Compared to the other American League Wild Card Series, the White Sox's 26-man roster unveiling offers near-zero controversy, or any decision on which to chew.
The Yankees aren't bringing Aaron Judge, but they are carrying Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn't been active in a competitive game since April. The same can be said for Garrett Crochet, who will be in Boston's bullpen despite being sidelined with shoulder inflammation since April 25.
Meanwhile, the White Sox are basically going chalk with their 26-man roster, with positional designations being the only thing to quibble about.
Right-handed pitchers (7)
- Huascar Brazobán
- Sean Burke
- Erick Fedde
- Jordan Hicks
- Davis Martin
- David Sandlin
- Grant Taylor
Since they only figure to need a dozen pitchers for upwards of three games, Trevor Richards is on the outside looking in. He might have had an argument had Brazobán not made a smooth return from the injured list, but Brazobán has thrown 4⅓ scoreless, walkless outings, and they figure to cover the same sort of role. We'll see if his 3⅓-inning save in Game 162 stands as his last action of the season.
Left-handed pitchers (5)
- Bryan Hudson
- Anthony Kay
- Sean Newcomb
- Noah Schultz
- Hagen Smith
What the White Sox lack in proven starters, they make up for with an array of lefties and righties who can throw three innings. The White Sox are hoping that modularity wins the day, rather than fostering uncertainty about every step. Kay pitched five innings in Game 162, but given that he was seen warming in the bullpen between starts while the White Sox were trying to chase down the Guardians, the Sox have been preparing him for appearances on his side days.
Catchers (2)
- Jake Rogers
- Kyle Teel
Rogers is back from the paternity list after the birth of his daughter, but the White Sox are facing righties out of the gate with AJ Blubaugh opening Game 1 and Hunter Brown to start Game 2, so it's Kyle Teel Time.
Infielders (5)
- Luisangel Acuña
- Chase Meidroth
- Colson Montgomery
- Munetaka Murakami
- Miguel Vargas
With only 12 pitchers on the roster, there wasn't a debate about carrying Acuña, who did start at shortstop the last two games of the season after accruing just 12 plate appearances over the first 25 days of the month.
Outfielders (5)
- Sam Antonacci
- Brenton Doyle
- Randal Grichuk
- Braden Montgomery
- Tristan Peters
Like Brazobán, Doyle took his sweet time delivering what the White Sox had hoped after acquiring him at the trade deadline, but he comes into the postseason with 12 hits in his last 35 at-bats, including three homers.
Designated hitters (2)
- Andrew Benintendi
- Tommy Pham
They're both listed as outfielders on the White Sox press release, but Benintendi has played one inning in the outfield since April, and Pham has only DH'd or pinch-hit while working around a minor calf issue. If either of them end up standing in front of the Crawford Boxes this week, it better be in the 12th inning.
As for the Astros, they'll be going without left-handed reliever Steven Okert, who posted a 2.13 ERA and held hitters to a .190/.244/.325 line over 67⅔ regular-season innings, but has been dealing with a hamstring injury. They also chose Joey Loperfido over LaMonte Wade Jr. for left-handed outfielder duties, even though he's been limited to one pinch-hitting appearance at the major league level since July 1. It's their least-experienced postseason roster in quite some time, as 13 of their 26 players are brand new to October (or October-adjacent) baseball. It's just that the guys with postseason experience -- Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena and Christian Vázquez -- have postseason experience.
