Smith took two at-bats, one against Bobby Miller and one against Kyle Hurt, before doing some baserunning work. He then held a lengthy discussion on the field with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes and Roberts.

Even with the addition of Smith, the Dodgers are still carrying three catchers, with Dalton Rushing and Ben Rortvedt making the team as well. Although Smith made the roster, it’s unlikely he will get time behind the plate and should be limited to pinch-hitting duties.

A notable subtraction from the roster is Michael Conforto, who had been starting the majority of games in left field for the Dodgers, but struggled throughout the year and lost playing time down the stretch.

Conforto finished the year hitting .199/.305/.333 with 12 home runs, 36 RBI and 54 runs scored, and despite some solid stretches of production, he was never able to maintain that over an extended period of time.

Without Conforto on the roster, Enrique Hernández and Miguel Rojas should see the majority of the time filling in for him. Justin Dean makes the team as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement.

Anthony Banda was also left off the roster for the Wild Card round. Banda played a key role in the 2024 World Series run, and he’s been stellar in the second half, with a 1.52 ERA in his last 23.2 innings.

However, the Dodgers have four left-handed relievers on the team in Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski, so they seemingly have Banda as the lowest on their trust list and felt the value of an extra position player would be more beneficial than another lefty.

The subtraction of Banda also comes as Tyler Glasnow will be available out of the bullpen for the Wild Card Series. Glasnow will not start against the Reds, so the Dodgers decided to add him as an extra right-handed option, along with Emmet Sheehan.

Clayton Kershaw was left off the roster, as expected, after he started the final regular season game of the year. Roberts said Kershaw will be added back to the roster if the Dodgers advance to the NL Division Series.

Will Klein, who made a late push for the roster near the end of the season, was not eligible to be on. The Dodgers optioned Klein on Sept. 27, which makes Oct. 12 — or just before the NL Championship Series — the earliest day he could return

The Dodgers’ taxi squad for the Wild Card Series consists of Kershaw, Banda, Conforto, Miller, Hurt, Ben Casparius and Esteury Ruiz.

Dodgers 2025 Wild Card Roster

Two-way players (1):

Shohei Ohtani

Catchers (3):

Ben Rortvedt
Dalton Rushing
Will Smith

Infielders (5):

Mookie Betts
Freddie Freeman
Hyeseong Kim
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas

Outfielders (4)

Alex Call
Teoscar Hernández
Andy Pages
Justin Dean

Infielders/outfielders (2):

Tommy Edman
Enrique Hernández

Starting pitchers (2):

Blake Snell
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Relief pitchers (9):

Jack Dreyer
Tyler Glasnow
Edgardo Henriquez
Roki Sasaki
Tanner Scott
Emmet Sheehan
Blake Treinen
Alex Vesia
Justin Wrobleski