HOUSTON -- Half of the 26 players the Astros are carrying on their 26-man roster for the American League Wild Card Series will have no postseason experience, including five position players and eight pitchers.
The Astros, who open the Wild Card Series with Game 1 against the White Sox at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday, are carrying 12 pitchers and 14 position players for the best-of-three series at Daikin Park. Houston does have some deep playoff experience on its roster, though.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve will play in his 106th career postseason game on Tuesday, and his 27 home runs are the second-most in playoff history. Yordan Alvarez has played in 60 career playoff games, and 2022 World Series Most Valuable Player Jeremy Peña has 26 career playoff games under his belt. Backup catcher Christian Vázquez has played in 31 playoff games and won two World Series titles.
The most notable omission from the playoff roster is rookie right-hander Ethan Pecko, who started games for the Astros down the stretch. He wasn’t likely to be available in the series and is dealing with a nagging hip issue.
That opened the door for Tatsuya Imai to make the roster. Also, infielder Raynel Delgado made the roster to provide some more infield coverage for the Astros, who could put Altuve at designated hitter and play Alvarez in left field.
“Imai has thrown the ball really well his last few outings,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We know that he can create swing-and-miss with his stuff. He can give us a huge bulk of innings if we need it. So going into today's game having someone like that available, it's very valuable. And that will be his role. He'll be pitching out of the bullpen.”
Meanwhile, Joey Loperfido made the roster over LaMonte Wade Jr. despite getting just one at-bat with the Astros in the final two months of the season, and reliever Steven Okert, who threw a bullpen on Monday while rehabbing a hamstring injury, wasn’t on the roster.
Catchers (2): Yainer Diaz, Christian Vázquez
Infielders (6): Nick Allen, Jose Altuve, Raynel Delgado, Isaac Paredes, Jeremy Peña, Christian Walker
Outfielders (6): Yordan Alvarez, Joey Loperfido, Cam Smith, Lucas Spence, Taylor Trammell, Nelson Velázquez