On a quiet evening in Los Angeles, Dave Roberts, for once, didn’t come across as the manager leading an NL West team. Showing up at the Dodgers All-Access event, Roberts opened up about being a coach; how he is always locked in even on “off days”, and how he manages the injuries, team lineups, and egos like a man spinning plates, hoping none of them crash.

“My mind during the season never shuts off,” Roberts admitted. “Even on an off day, I’m thinking about this series against the Diamondbacks, how I’m going to play guys, who’s available, who’s hurt, who’s coming back… There’s always a player or a coach you want to make sure is feeling the love and they’re on board and they’re getting what they need to keep things moving forward so they can perform at their best. But it’s something I enjoy doing that. So essentially my phone is never off,” he added.

Across him sat Tyler Glasnow, the $136.5 million arm who was supposed to anchor this rotation all season but spent weeks battling early-season soreness. Glasnow, now fully healthy, has a 3.21 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 75.2 innings in 2025, proof that when he’s fit, he’s elite. The Dodgers have seen this script before: survive the grind, stay hot down the stretch, and line up their rotation for October. But Glasnow, having missed last year’s postseason, isn’t just thinking about getting there; he’s intent on dominating once it begins.

The 31-year-old right-hander called this “the best I’ve felt in a long time,” crediting Dodgers pitching and strength coaches for helping him make mechanical tweaks and stay fresh. Glasnow didn’t hold back about the Dodgers’ stretch run either, saying, “We all have so much confidence in our group and how close we are all together that … we will take care of business.” And when the conversation turned to October, Glasnow’s eyes lit up: “We’re all kind of on the same page of let’s dominate the end of the season.”

There’s a quiet urgency now, not panic, but sharpened focus. Glasnow said he’s “like a little kid excited” to pitch in October, a statement that drew a smile from Roberts, who knows postseason baseball can be both cruel and career-defining. The Dodgers don’t just want to get to the playoffs; they want to roll in with a healthy ace, a rested bullpen, and a manager whose brain hasn’t melted from the grind. And if Glasnow delivers the way his stuff suggests, Roberts’ sleepless nights might finally pay off under the October lights.

While his bullpen may look healthy now, the injuries are piling up in another part of the field for Dave Roberts.

Dave Roberts has to deal with catcher injuries

The Los Angeles Dodgers are juggling a problem they didn’t plan for, as both of their catchers went down in the same week. Dodgers catcher Will Smith has been sidelined since last Wednesday after taking a foul ball off his right hand against the Pirates, leaving him with a bone bruise. Just two days later, rookie backup Dalton Rushing suffered a similar misfortune, fouling a ball off his shin against the Orioles and landing on the injured list. The timing couldn’t be worse, with the Dodgers clinging to a 2.5-game lead in the NL West and desperately needing stability behind the plate.

Manager Dave Roberts revealed Monday that Smith was available to pinch-hit against the Rockies and is expected back in the starting lineup Tuesday, but he cautioned that the hand issue will linger. “We’re going to have to manage this for the rest of the year,” Roberts said, noting that the bone bruise could affect Smith’s swing and his throwing. The swelling has gone down, but Roberts made clear that the Dodgers must balance getting Smith’s bat in the lineup with keeping him healthy for October. Meanwhile, Rushing is “moving better today,” according to Roberts, and the club is hopeful his stint will stay limited to the 10-day IL.

Smith’s return is crucial as the team is battling the Giants and Padres in the standings. The 30-year-old has earned his third consecutive All-Star selection this season and is posting some of the best numbers of his career: a .296 batting average, .405 on-base percentage, .902 OPS, 17 home runs, and 61 RBIs over 109 games. Beyond his bat, Smith’s improved defense has been a stabilizing force behind the plate all season.

With the division race tightening, Los Angeles will need not just his hitting but also his leadership and presence behind the plate to hold off challengers as the calendar turns to October.