SAN DIEGO -- The Braves' Wild Card Series roster was full of major question marks -- mostly regarding their ailing ace and their potential Game 1 starter. The Padres' announcement, on the other hand, was fairly straightforward.
San Diego set its 26-man Wild Card Series roster on Tuesday morning, ahead of Game 1 against Atlanta on Tuesday night (5:38 p.m. PT, ESPN). The Padres will carry 14 position players and 12 pitchers, as expected. The final decision came down to lefties Yuki Matsui and Martín Pérez, with Matsui getting the nod.
"From a reliever standpoint, we feel like we had length and starters that go deep," general manager A.J. Preller said of the decision to carry 12 pitchers. "As you progress through the playoffs, and hopefully advance, you start to make some changes, but for us we just figured the extra position player in this situation ... was a little more important for us if we got into a scramble-type situation."
Yu Darvish, who is not in the Wild Card Series rotation, is on the roster and available to pitch out of the bullpen, manager Mike Shildt said Monday.
Here is the roster in full:
Catchers (2): Kyle Higashioka, Elias Díaz
Infielders (6): Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, Donovan Solano, Luis Arraez, Nick Ahmed
Outfielders (5): Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, Brandon Lockridge
Utility (1): Tyler Wade
Starters (3): Michael King, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease
Relievers (9): Robert Suarez, Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, Jeremiah Estrada, Bryan Hoeing, Yu Darvish, Wandy Peralta, Yuki Matsui