Miley gives Astros lefty relief arm on ALDS roster
HOUSTON -- Veteran lefty Wade Miley, who struggled as a starter in September after five strong months to start the season, made the Astros’ roster for the American League Division Series against the Rays. Miley will be one of seven relievers manager AJ Hinch will carry for the best-of-five series.
Miley will also be the only lefty in a bullpen that includes Will Harris, Josh James, Roberto Osuna, Ryan Pressly, Héctor Rondón and Joe Smith. Right-hander José Urquidy, who’s likely to start a Game 4 if the Astros are leading the series, 2-1, will also be available in the bullpen for Game 1.
“With him active, I can help stress the other dugout,” Hinch said of Miley. “They’re so platoon friendly. They needed to have a viable option to control [Ji-Man] Choi, [Austin] Meadows, [Joey] Wendle, those guys off the bench.”
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 4 | HOU 6, TB 2 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 5 | HOU 3, TB 1 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 7 | TB 10, HOU 3 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 8 | TB 4, HOU 1 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 10 | HOU 6, TB 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: Among the notable pitchers left off the roster were right-handers Brad Peacock and Chris Devenski, both of whom pitched in critical roles in the World Series for the Astros in 2017. Hinch said hard-throwing rookie Bryan Abreu was in contention, but Houston went with experience.
Peacock, who started the season in the rotation, had two stints on the injured list this year with right shoulder soreness. He missed a month towards the end of the regular season.
“The two toughest ones for me were Devo and Peacock,” Hinch said. “Those guys both pitched in the World Series for us. They both are tremendous individuals, and both are all on board and deserving to be on playoff rosters. It’s a depth luxury more than an indictment of them not being capable to handle the responsibility of being on there.”
There were no real surprises among the position players Hinch will carry. The Astros went with rookie outfielder Kyle Tucker, giving them a left-handed bat off the bench, and speedy outfielder/infielder Myles Straw. Switch-hitting infielder Abraham Toro was left off the ALDS roster.
“Toro was discussed as being a bat off the bench just as much as he was protection for Carlos [Correa, who missed the final six games of the regular season with his second bout this year with a back injury],” Hinch said. “[Aledmys] Díaz factors in as insurance for Carlos as well. Myles can play infield and outfield. I tried to say from the very beginning that I wasn’t that concerned about Carlos. Just because he didn’t play didn’t increase my concern. I’ve been unconcerned since the beginning of this second stint.”
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The Astros have prepped Tucker to hit against left-handed pitching a lot in September. He’s started against lefties and come into the game against southpaws routinely. He’s also a sneaky good baserunner.
“Tucker has done a great job of taking feedback and becoming a threat for us to either start a game, come off the bench as a left-handed bat to face some pitching or really the surprise for me is how aggressive he was on the bases during the month of September,” Hinch said.
Here’s the Astros’ ALDS roster:
Pitchers (11): RHP Gerrit Cole, RHP Zack Greinke, RHP Will Harris, RHP Josh James, LHP Wade Miley, RHP Roberto Osuna, RHP Ryan Pressly, RHP Héctor Rondon, RHP Joe Smith, RHP Jose Urquidy, RHP Justin Verlander
Catchers (2): Robinson Chirinos, Martín Maldonado
Infielders (6): José Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Aledmys Diaz, Yuli Gurriel, Myles Straw
Outfielders: (6): Yordan Alvarez, Michael Brantley, Jake Marisnick, Josh Reddick, George Springer, Kyle Tucker