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Playoff Rosters, Part 3: Wild Card Reality

The wild card roster has been announced.

He's in.
He's in.
USA TODAY Sports

The roster for the wild card game in Cleveland tonight has been announced, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.

Pitchers:

  1. SP – Alex Cobb
  2. RHP  – Chris Archer
  3. RHP – Joel Peralta
  4. RHP – Fernando Rodney
  5. RHP – Jamey Wright
  6. LHP – Matt Moore
  7. LHP – Jake McGee
  8. LHP – Alex Torres
  9. LHP – Wesley Wright
That is a strong bullpen, only one starter (rosters can be redone after the wild card "round") with Chris Archer and Matt Moore reinforcing the relievers. Danny wrote previously how a trip to the bullpen might be just the ticket for Matt Moore and his flagging velocity.

Catchers:
  1. Jose Molina
  2. Jose Lobaton
  3. Chris Gimenez
Position Players:
  1. James Loney
  2. Ben Zobrist
  3. Yunel Escobar
  4. Evan Longoria
  5. David DeJesus
  6. Sam Fuld
  7. Desmond Jennings
  8. Kelly Johnson
  9. Matt Joyce
  10. Kevin Kiermaier
  11. Wil Myers
  12. Sean Rodriguez
  13. Delmon Young
That's a strong lineup, with Kiermaier and Gimenez (along with the Rays host of multi-position defenders) giving the Rays plenty of flexibility to make pinch hitting, running, and defensive replacements. When I previously projected the wild card lineup, I did not fully understand the DL exception rule. As it turns out, before the round begins, a position player can be substituted for a pitcher, allowing the Rays to carry Young, Kiermaier, and Gimenez, none of whom were on the 25 man roster on August 31.

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