PHILADELPHIA – Michael Lorenzen, Byron Buxton, Johnny Cueto and Jonathan Hernández were among the players left off rosters for Wild Card Series that started Tuesday, while the Texas Rangers made the surprise inclusion of former top draft pick Matt Bush.
Minnesota included Carlos Correa and rookie Royce Lewis along with right-hander Chris Paddack, who made a pair relief appearances last week in his return from Tommy John surgery. Correa hasn't played since Sept. 18 because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot and Lewis has been sidelined since straining his left hamstring on Sept. 19.
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Outfielder Jose Siri made Tampa Bay's roster after missing the season's final three weeks with a broken hand.
Milwaukee dropped first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who homered twice in the 2021 Division Series but slumped this season.
Lorenzen, a 31-year-old right-hander, no-hit Washington on Aug. 9. He then went 2-2 with a 7.96 ERA in his next five starts and was dropped from the Phillies' rotation. His last four appearances were out of the bullpen.
Wes Wilson, a 29-year-old infielder who made his debut in August and played in eight games, was included on the 26-man roster against the Miami Marlins as a right-handed bat off the bench.
Cueto was dropped by the Marlins after going 1-4 with a 6.02 ERA in only 52 1/3 innings. Miami included 23-year-old left-hander Ryan Weathers, acquired from San Diego on Aug. 1.
Rookie Andrew Stevenson was included over Jordan Luplow as a reserve outfielder for Minnesota. Buxton hasn’t played since Aug. 1 and was limited to designated hitter duty this year because of knee trouble. Manager Rocco Baldelli praised Buxton's effort in his rehab but said he had “some minor setbacks along the way of trying to return.”
Correa was in the Twins' lineup at shortstop and Lewis as the designated hitter against Toronto, with Jorge Polanco playing third base and Edouard Julien at second base. Baldelli said he wouldn't rule out using Lewis at third base in the series and that he's not concerned about his base-running capability.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to keep Royce in the lineup hitting third for us,” Baldelli said.
Paddack had Tommy John surgery on May 18 last year and while a candidate for the rotation next season, he's on the roster for bullpen depth in October. Starting pitcher Bailey Ober was left off, with Pablo López, Sonny Gray and likely Joe Ryan starting if there’s a Game 3. Kenta Maeda has been recalibrated for relief work.
Toronto kept 14 position players and dropped catcher Danny Jansen, who broke his right middle finger on Sept. 1. Tyler Heineman is the backup to Alejandro Kirk. Rookie Cam Eden, who played in five games after a late-season callup for his major league debut, is the fourth outfielder and a pinch running option.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, who made his season debut on Aug. 1 after returning from Tommy John elbow surgery, was left off the roster with Kevin Gausman and José Berríos lined up for the first two games and either Chris Bassitt or Yusei Kikuchi available to start Game 3 if it’s necessary.
Texas said Hernández has a right shoulder injury and included Bush, who hasn’t pitched a big league game since June 30 for Milwaukee. The 37-year-old right-hander Bush is the only player on the Rangers’ roster who was also part of the 2016 team that was swept by Tampa Bay. That was the rookie season for Bush, which came 12 years after he was drafted — the longest gap for an overall No. 1 to make his debut — and during the period when Bush had several alcohol-related incidents even before a near-fatal accident and time in prison.
Bush missed all of the 2019 and 2020 seasons with Texas after twice having surgery. He had surgery in 2018 to repair and reinforce the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in hopes of avoiding Tommy John surgery.
When that didn’t work, he did need Tommy John surgery in 2019. It was the second time the former No. 1 overall draft pick had that ligament replacement surgery. The first was in 2007, soon after being converted from shortstop to pitcher by his hometown San Diego Padres.
Siri had been sidelined since his right hand was broken when hit by a pitch from Minnesota's Dylan Floro on Sept. 11. Siri hit .222 with 25 homers and 56 RBIs for the Rays.
Top prospect Junior Caminero, a 20-year-old infielder who was called up in late September, was included for the best-of-three series against Texas after hitting .235 with one homer and seven RBIs in seven games.
Outfielder Luke Raley was left off the roster. He has not played since Sept. 20 because of a cervical strain.
Tellez hit 35 homers for Milwaukee in 2022 but batted just .215 this season and has homered just once since May 22. His playing time started to dip after the Brewers acquired first baseman Carlos Santana and outfielder/designated hitter Mark Canha at the trade deadline.
Rookie outfielder Garrett Mitchell also was left off the roster against Arizona. The Brewers’ starting center fielder to open the year, he played three games last week after returning from an April shoulder injury.
Outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker was included. He hasn’t played a major league game since July 24 and hit just .199 with one homer in 197 plate appearances, though he had a .962 OPS in 23 games with Triple-A Nashville.
Utilityman Owen Miller and rookie outfielder Joey Wiemer, who both ended the regular season in the minors, are on the roster.
Arizona left off utilityman Jace Peterson but less than eight hours later added him to the roster about 10 minutes before the opener. He replaced Jake McCarthy, who has a right oblique strain.
McCarthy is ineligible to return until the NL Championship Series. He hit .243 with a .318 on-base percentage, two homers, 16 RBIs and 26 steals in 99 games.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb