MLB Player News

The Mariners added a pair of players to the 40-man roster, so Salazar gets the heave-ho from the roster. If the 26-year-old goes unclaimed, he will report back to Triple-A Tacoma.

If McNeil’s broken wrist responds well, he could be an option in the NLCS. He’s currently four weeks into his recovery after being hit by a pitch.

Martinez should be back in the lineup for Game 2, as the Phillies will throw a lefty then. However, the Mets prefer Winker versus righties at the moment. Today’s lineup is the same one they used in Game 3 against the Brewers: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Winker, RF Starling Marte, CF Tyrone Taylor, C Francisco Alvarez.

Marcus Stroman and Mark Leiter Jr. are absent, as the Yankees have chosen to go with 11 pitches. That opens up an extra spot on offense for Duke Ellis to serve as a pinch-runner. Ben Rice is also on the roster in place of Anthony Rizzo. DJ LeMahieu was not activated.

Megill was one of the possibilities to start Game 1, and he could pitch in relief today, though David Peterson might be first in line there. Huascar Brazoban and Max Kranick have lost their spots. The Mets made no changes with their position players.

Everything is pretty much as expected here, as Kolby Allard got the last spot on the 12-man pitching staff. The Phillies would have loved to have gotten Spencer Turnbull back, but that’s not happening yet. Walker isn’t in the Phillies’ postseason plans after giving up 15 earned runs and striking out just six in 13 innings last month.

The Tigers are using the same lineup they did Wednesday against the Astros. That means McKinstry at third, even though Matt Vierling was getting most of the playing time there at the end of the regular season. Vierling is again starting in right over Wenceel Pérez. The lineup: CF Parker Meadows, DH Kerry Carpenter, RF Vierling, LF Riley Greene, 2B Colt Keith, 1B Spencer Torkelson, 3B McKinstry, SS Trey Sweeney, C Jake Rogers.

The Guardians are also using David Fry over Kyle Manzardo against the lefty opener Tyler Holton. Brennan and Manzardo might make early appearances once the Tigers switch to a righty, though. The lineup: LF Steven Kwan, DH Fry, 3B José Ramírez, 1B Josh Naylor, CF Lane Thomas, 2B Andrés Giménez, RF Noel, C Bo Naylor, SS Brayan Rocchio.

Montero was left off the Wild Card roster after throwing three innings Sunday, but it’s no surprise to see him back now. The question was whether it’d be at the expense of Mize or Ty Madden, neither of whom pitched in the Wild Card series. As is, Madden is sticking around. Montero could see action behind opener Tyler Holton today, but Reese Olson and Brant Hurter are also possibilities there.

That leaves no room for Ben Lively. Cobb makes the team despite not having pitched since Sept. 1 due to a finger blister. We imagine he’ll start Game 4 over Cantillo, but we’ll see. The other mild surprise here is that utilityman Tyler Freeman, who finished the season in Triple-A, has made the roster over Angel Martínez.

That means no Robbie Grossman, who was acquired to play against lefties but wound up going just 4-for-32 over the final month of the season. Reliever Will Smith was a candidate to be activated after missing the end of the year with back spasms, but it seems the Royals didn’t want to mess with what’s working in the pen.