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Clayton Kershaw has won multiple Cy Young Awards, a Most Valuable Player Award and thrown a no-hitter over his illustrious eight-year MLB career. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers ace checked another accomplishment off his checklist: throwing 300 strikeouts in a single season.

Kershaw entered the day needing six strikeouts in order to hit the impressive mark.

In the top of the third inning, the left-hander fanned San Diego Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. to record his sixth punch-out of the Dodgers’ regular-season finale. Somewhat fittingly, Upton went down hacking at Kershaw’s devastating curveball, per MLB:

Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were the last pitchers to reach 300 strikeouts after they recorded 334 and 316, respectively, in 2002.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Kershaw is only the second Dodger pitcher to hit 300, with Sandy Koufax being the other.      

“It’s definitely a cool thing,” Kershaw said after the game per the Associated Press, via ESPN.com. “Obviously not the most important thing in the world. If my pitch count got there and I didn’t have 300, I would have come out. Being fresh for the playoffs is more important than 300 strikeouts.”

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan found it somewhat ironic the 27-year-old has reached such a high standard in terms of strikeouts, but has otherwise had a disappointing season by his ridiculous standards:

To a certain extent, the high rate of strikeouts in MLB today somewhat dilutes Kershaw’s achievement. According to FanGraphs, this year’s strikeout rate (20.4 percent) is tied for the highest mark (with 2014) dating back to the 1871 season. In fact, the eight highest strikeout rates have all come between 2008 and 2015, further demonstrating just how significant the trend is.

At the same time, Kershaw’s 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings entering Sunday equaled Johnson’s during his 2002 campaign, per Baseball-Reference.com, so the two are comparable in that respect.

Of course, much of Kershaw’s work in the regular season could be undone, should he and the Dodgers once again fall short of making the World Series this year.

His struggles in the postseason have been well-documented, and for some, Kershaw won’t establish himself as one of the greatest ever until he gets that monkey off his back.

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Before we inject some Debbie Downer realism into the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ champagne-soaked celebration, let’s pause to appreciate what they’ve accomplished.

By defeating Madison Bumgarner and the archrival San Francisco Giants 8-0 Tuesday night, the Dodgers clinched their third consecutive National League West title. That’s no mean feat, considering three of the other five division winners this season will likely be teams that didn’t even make the playoffs last year.

In fact, it’s the first time in franchise history the Dodgers have won three straight division crowns.

“What a relief that we’ve been able to accomplish this,” manager Don Mattingly told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo immediately after the game. “We got into the dance, and now we’ve just got to take care of business.”

The Dodgers are ticketed for the National League Division Series, where they lost last year to the St. Louis Cardinals, who also knocked them out in the National League Championship Series in 2013.

This time, L.A. will miss the Cards in the first round and face the NL East champion New York Mets.

In any event, the Dodgers enter October with some serious, potentially fatal flaws.

Yes, their starting rotation—and, indeed, entire roster—is anchored by co-aces Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, who will likely finish in the top three in NL Cy Young balloting (the Chicago Cubs‘ Jake Arrieta is the only non-Dodger with a shot at the prize).

Kershaw was simply brilliant in Tuesday’s clincher, twirling nine innings of one-hit, no-run ball with 13 strikeouts.

And all you need to do is glance at Greinke’s ridiculous 1.68 ERA to understand what he’s accomplished this season.

Still, as I recently argued, it’s unreasonable for the Dodgers to expect Greinke and Kershaw, great as they are, to carry the franchise across the Fall Classic finish line the way Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.

We’re living in the era of pitch counts, matchups and late-inning relief specialists. Los Angeles’ two-headed mound monster can do a lot, and Kershaw has a lot to prove, what with his unsightly 5.12 postseason ERA. But they can’t do it alone.

For the Dodgers to end their 27-year championship drought, they’ll need another starting pitcher to chip in. 

Alex Wood has had his moments since L.A. acquired him from the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline, but the 24-year-old left-hander has coughed up a whopping eight runs in two of his last four starts (to be fair, the most recent one was in Colorado).

And Brett Anderson, another lefty, has failed to get out of the fifth inning in his last two trips to the hill, yielding a total of 20 hits and 11 runs.

That suggests the bullpen will play a big role, and the reviews there are mixed.

Closer Kenley Jansen has been excellent, posting a 2.36 ERA and converting 34 of 36 save opportunities. After that, things get dicey.

Right-hander Chris Hatcher has emerged as a reliable setup option, posting a 1.29 ERA, with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings since Aug. 31. And lefty J.P. Howell owns a 1.50 ERA in 12 games over the same stretch.

Still, overall the Dodgers’ relief core carries easily the highest ERA of any NL postseason club. If it’s not an outright weakness, it’s at least a hold-your-breath kind of thing going into October, when every inning and every out is magnified.

On offense, uncertainty also abounds. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez is an All-Star-caliber run producer, and shortstop Corey Seager is hitting .333 since an early September call-up.

But with formerly scalding rookie Joc Pederson mired in an extended cold streak and one-time Cuban spark plug Yasiel Puig on the disabled list, Los Angeles’ lineup is lacking, particularly in the power department, as Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times highlighted:

They don’t have the kind of late-inning pop that dramatically, historically has helped the Dodgers to championships. Hello, Kirk Gibson.

Listen to these numbers: They’re 21-26 in one-run games, they’re 6-9 in extra-inning games and they’re 5-47 when trailing or tied after the eighth inning.

Some of that can be laid at the feet of Mattingly, whose strategic machinations don’t always inspire confidence. In the final analysis, though, you live and die with the talent on the field. And while the Dodgers, owners of baseball’s biggest payroll, have some legitimate stars, they’ve got a few black holes as well.

Clinching the division with a week to spare will allow L.A. to line up its rotation and rest its regulars, including guys such as third baseman Justin Turner and catcher Yasmani Grandal, who have both battled injuries.

And certainly if you’re not going to celebrate with the blue-bleeding faithful at Chavez Ravine, doing it at AT&T Park in front of a bunch of bummed-out Giants fans is a fine consolation prize.

Enjoy it for now, L.A. Because when the champagne dries and the autumn tournament begins, you’ll have work to do—and some pressing questions to answer.

All statistics current as of Sept. 29 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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For the third consecutive season, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West by virtue of Tuesday’s 8-0 victory over the archrival San Francisco Giants.

Despite the amount of success the Dodgers organization has enjoyed over the years in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn, this marks the first time it has won three straight division titles. 

The Giants have been attempting to chase down the Dodgers all year long, but they were never able to get within realistic striking distance in September because of their late-season struggles. It feels fitting Los Angeles clinched the crown with a head-to-head victory behind Clayton Kershaw’s dominance.

Kershaw put the team on his back with a shutout. He notched 13 strikeouts in the process and allowed only one hit. The team provided some of the southpaw’s highlights:

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News did not hold back on his praise of the pitcher:

Kershaw beat last year’s postseason hero Madison Bumgarner on Tuesday. ESPN Stats & Info noted Bumgarner tied his career high with three home runs allowed (he gave up three homers to the Dodgers last season as well).

Not even Bumgarner at his best was beating Kershaw on Tuesday. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out Kershaw became the third pitcher in 100 years with a one-hit shutout and at least 13 strikeouts against the Giants and added, courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau, that he became the second pitcher to throw a shutout and allow one hit or less in a division-clinching game in MLB history.

Molly Knight, author of The Best Team Money Can Buy, summarized the superstar’s greatness and provided a picture of him in the triumphant aftermath:

Kershaw had plenty of support in the final inning from Dodgers fans in attendance in San Francisco, as the team highlighted:

The team also provided some of the postgame celebration:

Unsurprisingly, the celebration carried over into the locker room well after the final out. J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group and MLB provided a glimpse at the euphoria:

Pitcher Brett Anderson enjoyed himself:

Even the rival Giants congratulated the Dodgers:

This marks L.A.’s fifth playoff appearance in the past eight years, but its previous four runs have all been stopped prior to the World Series. In fact, the Dodgers have not made the World Series since winning it way back in 1988.

Los Angeles has the talent to go all the way, but the NL Central trio of the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs has outperformed it, so it isn’t the favorite to win the pennant like it was entering the 2015 campaign.

If the Dodgers do win the National League, the ace starting-pitching duo of Kershaw and Zack Greinke will undoubtedly have plenty to do with it. Kershaw has dominated again to the tune of a 2.16 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 294 strikeouts in 229 innings, per Drew Silva of NBCSports.com, while Greinke has raised his game significantly, with a 1.68 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 192 strikeouts.

Despite that dominant combo, legendary television host Larry King isn’t high on the Dodgers’ chances in the postseason:

King certainly has a point regarding L.A.’s bullpen, as it has been unreliable outside of closer Kenley Jansen and lefty J.P. Howell.

Even so, general manager Farhan Zaidi believes that unit is on the ascent with the playoffs approaching, according to ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon.

“With a bullpen, it’s about trajectory and where they’re heading as much as where they have been, so we’re kind of looking forward with this group and think the guys are sort of figuring it out,” Zaidi said.

The Dodgers also have an interesting situation offensively. Veterans Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Justin Turner and Andre Ethier have all been solid contributors, but question marks abound otherwise. Catcher Yasmani Grandal is trending downward, shortstop Jimmy Rollins has never found his stride and power-hitting youngster Joc Pederson hasn’t been the same since the All-Star break.

Rookie infielder Corey Seager could be the key to the Dodgers’ offensive success come playoff time if he continues his torrid pace, but the same could be said for ailing outfielder Yasiel Puig. The Cuban star has been on the shelf since August with a hamstring injury, and while his status is uncertain, he is willing to do anything to help the team in October, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

“I’ll be there to do what is needed, whether it’s pinch-hitting or play as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning,” Puig said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do.”

The Dodgers are arguably the most intriguing team in the playoffs since they could just as easily get swept out of the National League Division Series as they could go all the way and win the World Series. There are plenty of unknowns surrounding the squad, but now that the Dodgers have won the division and qualified for the postseason, they have a fighting chance.

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Incomparable. You’ve probably heard that word thrown around in connection with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, the dynamic duo that’s poised to pitch the Los Angeles Dodgers into October.

Certainly, the likes of Greinke and Kershaw don’t come around often, and even less frequently do such immense talents occupy the same rotation.

But there is a comparison for the Dodgers’ two-headed mound monster, if an imperfect one.

We’ll talk more about the “imperfect” part in a moment. First, let’s step into the wayback machine and set the coordinates for the autumn of 2001. (Yes, that was 14 years ago. And yes, you should feel old.)

That season featured a seemingly unbeatable pitching twosome who double-handedly carried a National League West club to a thrilling World Series victory.

The club was the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the arms they rode across the Fall Classic finish line belonged to Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.

Johnson (2.49 ERA, 249.2 innings pitched, 372 strikeouts) and Schilling (2.98 ERA, 256.2 IP, 293 K) dominated in the ’01 regular season, finishing first and second in National League Cy Young balloting, respectively. But they flipped a switch in the playoffs, changing their settings from “superb” to “superhuman.”

Schilling went 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA in 48.1 innings and started Games 1 and 5 of the National League Division Series, Game 3 of the National League Championship Series and Games 1, 4 and 7 of the World Series.

Johnson went 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA in 41.1 innings and started Game 2 of the NLDS, Games 1 and 5 of the NLCS and Games 2 and 6 of the World Series. Then, for good measure, he came out of the bullpen in Game 7 to get four crucial outs and set the table for Luis Gonzalez’s game-winning single off the New York Yankees‘ Mariano Rivera in the ninth.

Johnson and Schilling wound up sharing World Series MVP honors. It was frankly impossible to place one above the other, just as it was impossible to imagine Arizona sniffing the Commissioner’s Trophy without its pair of aces. Baseball is a team sport in the truest sense, but that 2001 title run—the only one in the D-Backs’ brief history—was as close as any two men can come to carrying an entire franchise on their backs.

In 2011, the 10-year anniversary of Schilling and Johnson’s impossible-unless-you-witnessed-it feat, Gonzalez offered a firsthand perspective, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert:

It was awesome. They went out there and dominated the game. They quietly competed against each other. And you loved it when one of them had a fantastic game, because you knew the other guy was going to be amped up and ready to go and outshine the other guy. It was a great mix of those two guys. It was the yin and the yang, but they did it.

The question now is: Can Greinke and Kershaw do it too?

There are parallels. Greinke (1.65 ERA, 207.2 IP, 185 K) and Kershaw (2.18 ERA, 215 IP, 272 K) are in the midst of superlative seasons and could well finish one-two in Cy Young voting, though the Chicago Cubs‘ Jake Arrieta is in the mix.

They’re also a righty-lefty combo like Schilling and Johnson. Johnson was coming off two consecutive Cy Young seasons, and so is Kershaw, his southpaw counterpart. And, as Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times outlined, Greinke and Kershaw motivate each other with the same friendly-yet-fiery competition Gonzalez described:

After Kershaw flirted with a perfect game July 23 against the Mets in New York, [catcher Yasmani] Grandal recalled a conversation he’d had with Greinke after a spring game.

“Kershaw better watch out because I’m coming after him,” Grandal recalled Greinke telling him.

They’re pushing each other to rarefied air.

Whether they’ll push the Dodgers to their first championship in 27 years remains to be seen. But if they do, they aren’t likely to do it in the same way—or, more specifically, to the same extent—as Johnson and Schilling.

Here’s a striking fact: In the 2001 postseason, Johnson and Schilling threw a combined five complete games. By contrast, Greinke and Kershaw have tossed only four complete games between them all season.

That’s the norm in today’s MLB, with its emphasis on pitch counts, relief specialists and late-game matchups. In 1998, Schilling led the majors with 15 complete games. In 1999, Johnson paced baseball with 12.

This season, four pitchers are tied for the lead with four complete games apiece.

One of those pitchers is Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants, who turned back the clock last October and threw an astounding 52.2 postseason innings, breaking the record set by Schilling in 2001.

The Giants left-hander tossed 21 frames in the World Series alone, including a gutsy Game 7 relief appearance that sealed San Francisco’s third championship in five seasons.

So it is possible, even today, to shoulder the load. More than a template, though, Bumgarner was the exception that proves the rule. Part of the reason his performance glistened so brightly—besides its utter brilliance—is that it was an anomaly among anomalies.

Likewise, what Johnson and Schilling did in ’01 is a rarity in this or any era. Having a pair of top-shelf pitchers doesn’t correlate with postseason success, as Houston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times outlined last September:

A check of other teams with at least two dominant starters since expanded playoffs began in 1969 says otherwise. Using the criteria of at least two starting pitchers who, like Kershaw and Greinke, have a WHIP of 1.16 or lower and an ERA+ of 125 (meaning they were 25% better than the average pitcher that year), 39 other teams have two pitchers like that. One of those are the 2014 Washington Nationals, with Tanner Roark and Jordan Zimmermann. Of the other 38, only 21 made the playoffs. Only four of those teams won the World Series, with nine teams losing in the first round of the playoffs.

The 2014 Nationals didn’t end up in the World Series, and neither did the 2014 Dodgers. In fact, after sweeping the Cy Young and NL MVP awards in the regular season, Kershaw tripped over his cleats in the playoffs, going 0-2 and raising his career postseason ERA to an unsightly 5.12.

That doesn’t mean Kershaw will fade this year. But it does prove that even the greats can wilt under baseball’s brightest glare.

In all likelihood, if the Dodgers are going to spray champagne and dump confetti for the first time since the waning months of the Reagan administration, they’ll need the offense, which has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball since the All-Star break, to click. They’ll need another starting pitcher (Alex Wood? Brett Anderson?) to chip in. And their frequently wobbly bullpen must rise to the occasion.

Los Angeles is right to expect a lot from Greinke and Kershaw. They’re the studs in the stable, after all. And Dodgers fans can be forgiven for closing their eyes and letting visions of Schilling and Johnson dance in their heads.

It’s a scintillating comparison, no question.

In the end, though, some things are simply incomparable.

All statistics current as of Sept. 23 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Zack Greinke is in the midst of his best season, but the Los Angeles Dodgers star finds himself on the mend with an injured calf. 

Continue for updates. 

Greinke to Miss One Start

Wednesday, Sept. 23

Per MLB Network Radio on Twitter, the Dodgers will skip Greinke’s start on Wednesday due to soreness in his calf, but he’s expected to make his next start that will presumably be on Monday against San Francisco. 

Greinke has been marvelous this season, owning an MLB-best 1.65 ERA, 0.848 WHIP and 227 ERA+. He’s been banged up at times in the past, starting just 28 games in his first season with the team, but the good news is this particular issue sounds like a short-term problem. 

The Dodgers rotation has already been tested in 2015 with Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy out for the season. Clayton Kershaw got off to a slow start, but he has found another gear and looks like the best pitcher on the planet. 

Losing Greinke for a short period of time does hurt the Dodgers, though they can survive. The advantage for Los Angeles is it’s opened a six-game lead over the San Francisco Giants with 12 games to play, so having the right-hander miss one start won’t hurt its playoff chances.   

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Corey Seager didn’t play an inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers until Sept. 3, when he made his big league debut. Still, the lanky 21-year-old could be one of the most essential Dodgers of 2015.

No pressure, kid.

No doubt the Dodgers could have won the National League West without Seager. The injury-bitten San Francisco Giants are in the midst of another odd-year tailspin, and the rest of the division is mired under .500. Even with a loss Sunday to the Pittsburgh Pirates and a Giants win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles’ magic number sits at seven with 14 to play.

But as L.A. steps onto the postseason stage for the third consecutive season, Seager figures to play a prominent role. And if he keeps hitting like he has been, the needle on the Dodgers’ championship-o-meter will nudge noticeably northward.

First, a quick recap of what Seager has done during his eye-opening MLB audition.

In 16 games with the Dodgers, Seager is hitting .379 with a 1.082 OPS. Nine of his 22 hits have gone for extra bases, including seven doubles and a pair of dingers, and he’s collected 10 RBI.

If there were any doubts about the 2012 first-round pick’s ability to handle major league pitching, he’s put them to rest.

It’s a small sample, sure. But with once-scalding rookie outfielder Joc Pederson hitting an anemic .218 and Cuban masher Yasiel Puig on the disabled list with a wonky hamstring, Seager’s debut has been a splash of sweet, life-giving water on a parched offensive desert in Southern California.

Really, the entire Dodgers offense needed a drink. Since the All-Star break, L.A. has scored the third-fewest runs in the National League and has posted a collective .725 OPS.

It’s unrealistic to ask one untested September call-up to shoulder the load, but Seager has provided a shot, a jolt, a spark—pick your ham-fisted metaphor.

“The beautiful thing about him is somehow he just rises to the occasion every time, it doesn’t matter the expectations,” Dodgers outfielder Scott Schebler said of his phenom teammate, per ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon. “I’m sure he knows they expect the world from him, but for some reason he just somehow slows the game down every time.”

Despite his smashing early success, Seager won’t necessarily be the Dodgers’ everyday shortstop for the final stretch of the regular season and into October.

For most of the 2015 campaign, that job belonged to veteran Jimmy Rollins. A sprained index finger put Rollins out of commission, but he pinch-hit Sunday, indicating a return to the field could be imminent.

Will the Dodgers really swipe playing time from their hottest hitter and hand it to Rollins, who owns a pedestrian .220/.278/.354 slash line?

It seems absurd on its face, but it might happen.

“Well, we’ll see,” skipper Don Mattingly said of the Seager-Rollins conundrum, per Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. “We’ve used Corey, and we’ll continue to put our best lineup out there.”

Based on the numbers, that “best lineup” includes Seager. The offensive stats are irrefutable, and while Seager has committed three errors at short, Rollins isn’t the defender he used to be. His minus-seven defensive runs saved (DRS) and minus-6.5 ultimate zone rating (UZR), per FanGraphs, indicate a glove in steep decline.

There is the argument that Rollins is a seasoned pro, with 46 playoff games under his belt, and that benching him could disrupt team chemistry.

“Yeah, you want [Seager to play],” a front office source recently told Bleacher Report, pointing toward the home clubhouse at Dodger Stadium. “But you still have to deal with him [Rollins] in there. He’s going to be there in the playoffs. Do you want him mad the whole time?”

In the end, though, this can’t be about wounded egos. With two Cy Young-caliber pitchers—Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke—headlining their rotation, the Dodgers have an opportunity to make a deep run despite question marks in the lineup and the bullpen.

Seager and his streaking stick give the Dodgers the best chance to win, period. That should trump all other considerations.

That said, Seager can also play third base, like his All-Star older brother, Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners. In fact, Corey has already seen 18 big league innings at the hot corner.

So there are permutations that get Rollins and Seager on the field, as Plaschke spelled out:

Here’s guessing that if Rollins returns to the lineup within a week as expected, and if Seager continues to act like he belongs here, both guys will play in a rotation with third baseman Justin Turner in October. Sometimes Seager would play shortstop instead of Rollins. Sometimes he would play third alongside Rollins, with Turner, who’s batting just .188 since returning from a leg infection Aug. 13, taking a seat.

To further complicate matters, Turner is dealing with a bruised knee. The bottom line: Los Angeles will find a place for Seager one way or another.

Nothing is clinched yet, obviously. But if the playoffs started Monday, the Dodgers would meet the New York Mets in the division series. New York’s top three starters—Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard—are all right-handed. And Seager, who swings from the left side, has tattooed MLB righties to the tune of a .438 average and 1.257 OPS.

Again, sample-size caveats apply. Still, as with all things Seager, that must leave Dodgers fans licking their chops.

So the opportunity is there. If Seager can help the Dodgers hoist a Commissioner’s Trophy and bathe in champagne and confetti after two consecutive October exits and 27 years of World Series futility, he’ll be indelibly etched in Dodgers history. Heck, he could wind up a legend before he plays his first full season, with a place alongside greats like Sandy Koufax, Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser and the rest.

All he’s got to do is keep raking for another month or so.

No pressure, kid.

All statistics and standings current as of Sept. 20 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to bolster an already-formidable starting rotation at the trade deadline when they added Mat Latos from the Miami Marlins, but the right-handed pitcher is no longer with the major league team.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports noted Los Angeles designated Latos for assignment Thursday. Fox Sports MLB reported the Dodgers reinstated pitcher Carlos Frias from the 60-day disabled list to take Latos’ spot.

Latos looked like a critical addition when he threw six innings of one-run baseball in his first start with the team following the trade with Miami, but he didn’t even finish the fifth inning in his next four outings. In all, Latos tallied a 6.66 ERA in 24.1 innings of disappointing work with Los Angeles.

Michael J. Duarte of NBC LA said this move “most likely ends his rocky tenure” with the Dodgers. It was the next step down after manager Don Mattingly moved Latos to the bullpen earlier in September. 

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times put Latos’ fall from grace into context during the pitcher’s most recent outing:   

That is a far cry from Latos’ five straight seasons with less than a 3.50 ERA coming into the 2015 campaign, including a standout 2010 campaign with the San Diego Padres that saw him post a 2.92 ERA, a sparkling 1.08 WHIP and 189 strikeouts.

D.J. Short of NBC Sports pointed out that “the Dodgers won’t need a fifth starter during the postseason, so they apparently decided to turn the page and open up a spot on the 40-man roster.”

Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw are arguably the top two pitchers in the league, and, as Short alluded to, the Dodgers can pitch them multiple times in a short playoff series instead of worrying about the back end of the rotation.

As for Latos, he is set to become a free agent following the season, per Spotrac. It is safe to assume his performance with the Dodgers potentially cost him millions of dollars on the open market, although his track record should earn him an opportunity with another squad.

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There was a time when Yasiel Puig was the hot topic du jour on a seemingly, um, jourly basis. That went double during October, a month when Puig’s every action was best observed through a microscope. And the more subatomic, the better.

But this year? Not as much. And the way things are looking now, it’s time to wonder if we’ll even be discussing Puig at all come the postseason.

Oh, don’t worry. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be there. They’ve caught fire and opened up a big lead in the NL West over the defending world champion San Francisco Giants. With less than 20 games to go before the end of the regular season, the Dodgers can plan on a third straight NL West title and begin pondering their postseason roster.

To this end, what to do with Puig could be their most difficult decision.

The star 24-year-old right fielder has had trouble staying on the field in 2015, participating in only 77 games due to assorted injuries. The latest of those is a right hamstring strain that has kept him out of action since Aug. 27, and which isn’t close to being 100 percent healed.

“We’ve got about a month and Yas has been out a few days, a week, maybe,” Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly said earlier this month, via Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. “If it is a month, we’re pretty much right at the end of the year.”

This is to say Puig may not be healthy until the postseason arrives. At that point, it’ll have been over a month since his last major league game, leaving the Dodgers little to go off of regarding whether he’s worthy of a spot on their postseason roster.

It’s no wonder that Mattingly’s uncertainty about the situation comes across even in print: “I think we’d have to see a little bit. We just cross those bridges as we get there. I guess it would depend on what he’s able to do at that point.”

Of course, it is possible the Dodgers’ decision will turn out to be an easy one. If Puig makes it obvious that he’s not healthy yet, putting him on the postseason roster anyway would be folly. Those roster spots are too precious to waste on guys who can’t give it their all.

But then again, what to do with Puig and the postseason roster won’t necessarily be a no-brainer, even if he does show the Dodgers he’s healthy. Looking healed in drills isn’t the same as being 100 percent in games, after all.

And then there’s the possibility that the Dodgers could conclude that they don’t really need Puig anyway.

The notion of Puig being an expendable part of the Dodgers’ plans would have been absurd in either of the last two seasons. In notching a .925 OPS with 19 homers, he was arguably their best position player in 2013. Even as his numbers fell to an .863 OPS and 16 homers, you could still make the same argument last year. Puig was good. Really good.

But 2015 has brought a Wild Horse of a different color. When he hasn’t been injured, Puig has registered an OPS of just .764 with 11 homers and put up a 1.1 WAR, which puts him well short of the ranks of the Dodgers’ best players. Rather than great, he’s been merely solid.

That’s made it a wee bit easier for the Dodgers to make do without him. To their credit, they’ve done precisely that.

With Puig on the field, the Dodgers have gone a solid 42-35. Without Puig on the field, however, they’ve done a bit better at 41-26. Part of the reason for this is that the Dodgers offense hasn’t skipped a beat without Puig in the lineup. 

You can take it from the slash lines, which show no notable difference in the Dodgers’ offensive production if Puig’s contributions were erased entirely:

• Dodgers with Puig: .253/.329/.418
• Dodgers minus Puig: .252/.329/.416

Now, this could be read as the latest entry in the “Look How Overrated Yasiel Puig Is!” journal. But don’t do that. That’s a bad reading. Talk of Puig being overrated is in itself overrated.

Rather, this is more so a compliment to the depth the Dodgers have enjoyed this season. And where they’ve been deepest just so happens to be the outfield. Despite Puig’s extended absences, the Dodgers outfield has still managed to be one of the most productive in baseball.

Joc Pederson and Andre Ethier are mainly to thank for that, and Carl Crawford has also been solid when his own shaky health has allowed him to play. Elsewhere, role players like Kike Hernandez, Scott Van Slyke, Alex Guerrero and, most recently, Justin Ruggiano have also lent a hand.

And with the postseason fast approaching, it’s certainly not hard to imagine the Dodgers being willing to move forward with a combination of these players, rather than shoehorn Puig into the mix.

Because Crawford, Pederson and Ethier have been hitting well recently, they look like a solid starting trio. In light of their track records as lefty killers, Van Slyke and Ruggiano could be used as right-handed platoon partners for Crawford and Ethier. If he recovers well enough from his own hamstring strain, Hernandez would be the do-it-all utility guy and another right-handed bat to use in a pinch.

Of course, going with a crew like this would put pressure on Mattingly to push the right buttons in October. But as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News pointed out, Mattingly has been forced to do quite a bit of mixing and matching this month. He’s been getting his platoon practice, and the club’s .761 OPS this month says it’s working.

Bottom line: The Dodgers haven’t needed Puig’s presence to enjoy a productive outfield in 2015, and the pieces are there for them if they want to try to continue that trend into October.

…Or, they could just decide to roll the dice on a healthy (or healthy enough) Puig anyway. And as much as all of the above wouldn’t be the worst idea, this, too, wouldn’t be the worst idea.

Though Puig hasn’t been himself this year, he’s at least been better than average. That’s reflected best in how his .764 OPS translates to a safely above-average 110 OPS+. That’s notably better than Crawford’s 96 OPS+. And given that Crawford is also currently banged up after struggling with injuries for much of the year, one could argue for the Dodgers holding right field for Puig and projecting Ethier to start over Crawford in left field.

There’s also the notion that Puig is the best emergency center field option the Dodgers have, a rather important distinction given what’s known about Pederson. If he happens to go into another deep slump in October, the Dodgers would be happy they have Puig’s athleticism to plug into center field.

Lastly, there’s the notion that rolling the dice on Puig could result in a huge payout. He can be frustratingly inconsistent, but he’s also shown at times in 2015—including right before his latest injury—that he can be an absolute terror when he finds his rhythm at the plate. If he were to do so in October, he could put the entire Dodgers offense on his back.

So, while the Dodgers theoretically could tackle the postseason without Puig, even if he shows them he’s good to go, it’s a lot harder to say with any conviction that they should.

Which, if nothing else, is to say it’ll be interesting to see what the Dodgers do. The signs say Puig’s recovery is going to leave them with a tough decision to make: the allure of Puig’s talent, or the depth that’s allowed them to survive just fine without it?

Like Mattingly said, the Dodgers will cross this bridge when they get to it. But for now, it doesn’t hurt to send along the appropriate message.

Good luck with that.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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If Zack Greinke hasn’t cleared space in his trophy case yet, he’d better get busy. Because, while the race for the National League Cy Young Award isn’t over, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ right-hander looks more like the prohibitive front-runner with each superlative start.

Greinke twirled his latest gem on Sunday, shutting out the Arizona Diamondbacks for eight innings while racking up eight strikeouts and issuing no walks. (The bullpen nearly coughed it up, as closer Kenley Jansen surrendered a three-run homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth, but the Dodgers prevailed, 4-3.)

With his ERA now sitting at a minuscule 1.61 and an imposing 17-3 record (even if you spit on pitching wins, that’s eye-opening), it’s difficult to imagine anyone else taking home the NL’s top pitching prize.

And really, it’s been that way all season.

Greinke opened his 2015 campaign by tossing six innings of two-hit, one-run ball against the San Diego Padres on April 7.

That six-inning mark would prove meaningful, because it’s the minimum number of frames Greinke has thrown in every start this season. 

He’s also allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but two of his 29 outings, and he’s kept his ERA constantly under 2.00.

There’s steady, and then there’s dominant. What Greinke is doing is some freakish combination of the two. Call it “stominant,” for lack of an actual word.

“You get spoiled when you see it every day. ‘Oh, he went six or seven innings again, gave up one run,'” Greinke’s rotation-mate, Clayton Kershaw, said, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. “That’s the sign of a great season, when your teammates are, ‘Ho hum, another great start.'”

Speaking of Kershaw, I said up there that it was difficult to imagine anyone else winning the NL Cy Young—difficult, but not impossible.

As transcendent as Greinke has been, Kershaw—the reigning NL Cy Young and MVP winner—is right there with him. And so is Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs.

Here, let’s just lay the three studs’ stats on the table:

Greinke has the otherworldly ERA, but Arrieta has nudged his under 2.00 as well. And Kershaw owns the gaudy strikeout total.

Plus, all three hurlers pitch for clubs that appear ticketed for October, so voters who factor that in won’t be able to use team success as a tiebreaker.

One variable that could tip the scales toward Arrieta is that he pitches in the NL Central. Not only is the division full of hitter-happy yards, it features the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, both of whom are on track to join the Cubs in the postseason.

The NL West, meanwhile, where Greinke and Kershaw toil, boasts only one above-.500 team besides LA (the San Francisco Giants) and three pitcher-friendly yards in Dodger Stadium, San Francisco’s AT&T Park and San Diego’s Petco Park.

It’s no surprise, as MLB.com’s Phil Rogers recently pointed out, that the NL West has produced 12 of the Senior Circuit’s last 16 Cy Young winners.

It’s a fair point. Greinke, though, has dominated on almost every mound he’s climbed.

In fact, in 20.2 combined innings at Wrigley Field, Milwaukee‘s Miller Park and Cincinnati‘s Great American Ball Park (the three NL Central stadiums in which Greinke has pitched this year) he has allowed nine hits and exactly zero earned runs.

One of the only places he’s endured what might be called a bad start was Colorado‘s Coors Field, where he yielded five runs and 10 hits in six innings. But, you know, it’s Coors Field.

There’s still a little time for Greinke to falter, and for Kershaw and Arrieta to push themselves over the top. What if Arrieta, say, threw another no-hitter to add to the one he tossed Aug. 30 against the Dodgers? Or what if Kershaw authored a masterpiece like his 15-strikeout no-no from 2014? 

In a race this close, those kind of indelible moments could be the difference. 

Of course, Greinke’s more than capable of doing something historic, like the 45.2 scoreless-innings streak he logged this season, the fourth-longest in MLB since 1960.

But if Greinke wins his second career Cy Young, it’ll likely be on the strength of his ludicrously low ERA (assuming it remains ludicrously low). ESPN’s Jayson Stark expanded on this point:

To make the case that anyone other than Greinke should win this award, you’re essentially arguing that ERA doesn’t matter. And boy, is there an irony to going down that road to build a case AGAINST Zack Greinke.

That’s because in 2009, when Greinke won his first Cy Young, it was his glittering ERA (2.16) that was the single biggest reason he won. And at the time, we actually looked at that as a breakthrough. Remember? It felt like the first time voters had looked past a guy’s win total (16, in his case) and voted for the man who had—shocker—pitched the best. Quite a concept.

Stats keep advancing, and ERA has its flaws, no argument there.

For his part, however, Greinke has been virtually flawless. You don’t have to love ERA to appreciate what he’s accomplished. You just have to love baseball.

It’s entertaining and good for the game for there to be a legitimate debate about the NL Cy Young. The next few weeks should be exceedingly interesting as Greinke, Arrieta and Kershaw make their closing arguments.

Right now, though, if I’m casting a ballot, I’m voting for Greinke and not thinking twice. He’s simply been that good. No, wait, good isn’t the right word. How about…stominant.

All stats current as of Sept. 13 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Major League Baseball’s richest somehow got even richer Thursday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers called up shortstop Corey Seager, one of the top prospects in the sport.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the news.

Seager, 21, ascended to No. 1 in Baseball America‘s midseason prospect rankings and ranked fourth in Sporting News‘ similar June checkup.

Selected No. 18 overall in 2012, Seager has ascended quickly through the Dodgers system. He has split 2015 between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .292/.343/.486 with 18 home runs and 74 RBI overall. While his numbers have dipped a bit in Triple-A compared to his scorching start in Double-A, Seager’s arrival should come with as much fanfare as that of Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson, if not more.

The Dodgers have spent the entirety of 2015 relying on 36-year-old Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. Rollins has responded by hitting .222/.276/.358 with 13 home runs and 41 RBI while playing below-average defense. He is on pace for his first negative WAR season since a 14-game cup of coffee in 2000, according to FanGraphs‘ formula.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports said the Dodgers plan on playing Seager, noting it may be related to third baseman Justin Turner’s taking a pitch off his hand Wednesday:

While Seager has spent the bulk of his career at shortstop, he’s also put in time at third base.

Of course, it’s entirely unclear how much time Seager will get and how it will affect Rollins. The Dodgers are still in the midst of a pennant race. Managers tend to err on the side of caution when a World Series is involved; it’s possible Rollins continues to get playing time well into October despite his poor performance.

Seager might not have a Yasiel Puig-like debut either. As his numbers in Triple-A show, Seager took some time to acclimate to the increased competition. That will only be more difficult as teams try their best to keep baseball’s highest payroll away from the sport’s pinnacle.

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