Braves finalize Wild Card Series roster; Sale left off
Mark Bowman
@mlbbowmanSAN DIEGO -- AJ Smith-Shawver and Bryce Elder are on the BravesĄŻ Wild Card roster, but as expected, Chris Sale is not.
Sale will miss the BravesĄŻ best-of-three series against the Padres because of back spasms that developed on Sunday. The top candidate for this year's NL Cy Young Award has been dealing with discomfort in his back going back to his Sept. 19 start in Cincinnati.
Smith-Shawver will start Game 1 for the Braves, who will turn to Max Fried for Game 2 on Wednesday.
The Braves are carrying 13 pitchers and 13 position players for this series.
Spencer Schwellenbach and Grant Holmes were both left off because they wonĄŻt be available after making starts in Monday's doubleheader against the Mets.
Here's the Braves' full NL Wild Card Series roster: