Dodgers lineups have been fact-finding missions for Dave Roberts, front office

SAN FRANCISCO >> For a team that could still win 100 games, the Dodgers sure seem to have a lot of questions to answer about their postseason roster.

“We have a lot of good players we’re still evaluating,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Monday’s game.

“We have a lot of guys to work with. When you have the lead we had, you can prioritize health and trying to keep guys sharp while trying to keep them healthy vs. trying to win every single game. But the challenge is keeping the sharpness and obviously we haven’t been sharp.”

The lineups have not been consistent, either. Roberts does not acknowledge a causal relationship between the changes and an offensive slump that has seen the Dodgers average 2.38 runs and bat .199 as a team over a 16-game stretch. The changes were necessitated by injuries to Cody Bellinger (ankle) and Corey Seager (elbow), Roberts said, and a decision to turn September into a fact-finding mission for players such as Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier.

“I think people have to understand – we had Cody down for some time and now he’s back. We had Corey down for some time and now he’s been back for a little bit,” Roberts said. “So now that we’ve got everyone healthy it’s trying to use guys the right way and also give them rest.

“But like I’ve said over the course of the last two weeks, at some point we are going to make a decision to go ahead with essentially a set lineup. But right now on the 11th, we’re not prepared to do that right now.”

The biggest question marks at this point are left field, where Curtis Granderson, Joc Pederson and Andre Ethier all face uncertain postseason status and second base, where a slumping Logan Forsythe could lose playing time to Chase Utley. Roberts also acknowledged that some thought is being given to “the catching situation” and how playing time will be split between Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes.

“The certain positions we’re talking about I think that anyone can debate – who’s that right person?” Roberts said. “That’s why we’re still evaluating.”

Granderson and Forsythe, in particular, have not fared well during this evaluation phase. Going into Monday’s game, Forsythe had hit .140 (8 for 57) over his previous 21 games. Granderson has been even worse – 4 for his last 47 (.085) with a .114 average since joining the Dodgers.

Roberts started Granderson at leadoff Monday with Chris Taylor getting the day off. He justified it by saying he wants to “get Curtis right.” Granderson promptly struck out in his first at-bat.

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Pardner passes

Baseball lifer Mel Didier died Monday at age 90. Didier spent seven decades in professional baseball. He never made the majors as a pitcher but he left a deep impact as a coach (including both baseball and football at his alma mater LSU), executive and scout for seven teams including the Dodgers and since 2009 the Toronto Blue Jays.

Didier’s greatest impact might have come in 1988 when his advance scouting report prepared the Dodgers for their World Series matchup against the 104-win Oakland A’s. Kirk Gibson has credited his iconic home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 to a scouting report from Didier. When it was reported two weeks ago that Didier’s health had taken a turn, Gibson recalled the thought rolling through his head as he worked the count full against Eckersley that night.

“Padner,” Gibson posted on Twitter, using Didier’s universal nickname for everyone. “As sure as I’m standing here breathing ... you gonna see a 3-2 back door slider.”

Also

Right-hander Yu Darvish threw a 43-pitch bullpen session Monday afternoon and will start the series finale Wednesday in San Francisco.

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will throw a four- or five-inning simulated game this afternoon in San Francisco. Ryu is being skipped in the rotation this week but Roberts indicated he could rejoin the rotation Sunday in Washington, pushing Clayton Kershaw back to the Philadelphia series. That would keep both Kershaw and Darvish from facing the Nationals, a potential playoff opponent.