adductor issue sustained while covering first base in Cleveland. The team will backdate the move.

As for reinforcements, Michael Kopech remains on the horizon. “Kopech is gonna throw today, and if it goes well, we’ll get him back sometime next week,” Roberts said. “He’d be the first domino to fall.” Kirby Yates is feeling better too, and could pitch a bullpen session soon. Neither is expected to require a rehab stint. “We’re going to do a simulated game this week and if that goes well then we should be ready to move forward.”

Roberts also praised the way the Yankees series has helped reset the Dodgers’ focus. “No player, no team wants to get embarrassed,” he said. “We were playing sort of middling baseball. When these guys came into town, I think we ramped up our focus on approach. Just the intensity.”

Still, he gave credit where it’s due. “They’re considerably better defensively this year. They have a lot of depth and it’s a really good ball club. Obviously, losing [Gerrit] Cole is a big loss. But Judge… he’s always looming.”

Roberts’ admiration for Aaron Judge was especially clear. “It was more disbelief and I felt okay with it,” he said, reflecting on Judge’s second home run Saturday night. “I just appreciate great players… I was okay with giving up a solo homer right there to watch him.”

When asked about Judge’s historic two-month start, Roberts didn’t hesitate. “It’s really incredible… I can appreciate the slug, I can appreciate the on-base, but the batting average for a right-hand hitter—that’s something that really stands out to me.”

Another Dodger swinging a hot bat is Max Muncy, and Roberts pointed to both mechanics and mindset. “He’s got the glasses, so probably helping him see the baseball a little better,” he joked. “The swing is much better. It’s shorter. He’s using the whole field… I haven’t seen him do that since ‘21 consistently. His walk-to-strikeout is one-to-one over the last 30 games.”

The manager also praised the bullpen-saving efforts of Kiké Hernández, who pitched an inning in Saturday’s blowout win. “He loves it. It was a nationally televised game, so he got to put on his helmet, pitch an inning, and so he’s happy. It saved our bullpen, so everyone wins.” When asked if he’s ever had a more willing position player to pitch, Roberts grinned: “No, absolutely not. Him and Miggy fight all the time, but I guess the helmet won out yesterday.”

Sunday’s matchup also comes with some reunions. Former Dodger Ryan Yarbrough is expected to receive his World Series ring during the visit. “I think he’s getting it… I wasn’t there… So hopefully they gave it to him today to kind of distract him,” Roberts said with a chuckle.

Roberts also noted the growth of rookie Landon Knack, who tossed six strong innings in Saturday’s win. “He just kind of hangs in there… even a few starts ago where he was scuffling early but ended up getting to 106 pitches to save the pen—I think that was telling.”

For now, Knack and the rest of the rotation will stay on regular rest. “We’re not going to slot anybody in until the weekend for Yamamoto,” Roberts confirmed.

With the Yankees series wrapping and the team seemingly re-energized, the Dodgers look poised to carry that intensity into the next stretch. As Roberts put it, “It’s a really deep club, and we’ve played well the last couple days… but today’s a new day.”

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