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Yankees Announce ALDS Roster

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The Yankees have set their 28-man roster for this week’s ALDS matchup against the divison-winning Rays. Here’s how it all breaks down:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

New York makes just one change relative to their first-round roster. With the series length expanding from three to a potential five games, the Yankees added King as a multi-inning relief option for manager Aaron Boone.

In his place, catcher Erik Kratz was removed from the active roster. The veteran backstop will head to the alternate player pool, which also includes Miguel Andújar, Rob Brantly, Ryan Buchter, Matt Duffy, Thairo Estrada, Brooks Kriske, Tyler Lyons, Jordy Mercer, James Paxton (out with a flexor strain), Clarke Schmidt and Miguel Yajure.

Austin Meadows Active For ALDS

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The Rays released their 28-man roster for their ALDS matchup with the Yankees. Here’s the full breakdown:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Most notably, Meadows returns to the roster after missing Tampa Bay’s first-round sweep of the Blue Jays. (However, he’s not in the starting lineup for the series opener). Out since September 17 with an oblique strain, Meadows will attempt to get his season on track for the stretch run. Perhaps the Rays’ best player a season ago, the 25-year-old slumped to a .205/.296/.371 line over 152 plate appearances in 2020. An early-season bout with COVID-19 certainly didn’t start him off on the best footing, although he’ll have a chance to right the ship in the postseason. First baseman Nate Lowe, who was available in the Rays’ opening series, was removed from the active roster to accompany Meadows’ return.

Tampa Bay will run with the same 13-man pitching staff they used against Toronto. That presents another opportunity for the flamethrowing McLanahan to make his MLB debut. The highly-regarded prospect was added to the roster entering the postseason to lengthen the bullpen for manager Kevin Cash, but he didn’t appear in the first round.

Athletics Announce ALDS Roster

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The Athletics have finalized their 28-man roster for this week’s showdown with the division-rival Astros. Here’s how things shake out:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Like their opponents, the A’s will add a reliever to their ALDS roster at the expense of an infielder. The hard-throwing Weems is on the team, while rookie Vimael Machin will be left off for this series.

Astros Announce ALDS Roster

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The Astros announced their 28-man roster for this week’s American League Division Series against the Athletics. Here’s the full roundup:

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

There’s only one change from the team’s Wild Card Series roster that swept the Twins in the first round. García is on, adding a remarkable sixth rookie to the pitching staff. Infielder Jack Mayfield was left off in his place. After starting Game 1 of the Wild Card series, Greinke’s role remains up in the air after it was announced that McCullers and Valdez would be getting the ball for the first two games of the DS.

McCormick was only selected to the Houston roster before the Twins’ series, but he didn’t see any action. Accordingly, he’ll be making his MLB debut if/when he gets into a game against Oakland.

Braves Announce Starters For First Three Games Of NLDS

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OCTOBER 5: As expected, the Braves announced that Fried will get the ball in Game 1, with Anderson and Wright tabbed for Games 2 and 3, respectively (via David O’Brien of the Athletic). Manager Brian Snitker suggested the club could carry fifteen pitchers on their NLDS roster (relays O’Brien). Atlanta only activated thirteen pitchers for their shorter first-round series against the Reds.

OCTOBER 4: The Braves will consider a bullpen game at some point during their NLDS series against the Marlins, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. That’s a lot to put on a bullpen in a 5-game series that takes place over 5 days, but the Braves and manager Brian Snitker may not have a better option available to them.

Max Fried figures to get the start in game one, with Snitker announcing the move in all but name: “I think you want your best going in Game 1,” said Snitker, per Bowman. Fried could return on short rest to start a potential win-or-go-home game five. Said Snitker, “…I definitely think that is a possibility. We just need to see how that first game goes and the subsequent games as well.” Snitker remained coy about officially naming Fried as the game one starter, but only an injury would derail a game one start from Fried at this point, and it seems their ace lefty is finally healthy for the first time in that past month.

Beyond Fried, rookie standout Ian Anderson should line up for game two and Kyle Wright for game three. Again, Snitker would make nothing official, but the Braves don’t have a lot of options given the injuries that befell their rotation during the season.

Game four is where things get interesting for the Braves, as they don’t have a clear option lined up to start this game – hence the possibility of a bullpen game. Josh Tomlin was on the Wild Card roster, and he could function as a key swingman after making 5 starts during the regular season. Tomlin covered 39 2/3 innings across 17 total appearances during the regular season with a 4.76 ERA/4.02 FIP and 8.17 K/9 to 1.82 BB/9.

Atlanta went with a 10-man bullpen for the wild card series, with Tomlin as the only true long man. If they should so choose, the Braves have a number of options elsewhere in the system with experience eating innings. Huascar Ynoa, Bryse Wilson, Touki Toussaint, and Sean Newcomb could conceivably be added to their pitching pool as options to start or eat innings in a potential game four. That said, 10 guys in the pen should be enough even with a bullpen game, and the Braves already expect to lean heavily on Mark Melancon and Shane Greene – each of whom could theoretically pitch in as many as four of the five games, if it goes the distance.

Dodgers To Start Buehler, Kershaw In First Two NLDS Games

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is sticking with a familiar formula for his playoff rotation, telling reporters (including Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) that Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw will start the first two games of the team’s NLDS matchup with the Padres.

Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May are on tap to start Games 3, 4, and 5, though the three pitchers wouldn’t necessarily be deployed in that order.  As always, the Dodgers will be flexible with their pitching arrangement during the postseason.  “There might be a situation where those guys [Urias, Gonsolin, May] are available in any of the preceding games as a side day to then make a start,” Roberts said.

It also isn’t out of the question that Buehler returns on short rest to pitch in a possible Game 5, though the first step for the Dodgers is making sure that Buehler can get through as much of Game 1 as possible.  Two separate trips to the injured list due to a blister problem limited Buehler to just 11 2/3 innings after August 21, and he tossed only four innings (73 pitches) in Game 1 of the Dodgers’ wild card series with the Brewers.

Whether Buehler could pitch longer against the Padres is still up in the air, as Roberts said he will “keep an eye on him each inning….I can’t say it’s scripted or when we’re going to deploy our guys in the pen.”  The final five innings of the Game 1 victory over Milwaukee were handled by Urias (three innings), and then an inning each from Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen, with the reliever trio holding the Brewers scoreless.

Jansen’s outing wasn’t without some shakiness, however, which left Roberts saying that Jansen is still the team’s closer, but no longer the automatic option in save situations.  “There are still going to be times that I might need him in a different inning, and he’s on-board with whatever to help us win baseball games.  It’s a title, but I think that in practice, there are certain innings and certain parts of the lineup that I think he’s the best option.”  While Jansen has a 1.97 ERA over 50 1/3 career postseason innings, he also has a few infamous meltdowns on his resume — over his last eight World Series appearances, Jansen has a loss and is only 1-for-4 in save chances.

Though the L.A. pitching staff is well rested after their two-game sweep of the Brew Crew, the Dodgers will still add some more depth, as Roberts intimated that he will add an extra pitcher to the NLDS roster.  Los Angeles deployed 15 position players and 13 pitchers on its wild card series roster, but one of those position players will be left out of the NLDS in favor of another arm, likely right-hander Dylan Floro.

Athletics, Astros Name Starters For First Two Games Of ALDS

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The Oakland A’s will switch up their starting rotation heading into their ALDS series with the Houston Astros. Chris Bassitt – who started the 2nd game of the wild card series – will take the hill in the series opener, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (via Twitter).

It would be easy to confuse Bassitt for a fungible back-end rotation type, but he’s been a consistent performer for Oakland over the years. This season represented a breakout of sorts for the 31-year-old, who went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA/3.59 FIP over 11 starts in the regular season. He went 7 innings, giving up just 1 earned run to keep the A’s season alive in game 2 of the wild card round against the White Sox.

Lefty Sean Manaea will look for postseason redemption when he gets the ball in game 2, per Gallegos. Manaea – Gallegos reminds us – gave up 3 home runs over just two innings last season in a wild card game loss to the Rays. He’ll be familiar with his surroundings at Dodger Stadium, as his last start came in that very park a little under two weeks ago. For the year, Manaea went 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA/3.71 FIP in 11 starts.

Manaea is one of a number of southpaws the A’s could throw at the Astros, who as a team marked a 94 wRC+ against lefties in 2020 versus 102 wRC+ against right-handers. Alex Bregman crushed lefties in 2020 for a 166 wRC+, but each of Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Kyle Tucker performed markedly better versus right-handers this season.

After Bassitt and Manaea, the A’s could go in a number of different directions, which will likely depend on the results of the first two games. Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo, Mike Minor, and Mike Fiers could all be possibilities to start games 3 through 5. That group gives the A’s a slight advantage over the Astros when it comes to their rotations, writes MLB.com’s Andrew Simon.

It would be quite the showdown for Fiers to get a start late in this series. Fiers, of course, famously outed the Astros in the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the baseball world last winter. The Astros and A’s already have enough to fight about given the early-season altercation between Ramon Laureano and Astros’ hitting coach Alex Cintron, which led to suspensions for the involved parties.

All that said, Fiers may very well not be the best option for the A’s. Though he started the deciding third game of the wild card series, he lasted just 1 2/3 innings. In prior seasons, he’s been passed over for key postseason starts both with the Astros and the Athletics. Luzardo is certain to land higher on the pecking order than Fiers, though he could be utilized out of the bullpen as he was in 2019. The same can be said for Montas, who came out of the bullpen for a two-inning stint against the White Sox.

On the other side, manager Dusty Baker announced Lance McCullers Jr. and Framber Valdez as the starters for games 1 and 2, respectively, per the Athletic’s Jake Kaplan and others. The only real surprise here is that Zack Greinke would then be held out until game 3. Greinke is less likely than others to show up out of the bullpen the way Valdez did in game 1 of the wild card series. Still, with a 5-game series in 5 days, there figures to be less opportunity for that sort of roster manipulation. There will be a game 3, and no matter how the first two games of the series go, the Astros figure to feel pretty good with a rested Greinke ready to go in game 3. Baker, to be clear, has not named his game 3 starter.

NL Notes: Padres, Clevinger, Lamet, Marlins, Marte

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Padres manager Jayce Tingler spoke to the media regarding injured starters Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet, saying that both hurlers are playing catch but not yet throwing bullpen sessions. Their official status remains day-to-day, per The Athletic’s Andy McCullough. With the NLDS consisting of 5 games over 5 consecutive days this season, the Padres don’t have the luxury of using a roster spot on a pitcher who’s not going to be ready to throw. Clevinger and Lamet will likely be healthy enough to start, or they won’t be on the NLDS roster. The Padres will set their NLDS roster on Tuesday, per Dennis Lin of the Athletic (via Twitter).

  • Miami will likewise take as much time as possible before making a decision on Starling Marte. In the meantime, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter), it’s “Rest. Recovery. Treatment.” The Marlins will likely start Magneuris Sierra if Marte isn’t on the roster. Unlike with the Padres’ starters, there is a scenario where Marte is available to pinch-hit, but not to start. Sierra had just 53 plate appearance during the regular season, but he’s a burner who put together some nice at-bats against the Cubs in the wild card round.
  • Game one, of course, would likely pit the Marlins against southpaw Max Fried. In that case, Monte Harrison or Lewis Brinson would be more likely to get the nod. Brinson saw the most playing time during the season, slashing .226/.268/.368 across 112 plate appearances in 47 games. Brinson started 28 of the Marlins 60 games in the outfield, but he saw more time in the corners than in center. For what it’s worth, Brinson’s triple slash jumped to .260/.315/.480 in his 54 plate appearances against left-handers in 2020.

Cardinals Await Decisions From Molina, Wainwright

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The St. Louis Cardinals faced a disappointing end to a hard-fought season when they lost games two and three of the wild card round to the San Diego Padres. Now they must turn to the difficult process of winter roster building.

The Cardinals, however, are in the unique position of awaiting decisions from two franchise icons: Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Both vets have interest in returning, but no decision has been made. Either or both could still decide to return. In a worst case scenario for Cardinals’ fans, it’s possible the pair could explore a new frontier with another club, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That seems unlikely, but Molina and Wainwright are intense competitors who have accomplished more-or-less everything they could hope to accomplish in St. Louis.

For the Cardinals’ part, manager Mike Shildt has repeatedly expressed a desire to see the pair return to Jupiter in the spring. Wainwright and Molina have long set the tone in St. Louis, and it’s hard to quantify the impact their departure might have on the club’s culture. The Cardinals had hoped a sort of passing of the torch would take place in 2020, per Goold, but the young players in St. Louis didn’t quite establish themselves in exactly the way the team hoped. Ace Jack Flaherty still has a sky-high ceiling, but in 9 starts, the 24-year-old went just 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA/4.11 FIP. Given the tumultuous nature of the season, that’s hardly a disaster. Still, when push came to shove, it was Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim taking the ball in games one and two of the playoffs.

Molina, 38, already outlasted one catcher-of-the-future in Carson Kelly, who was eventually traded to the Diamondbacks as part of the package for Paul Goldschmidt. Andrew Knizner, 25, is the closest to usurping the role now, but it’s not particularly close. If Molina wants to come back, he’ll be back, and he’ll be the starting catcher.

Goold notes that Molina desires to play two more seasons. That certainly makes it seem as if he’ll be back in St. Louis. If Molina returns, chances are greater that Wainwright returns as well. They certainly have a need now that Dakota Hudson will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Cardinals have other options for the rotation – Alex Reyes, Carlos Martinez, Kim, Miles Mikolas, and Austin Gomber – but besides Flaherty, they all come with questions. With Wainwright, the Cardinals know exactly what they’re getting. They’re just waiting for Wainwright to give the word on whether or not they’ll get it in 2021.

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