Ben Lively was left off Cleveland’s roster for the AL Division Series against Detroit despite being an invaluable addition to the Guardians’ starting rotation this season.
Lively went 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts for the Guardians, who signed him to a one-year contract as a free agent in December. The right-hander led the team in wins and was arguably the club’s most consistent pitcher for the first three months of the season.
The Guardians and Detroit Tigers announced their rosters Saturday about three hours before Game 1.
The Tigers, who swept Houston in the AL wild-card round, made only one change. Rookie right-hander Keider Montero was added for the ALDS in place of righty Casey Mize.
Added to give Cleveland depth, Lively helped the AL Central champions overcome the loss of former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, who made just two starts before having season-ending Tommy John surgery.
The Guardians also were without starter Gavin Williams until July because of an elbow injury, and Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen — both penciled in as starters — struggled and were sent to the minor leagues.
Cleveland’s bullpen has been MLB’s best all season, and manager Stephen Vogt elected to carry 12 pitchers. Two notable contributors were left off: Nick Sandlin, who went 8-0 with a 3.75 ERA in 68 games and Pedro Avila, who was 6-1 with a 3.81 ERA in 54 appearances.
Vogt said it was hard leaving anyone off. He also chose utilityman Tyler Freeman because of his versatility over rookie outfielder Angel Martinez.
“It’s terrible, not fun at all,” Vogt said. “Guys like Angel, that contributed a lot to us in our success. It’s hard when you use 40-something, 50 guys. We’ve made the roster for this specific series. It’s not going to be necessarily the roster moving forward, but it was a really difficult day and understanding and liking it are two different things.”
Starter Alex Cobb, who ended the season on the injured list because of a finger blister, is on the ALDS roster. He is a candidate to start Game 3, though Vogt could choose to use his bullpen from start to finish.
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