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Ken Rosenthal at Yahoo Sports is sounding the alarm on the Dodgers heading into the final month of the regular season, flagging critical alignment issues that could impact their playoff readiness. The timing is significant—we’re entering September with questions about roster construction, execution, and whether the pieces we’ve assembled actually fit together when it matters most.

This builds on what we’ve been watching unfold. Shohei Ohtani‘s slump has knocked his MVP case sideways, Freddie Freeman is battling a power drought despite staying committed to his approach, and our offense has been maddeningly inconsistent. We showed life briefly—Enrique Hernández hit a crucial homer late against Detroit—but consistency remains elusive. The bullpen has been a patchwork situation, and we’ve been weighing moves involving Roki Sasaki after his blister IL stint. Meanwhile, Will Smith finally came back from rehab and is set for activation, but we lost time we didn’t have.

The roster moves we’ve made—trading José Rodríguez to the Blue Jays for Sebastian Rodriguez, DFA’ing Ben Rortvedt, and recalling Alex Freeland and others as we expanded to 28 players—tell you we’re still tinkering. That’s not confidence. That’s desperation dressed up as roster management.

What Rosenthal is really pointing at is the gap between talent and cohesion. We have the names. We have the payroll. But we’re not clicking. Max Muncy and Miguel Rojas have to be better. Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández need to deliver. Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman are workhorses, but they can’t do it alone. The pitching—Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Eric Lauer—should be dominant in October. If we get there healthy, that’s a weapon. But we have to get there first.

Dave Roberts talked about August being “forgettable.” Now it’s September. This is the month where we find out if we’re built for this or just another team that looks good on paper. The alignment issues Rosenthal’s warning about—whether that’s chemistry, strategy, or just execution under pressure—those are fixable if we acknowledge them and adjust. But we’re running out of time to get it right.

Source(s): Ken Rosenthal (Yahoo Sports) | First reported: September 2, 2026 12:25 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers