MLB Playoffs: Five Players Who Could Be Left Off Postseason Rosters
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
With just one week to go in the MLB regular season, it’s time to take a look at some players who may not be a part of their team’s October plans.
The 2016 MLB postseason begins one week from Tuesday. Of course, with the way these Wild Card races have gone, it’s possible we might have some more action to decide those spots.
With this in mind, it’s time to take a look ahead and see which teams have some interesting choices to make when it comes to their postseason rosters. The starting rotations shrink and we return to the 25-man rosters everyone played with until September 1.
Will teams carry an extra bench guy? A third catcher? 11-man pitching staffs? There are teams carrying some high-priced players who have been really struggling either all year or since they arrived at their new home during the season. Will those teams choose to carry them for their playoff runs?
This where you can make your mark. You can take that down season you were having and with one big October play, you can erase it. Having that reputation as a postseason player can also help you with your next contract in free agency or with your current club.
With that being said, let’s take a look at five players who may be left off postseason rosters by their current teams. These teams have big decisions to make with these guys. Will they be in action come October, or watching like the rest of us?
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OF Jay Bruce
At this year’s trade deadline, with all the injuries and lack of ability to score runs the New York Mets had, they decided to go out and trade for Reds slugger Jay Bruce. The 29-year-old was hitting .265 with 25 homers and 80 RBI in 97 games. The belief was that combining him with Yoenis Cespedes could give the Mets a dynamic middle of the order.
Well, the best laid plans sometimes don’t work. Bruce has not panned out and those Bruuucee chants have turned mainly into Boooos. Bruce has hit just .188 in 44 games with the Mets with just 12 RBI. Not exactly a big return on their investment.
In recent days, Michael Conforto has looked like the player he was in April and last season after his callup. Alejandro De Aza gives the Mets someone who can play center better than Curtis Granderson can and someone who can steal a base. Juan Lagares has come off the DL as well.
The Mets have a decision to make about their glut of outfielders, not only for the playoffs but also with Bruce’s option for 2017. It will be very interesting to see how they handle this.
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OF Josh Reddick
Like the Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to upgrade their roster at the deadline. Like the Mets, the Dodgers acquired a left-handed hitting outfielder in Josh Reddick. Like the Mets, the return on that investment has not been great. What has salvaged the trade is getting Rich Hill for the rotation.
In 43 games, Reddick has hit .255 for the Dodgers with just two homers, nine RBI and a .646 OPS which is nearly 200 points less than what he posted with the A’s.
One of the things that has helped the Dodgers this year deal with all of the injuries that they have had is their depth. Howie Kendrick has played outfield. Joc Pederson has played much better in the second half. Yasiel Puig has come back up to the team and looked like a totally different player. Andre Ethier has returned from injury within the past couple of weeks.
Andrew Toles has been playing against lefties, as has Kike Hernandez. Is there room for Reddick on the roster in the playoffs with all of the depth that the Dodgers have in their outfield? We’re not quite sure.
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Part of the Washington Nationals makeover in the offseason was upgrading the bullpen, especially the setup corps. In free agency, they added Shawn Kelley and lefty Oliver Perez. While Kelley has been an excellent addition, Perez has struggled in his first year in the nation’s capital.
Perez is 2-3 with a 5.17 ERA this season in 62 games. In 38 innings, Perez has given up 36 hits and walked 20, which is way too many base runners. Lefties are hitting .225 vs Perez this year, while righties are hitting .273.
The Nationals are going to be facing the Dodgers in the first round and we all know they have a ton of lefties, but the Nationals have other options that they can turn to.
Sammy Solis is on his way back. Marc Rzepczynski is on the roster. Matt Grace has pitched three shutout innings and had a decent year in AAA. Sean Burnett is back on the club as well after an August trade.
The Nationals have options for lefties coming out of the bullpen. Perez is the one who makes the most money, but it doesn’t mean that he will be the best option for the team come October.
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Back when the San Francisco Giants started this whole every-other-year winning the World Series routine, their rotation centered around Tim Linceceum and Matt Cain. Those two were able to propel the Giants to the World Series in 2010 and Cain was a big part of that rotation in 2012. The issue is Cain has had all sorts of injury problems in recent seasons.
It’s been a rough go of it for Cain. This year, he’s 4-8 with an ERA of 5.00. In 89.1 innings, he’s given up 103 hits. This is why the Giants spent so much in free agency to add Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija to help fortify the rotation.
Cain is no longer part of the rotation. Matt Moore was acquired at the deadline and the team has also used Albert Suarez who could be the long man in the bullpen if the Giants make the postseason.
Cain is locked in for $21 million next year and in 2018 unless the Giants pay him a $7.5 million buyout. But all that money may not be able to buy him a postseason roster spot if the Giants were to make it.
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The Detroit Tigers are scratching and clawing to try and get into the AL Wild Card Game. Right now, they sit 1.5 games behind the Orioles for the second slot. The Tigers obviously have to get into that position first, but one of their roster issues if they get there may be what to do outside of Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer in the rotation.
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Jordan Zimmermann threw three innings of relief yesterday in his quest to get back to his early season form after dealing with injuries for most of the season.
With Daniel Norris back as well, Anibal Sanchez could very well find himself on the outside looking in on the postseason roster. Sanchez has had the worst season of his career. His ERA is 5.77 this season. He’s given up more hits than innings pitched for the first time since 2012. He has also given up more than 100 runs for the first time this season.
The Tigers may want a guy who’s been there and done that as a part of the bullpen, but they could go with a younger arm like Matt Boyd as well.
All five of these players have had success in the majors, but all five may find themselves not a part of October.