HOUSTON -- The White Sox set their 26-player roster for the American League Wild Card Series at Houston, with almost no surprises.
Huáscar Brazobán and David Sandlin earned the last spots on the 12-person pitching staff, with Trevor Richards and Tyler Davis not making the 26. Jake Rogers, who was on the paternity list at the end of the regular season, returned and was the catching selection over Drew Romo.
“We had made that choice earlier to have Jake over Romo, which was a decision that we felt like we wanted to keep in line, and that was the right thing to do,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “So Romo comes off, Rogers is on.”
Venable continued on the pitching side decisions.
“It was a really hard decision because we value all these guys and they have all had an incredible impact on our journey here,” Venable said. “And so it was a tough decision, but ultimately, it comes down to -- in the case of Davis and Richards -- the way in which we were going to use them. As you kind of line up the right-handed guys versus, let's say, an Anthony Kay, who just pitched [Sunday], but has a role here maybe in a shorter stint, particularly against that lefty pocket.
“We thought that that was to our benefit more than holding onto a Richards or Davis, who are further down in their types of role we've been using them. That might not exist here in this short series.”
No White Sox starter was named for Wednesday’s Game 2. Sean Burke will, at the very least, pitch in a significant role, according to Venable.
“Yeah, it's exciting,” Burke said. “Just getting to Houston and kind of getting into this environment.
“Seeing kind of the extra stuff that comes with the playoffs, the media, the whole TV presentation stuff has been cool. So our guys are ready to go and we're looking forward to it.”
Below is a breakdown of the White Sox roster entering Tuesday’s game at Daikin Park:
- RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS (7): Huáscar Brazobán, Sean Burke, Erick Fedde, Jordan Hicks, Davis Martin, David Sandlin and Grant Taylor
- LEFT-HANDED PITCHERS (5): Bryan Hudson, Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith
- CATCHERS (2): Jake Rogers and Kyle Teel
- INFIELDERS (5): Luisangel Acuña, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas
- OUTFIELDERS (7): Sam Antonacci, Andrew Benintendi, Brenton Doyle, Randal Grichuk, Braden Montgomery, Tristan Peters and Tommy Pham