TB sets ALDS roster: Meadows in, 13 pitchers
The Rays are going to lean on their pitching to try to slow down a powerful Yankees lineup in the American League Division Series showdown, but they’ll have outfielder Austin Meadows back, which should provide a big offensive boost.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 5 | NYY 9, TB 3 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 6 | TB 7, NYY 5 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 7 | TB 8, NYY 4 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 8 | NYY 5, TB 1 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | TB 2, NYY 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Meadows has been sidelined since Sept. 17 with a Grade 2 left oblique strain and it appeared unlikely that he would be ready to play until at least the World Series. But after progressing quicker than expected, Meadows went through a pair of live batting practice sessions over the weekend, and the Rays felt he was ready to return. Despite the All-Star struggling this season with a .205 batting average and just four home runs, Tampa Bay is 23-10 with Meadows in the starting lineup this season.
“Austin, that was a fun discussion,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Austin feels pretty good. We were able to get him 10-12 at-bats over the last couple of days of live pitching and he looks good.”
Meadows said he feels “100 percent” and thinks the oblique issue is behind him. Though he’s not in Monday’s Game 1 lineup, the left-hander said he’s ready to hit when called upon and is also capable of playing the outfield.
“I feel really good,” Meadows said. “I put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks. I was able to progress pretty quickly when it came to running and getting back into shape. My body has been responding really well.”
In order to make room for Meadows on the ALDS roster, the Rays decided to leave Nathaniel Lowe off. Lowe hit .224 with four home runs this year, but with Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Díaz back on the roster as well, there weren’t going to be many at-bats for Lowe this series.
Even with the possibility of playing five games in five nights, the Rays decided to stick with 13 pitchers. Josh Fleming was the most notable hurler left off the roster, making it increasingly likely that Blake Snell, who is starting Monday’s Game 1, will also get the Game 5 start -- or at least a couple of innings -- if the series goes the distance. Tyler Glasnow, the Rays’ Game 2 starter, could also pitch part of the game on two days’ rest.
“We definitely feel that we have relievers that are able to provide multiple innings,” Cash said. “We will take that thought into a lot of in-game decision-making. We also have some confidence that Blake Snell is going to be able to come back if a Game 5 is [necessary] to be able to do some work for us and provide some length.
“We felt like we would like to have our strongest bullpen possible. We know a lot of games are going to be decided in that 6-7-8-9 innings of play and wanted to have our best options there.”
Here is the Rays’ 28-man roster for the ALDS:
Pitchers (13): RH Nick Anderson, RH Diego Castillo, RH John Curtiss, RH Oliver Drake, RH Pete Fairbanks, RH Tyler Glasnow, LH Aaron Loup, LH Shane McClanahan, RH Charlie Morton, RH Aaron Slegers, LH Blake Snell, RH Ryan Thompson, LH Ryan Yarbrough
Catchers (2): Mike Zunino, Michael Perez
Infielders (6): Willy Adames, Mike Brosseau, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Díaz, Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle
Outfielders (7): Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot, Austin Meadows, Brett Phillips, Hunter Renfroe, Yoshi Tsutsugo