Winker in, Tellez out as Brewers set Wild Card Series roster

MILWAUKEE -- Colin Rea and Jesse Winker are in. Garrett Mitchell and Rowdy Tellez are out. And the Brewers’ 26-man roster for the best-of-three National League Wild Card Series against the D-backs is set.

With the revelation that right-hander Brandon Woodruff would miss at least this round of the postseason with a right shoulder injury, the Brewers were forced to rethink the roster ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday night at American Family Field.

“We’re just going to have to make adjustments. That’s why we’ve worked hard to have the quality of the group that we have,” general manager Matt Arnold said. “We obviously still believe in this group that we have.”

Tops among the considerations: How would Woodruff’s absence impact the pitching plan? Even before Woodruff’s setback, Brewers officials had serious discussions in recent days about the pros and cons of an extra arm versus an extra bat or baserunner. In a three-game series, every tiny edge can be the difference between being eliminated and moving on.

So, the Brewers included Rea for length on a roster that has 11 pitchers and 15 position players.

On the position player side, the biggest question mark may have been Mitchell, who beat the odds by making it back from a left shoulder injury during Milwaukee’s final homestand. He started three games and is fully cleared from a medical standpoint, but the Brewers opted not to include him on the roster for the first round. They also left out Tellez, who had been manning first base on days Carlos Santana wasn’t in the lineup.

Instead, the Brewers included three players who haven’t appeared in the big leagues in weeks, and in the case of Winker, months. The 30-year-old last played in the big leagues on July 24, before landing on the injured list with a lower back issue. Winker has been with the Crew since the end of the Triple-A season, taking batting practice and grounders at first base. The Brewers included him in spite of a .567 OPS in the Majors this season because he typically delivers a quality at-bat off the bench.

Also included were outfielder Joey Wiemer, who was optioned to Triple-A on Sept. 17 amid a terrible slump, and Owen Miller, the versatile infielder who was optioned back and forth between the Minors and Majors during the second half of the season.

"First, they've had at-bats. They haven't had at-bats since [the end of the Triple-A season on Sept. 24]," manager Craig Counsell said.

Was the health of Mitchell's shoulder a factor?

"I would say there was other considerations there, not just Mitchell. It was kind of the combination of the group," Counsell said. "Essentially the roles that we were thinking about either of them doing, I think we thought Joey could do it a little bit better. ... Look, Sal [Frelick] and Tyrone [Taylor] are going to play in the outfield here. That's who is going to play."

For Winker, it's an opportunity to author a better finish to his debut season in Milwaukee. He called being included on the postseason roster "an honor."

"It's the best time of year," Winker said. "Everything's elevated, magnified. It's not about you personally. This is about the team. Whether you don't have an at-bat in two months or two years, this is the playoffs. I think all bets are off."

Winker started a Minor League rehab assignment on Aug. 15, but had a setback when he developed a quad injury.

A reminder: Teams submit a new 26-man roster with a maximum of 13 pitchers prior to the first pitch of each postseason round. So, should the Brewers advance to the NL Division Series against the Dodgers, they would select a roster reflective of a best-of-five series prior to Game 1 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Here’s the full Wild Card Series roster:

C: William Contreras, Victor Caratini
1B: Carlos Santana
2B: Brice Turang, Owen Miller, Andruw Monasterio
3B: Josh Donaldson
SS: Willy Adames
OF: Mark Canha, Sal Frelick, Christian Yelich, Tyrone Taylor, Blake Perkins, Joey Wiemer, Jesse Winker
SP: Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley
RP: Devin Williams, Joel Payamps, Abner Uribe, Hoby Milner, Trevor Megill, Elvis Peguero, Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea