Angel

Martinez

Martínez was a late addition to the ALDS after Tyler Freeman hurt his oblique. The 22-year-old had one plate appearance in the series against the Tigers but was carried primarily for defensive versatility off the bench. Instead, the Guardians will carry Pedro Avila as another key reliever in the bullpen.

The Guardians will not carry Angel Martinez, which means they will now go with 13 pitchers and 13 position players. It makes some sense considering how much they had to rely on the bullpen in the ALDS against the Tigers. Avila struggled in eight innings to start the season with the Padres, but he has been solid in 74 2/3 innings for the Guardians (50 appearances), posting a 3.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 73:30 K:BB ratio. He will give the Guardians another solid option out of the bullpen this series.

With Tyler Freeman sustaining an oblique injury, Martínez will be called up to take his place as a versatile bench option for the ALDS. The switch-hitter bated just .232/.298/.338 with three home runs and three steals in 43 games this season, but he can hit from both sides of the plate and play most positions around the field, which makes him a solid bench option for the Guardians.

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 3 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.

This makes five straight games that Kwan won’t be in the lineup for. The 27-year-old is being called day-to-day, but fantasy managers should be prepared to not have Kwan back for a bit. Angel Martinez is starting in left field and leading off while Kwan recovers.

With Steven Kwan dealing with body fatigue, Martinez replaced him in the leadoff spot and had three hits. He’s certainly valuable in deeper formats as long as he’s hitting at the top of the order, but he’s just a compiler. Martinez is hitting .258 with only three home runs and three stolen bases in 120 at-bats.

The Guardians remain four games up on the Royals for the AL Central lead, so perhaps the team feels comfortable making sure that Kwan is 100 percent healthy before putting him back in the lineup. As it stands, Angel Martinez will play left field and lead off on Monday.

Martínez has returned to the majors and hit lead-off in consecutive games for Cleveland. He set the table well in this one getting on base and using his legs to push the envelope in a game where both offenses were hard-pressed to score. He came around for the Guardians’ second and final run from third base when José Ramírez took off to try and steal second. He’s a switch-hitting athlete who could work his way into some stolen bases over these next two weeks.

Martinez was sent down in August after he went into a brief slump. He hit .206 with one home run and five RBI in his last 18 games before his demotion. Martinez is back now to take the spot of Tyler Freeman, who was optioned to the minors.

Martinez has started 27 of 30 games since he was recalled last month, so this is rather surprising, even if he had been slumping. The 22-year-old was hitting .236/.306/.373 overall. The Guardians will likely give his playing time to the recalled Will Brennan and Tyler Freeman.