After a long wait, the Rockies finally released their 25-man roster for the National League Wild Card Game tonight against the Chicago Cubs. The announcement came shortly after the team arrived at Wrigley Field after a late flight from Los Angeles got them into Chicago late Tuesday morning. The roster features 10 pitchers and 15 position players.
#WILDCARD GAME ROSTER
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) October 2, 2018
Pitchers: Davis, Freeland, Johnson, McGee, Musgrave, Oberg, Oh, Ottavino, Rusin, Senzatela
Catchers: Butera, Iannetta, Wolters
Infielders: Arenado, Desmond, Hampson, LeMahieu, McMahon, Story, Valaika
Outfielders: Blackmon, Dahl, CarGo, Holliday, Parra pic.twitter.com/n3tvwGKJhO
The first thing to note is that there are no “starting pitchers” on this roster other than Kyle Freeland. Of course, because teams can change their lineups for the division series, only one starting pitcher is necessary. What is somewhat surprising is that this 10-pitcher roster only includes one long-man, Antonio Senzatela. Jake McGee, Harrison Musgrave, and Chris Rusin are the lefties, while the usual suspects of Scott Oberg, Seunghwan Oh, Adam Ottavino, and Wade Davis enter from the right side. In a somewhat surprising move, DJ Johnson makes the roster over veteran Bryan Shaw, but considering the usage of the two players over the past month, it makes sense.
Bud Black will have three catchers at his disposal, plus the expected characters in the infield and outfield. Utility man Pat Valaika seems to have edged out Raimel Tapia for the final spot on the roster, which means Garrett Hampson will likely be the one called upon for any pinch-running duties.
With rosters released (you can see the Cubs’ roster here), lineups should be following soon for the 6:00 pm MT start.
Any surprises on the roster? Who would you have preferred to see (or not see) on the roster for the game tonight?