CLEVELAND -- Tigers manager A.J. Hinch will have a nine-man bullpen at his disposal for potential pitching chaos, and a five-man bench as an option, for their AL Wild Card Series against the Guardians.
With 14 position players and 12 pitchers, it’s a similar setup to his roster construction for last year’s Wild Card Series against the Astros. The bullpen, however, will have a somewhat different look. While Tyler Holton, Will Vest and Brant Hurter were key members of pitching chaos last October, and Keider Montero started a game in last year’s Division Series against the Guardians, the rest of the bullpen is new, though not necessarily new to the postseason. Tommy Kahnle, Rafael Montero and Paul Sewald all bring World Series experience to their first Tigers postseason.
Despite Cleveland’s abundance of left-handed hitters, Detroit opted to stay with two lefty relievers in Holton and Hurter, the same mix they had in last week’s series here. The Tigers have two southpaws working out at Triple-A Toledo to stay ready, but Bailey Horn is not yet eligible to be recalled, having been optioned to Toledo on Sept. 19. Pitchers optioned to the Minor Leagues must wait 15 days before they can be recalled.
Fellow lefty Drew Sommers is also staying ready in Toledo, but Detroit decided to keep him in reserve, instead going with seven right-handers. That includes Keider Montero, who struck out seven Red Sox over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball on Saturday to help the Tigers clinch a postseason berth.
“His outing in Boston mattered with how he could command his fastball,” Hinch said. “Fastball ticked up a little bit. Breaking ball was really good. He’s thrown some pretty effective sequences to this particular team. I know he can go long if we need him to. I don’t know what long is in the playoffs; the gate’s usually always open in the bullpen. But his versatility and weapons against this lineup was attractive.”
The Tigers have three lefty-hitting specialists on their roster in Andy Ibáñez, Jahmai Jones and Justyn-Henry Malloy, allowing Hinch to match pinch-hitters against Guardians lefty relievers Tim Herrin, Erik Sabrowski, Joey Cantillo and Koby Allard. Malloy was recalled just last week to help them earn a postseason berth.
Here’s the full Tigers roster for the series:
Catchers: Dillon Dingler, Jake Rogers
Infielders: Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney, Spencer Torkelson, Gleyber Torres
Outfielders: Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Andy Ibáñez, Jahmai Jones, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez
Starting pitchers: Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal
Right-handed relievers: Kyle Finnegan, Tommy Kahnle, Troy Melton, Keider Montero, Rafael Montero, Paul Sewald, Will Vest
Left-handed relievers: Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter