LOS ANGELES (AP) — Left-hander Alex Vesia and shortstop Miguel Rojas could be added to the Los Angeles Dodgers' roster for the World Series while left-hander Nestor Cortes appeared set to be activated by the New York Yankees for Friday's opener.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman will be in the starting lineup after missing Games 4 and 6 of the NL Championship Series with a sprained right ankle.
“I can’t tell you I feel way better than I did six days ago,” Freeman said Thursday. “Playing in cleats and running, that’s a whole different story. It’s a sprained ankle. I’ve never dealt with one. They always say the first one is the worst.”
Vesia was left off the NL Championship Series roster after suffering an intercostal injury while warming up for NL Division Series Game 5 against San Diego on Oct. 11.
Rojas hasn't played since Game 3 versus the Padres on Oct. 8 due to an adductor injury.
Right-hander Brusdar Graterol, sidelined since Sept. 24 by inflammation in his pitching shoulder, also hopes to return.
“Everybody is trending in the right direction,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday. “We’re going to have some more difficult conversations, which I think is a good thing. I think Alex threw 15 pitches yesterday in a sim game, and the stuff looked good. Then Graterol has been throwing. I think he’s trending in the right direction. So I think that on the pitching side, we’re in a pretty good spot right now.”
Graterol pitched three scoreless outings in the 2020 World Series against Tampa Bay. He was limited to seven regular-season appearances this season.
Los Angeles intends to stay with 13 pitchers and 13 position players. Roberts said Graterol's month of inactivity will be considered.
“It’s part of the math. I think the other part is his track record in the postseason, how good he’s been, how good the heartbeat’s been,” Roberts said. “We believe in the person, the stuff.”
Roberts was pleased with Rojas' progress.
“Yesterday he participated in the entire workout: running well, taking at-bats, catching grounders. Everything looks really good,” the manager said. “So I think there’s a really good possibility we’ll see him on the roster.”
Cortes hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 18 because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. He threw two innings of batting practice at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone may pick 13 pitchers for his 26-man roster.
“I still want to get through today with Nestor and see where we’re at,” he said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Los Angeles Dodgers' Miguel Rojas warms up during practice in preparation for Game 6 in a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill during the seventh inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Division Series Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
