The Minnesota Twins put infielders Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa on their roster for the American League wild-card round, set to begin Tuesday at home against Toronto.
Correa didn’t play the final two weeks of the season due to plantar fasciitis, and Lewis has been battling a hamstring issue. Still, Lewis was the AL Rookie of the Month in September, hitting .313 with six home runs and 23 RBIs.
Left off the wild-card roster were former All-Star Byron Buxton, utility man Jordan Luplow and right-hander Bailey Ober, who made 26 starts for Minnesota. The Twins chose to go with left-handed reliever Kody Funderburk instead.
A Gold Glove outfielder, Buxton hit only .207 in an injury-impacted season.
Andrew Stevenson reportedly was kept on the roster instead of Luplow for his abilities as a pinch-runner.
The Twins will the best-of-three series with 12 pitchers and 14 position players.
Any team that advances out of the wild-card round has the option to make changes for the division series.
The Blue Jays also enter the series with 12 pitchers, but the list doesn’t include left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu or right-handed spot starter Wes Parsons. Neither figured to get a starting nod in the short series.
Replacing them on the roster are Davis Schneider and Santiago Espinal. Schneider can provide power as a pinch-hitter off the bench, and the versatile Espinal can play multiple positions.
–Field Level Media