HOUSTON -- The Twins made only one minor tweak to their playoff roster ahead of the American League Division Series, sticking with a split of 14 position players and 12 pitchers while swapping out rookie left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk for Game 1 starter Bailey Ober.

It would seem that the Twins essentially chose to keep defensive and baserunning specialist Andrew Stevenson for use late in close games over Funderburk, who had been the second lefty in the bullpen alongside Caleb Thielbar. Neither Stevenson nor Funderburk was used in the Twins’ Wild Card Series sweep of the Blue Jays.

“Ultimately, with the way the rest of the roster is shaking out, Royce [Lewis], and where he's at [with his strained left hamstring] right now, I just felt the best thing for us to do is deepen the position players so we have more flexibility,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

This move places added importance on the performance of Thielbar, who is the lone southpaw in the bullpen and will likely be asked to get big outs against the potent left-handed trio of Kyle Tucker, Yordan Álvarez and Michael Brantley. 

But Tucker and Álvarez both have relatively neutral left-right splits, and the Twins ultimately felt comfortable with their pitching depth and length.

Though Byron Buxton homered as part of a live batting practice session at Minute Maid Park during Friday’s workout, he remained off the roster after having expressed continued uncertainty about whether his bothersome right knee might act up if he were to be active for the series.

“Just day to day,” Buxton said. “Depends on how you feel. Don’t know how certain stuff’s going to act up so it’s just one of those things where like I said, don’t get too high, don’t get too low and stay even-keeled, stay positive.”

Full roster

Catcher (2): Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vázquez
Infielders (7): Carlos Correa, Kyle Farmer, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Jorge Polanco, Donovan Solano
Outfielders (4): Matt Wallner, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Andrew Stevenson
Utility (1): Willi Castro

Starting pitchers (4): Bailey Ober, Pablo López, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan
Relief pitchers (8): Jhoan Duran, Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Emilio Pagán, Louie Varland, Chris Paddack, Kenta Maeda