Dissecting MLB Playoff Rosters for Every Team in the Wild-Card Series

The MLB postseason has arrived, and teams had until Tuesday morning to submit their final 26-man roster for the wild-card series.

Once official rosters have been submitted, they are effectively locked until the next round of the postseason. Of course, when injuries arise, teams will be given the opportunity to replace the injured player with a new body, though there are certain restrictions as to who will be available in those situations.

For one, a team can only replace an injured pitcher with another pitcher, and the same for position players. Additionally, only players who were on the 40-man roster or the 60-day injured list as of Sept. 1 at noon ET are eligible to for the postseason, whereas players who were acquired on waivers in September, or those who were suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, are not.

Each team participating in the wild-card submitted a roster of 26 players on Tuesday morning. Let’s take a look at who’s in and who’s out.

Red Sox

MLB — Garrett Crochet will be available for the Red Sox in the wild-card series against the Yankees. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: Brayan Bello, Jake Bennett, Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet, Alec Gamboa, Sonny Gray, Erik Miller, Wyatt Olds, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Greg Weissert, Garrett Whitlock

Position players: Adley Rutschman, Connor Wong

Infielders: Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasterio, Nick Sogard, Trevor Story

Outfielders: Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Nate Eaton, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jahmai Jones

After missing most of the season, Garrett Crochet was included on Boston’s 26-man playoff roster. Considering he hasn’t pitched since April 25, he’ll be coming out of the bullpen for the Red Sox in the wild-card series against the Yankees.

Yankees

MLB — Aaron Judge was left off the Yankees’ wild-card series roster as he continues to nurse a calf injury. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Brent Headrick, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, John Schreiber, Will Warren, Ryan Yarbrough

Catchers: Ali Sanchez, Austin Wells

Infielders: José Caballero, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Garcia Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, George Lombard Jr., Ryan McMahon, Ben Rice, Amed Rosario, Anthony Volpe

Outfielders: Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Spencer Jones, Heliot Ramos, Giancarlo Stanton

Despite his optimism in the days leading up to the postseason, Aaron Judge was not included on the Yankees’ roster for the wild-card series. A calf strain sustained in September, shortly after his return from a rib injury, saw Judge return to the IL, and fans in New York will have to wait a bit longer to see the superstar slugger back in action. While Judge was excluded, Giancarlo Stanton will make his return to the Yankee lineup despite having been sideliened since April 24.

White Sox

MLB, Colson Montgomery — Colson Montgomery will be in the White Sox’s postseason plans, despite a major slump in the second half of the season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: Huascar Brazobán, Sean Burke, Erick Fedde, Jordan Hicks, Bryan Hudson, Anthony Kay, Davis Martin, Sean Newcomb, David Sandlin, Noah Schultz, Grant Taylor

Catchers: Jake Rogers, Kyle Teel

Infielders: Luisangel Acuña, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas

Outfielders: Sam Antonacci, Andrew Benintendi, Brenton Doyle, Randal Grichuk, Braden Montgomery, Tristan Peters, Tommy Pham

There had been some speculation that the slumping Colson Montgomery would be excluded from Chicago’s postseason roster, but that wasn’t the case after all. Montgomery set the MLB record for most strikeouts in a single season, largely thanks to a cold spell in the second half of the season. Still, he hit 31 home runs in the regular season and the team will be counting on him to turn things around in October.

Astros

MLB — A hamstring injury will prevent Steven Okert from pitching for the Astros in the wild-card series. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: Bryan Abreu, AJ Blubaugh, Hunter Brown, Josh Hader, Josh Hendrickson, Tatsuya Imai, Bryan King, Peter Lambert, Bennett Sousa, Miguel Ullola, Logan VanWey, Hayden Wesneski

Catchers: Yainer Diaz, Christian Vázquez

Infielders: Nick Allen, Jose Altuve, Raynel Delgado, Isaac Paredes, Jeremy Peña, Christian Walker

Outfielders: Yordan Alvarez, Joey Loperfido, Cam Smith, Lucas Spence, Taylor Trammell, Nelson Velázquez

Left-handed reliever Steven Okert was not included in the Astros’ setup for the wild-card series, having gone down with an injury in September. He’s working his way back and could be available in the division series if Houston advances, but his absence is a big blow to the Astros’ bullpen.

Phillies

MLB, Luis Arraez — Luis Arraez will miss the wild-card series for the Phillies while nursing an ankle injury. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan, Jhoan Duran, Jesús Luzardo, Tim Mayza, Alex McFarlane, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sánchez, Chase Shugart, Zack Wheeler

Catchers: Rafael Marchán, J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs

Infielders: Alec Bohm, Otto Kemp, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner

Outfielders: Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Bryce Harper, Derek Hill, Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber

The Phillies are carrying three catchers on their postseason roster, and notably, key trade deadline acquisition Luis Arraez will not be available in the first round. He’s still dealing with a sprained ankle he sustained late in the regular season, which will prevent him from taking the field against the Braves. In fact, none of Philadelphia’s trade deadline acquisitions––Arraez, Brooks Raley and Caleb Kilian––were included on the 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series.

Braves

MLB — A knee injury will prevent Bryce Elder from pitching in the wild-card series for the Braves. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: Dylan Dodd, Didier Fuentes, Grant Holmes, Raisel Iglesias, Ray Kerr, Dylan Lee, Tyler Mahle, Victor Mederos, Chris Sale, Robert Suarez, Brent Suter

Catchers: Drake Baldwin, Sean Murphy

Infielders: Ozzie Albies, Ha-Seong Kim, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Dominic Smith, Rowdy Tellez, Luke Williams

Outfielders: Ronald Acuña Jr., Mauricio Dubón, Michael Harris II, Brewer Hicklen, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Mike Yastrzemski

There are a handful of notable absences for the Braves here, including a trio of injured players in Bryce Elder, Martin Perez and Lane Thomas, all of whom remain without a timeline for their return. Also absent, though not injury related, are pitchers AJ Smith Shawer and JR Ritchie, though it’s possible they’ll draw in for the division series if Atlanta advances.

Padres

MLB — Joe Musgrove hasn’t pitched in almost two full years, but he was included on the Padres’ wild-card series roster. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Pitchers: Jason Adam, Walker Buehler, Michael King, Yuki Matsui, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta, Robbie Ray, Bradgley Rodriguez

Catchers: Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin, Ethan Salas

Infielders: Miguel Andujar, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, Ty France, Manny Machado, Gavin Sheets

Outfielders: Jase Bowen, Dustin Harris, Austin Hays, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., Samad Taylor

Joe Musgrove is back. After missing the entire 2025 and ‘26 seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery, the veteran starter has been included on the Padres’ wild-card roster, and could potentially pitch out of the bullpen. Musgrove last toed the rubber in an MLB game on Oct. 2 in the ‘24 wild-card series against the Braves, almost exactly two years ago.

Cubs

Pitchers: Javier Assad, Matthew Boyd, Aaron Civale, Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Shota Imanaga, Daniel Palencia, David Peterson, Colin Rea, Ryan Rolison, Jacob Webb, Ryan Zeferjahn

Catchers: Miguel Amaya, Carson Kelly

Infielders: Gabriel Arias, Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Pedro Ramírez, Dansby Swanson

Outfielders: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Conforto, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Tyrone Taylor

There had been some optimism that Justin Steele would be activated for the first round after the lefthander missed the entire 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his UCL. Steele hasn’t pitched since April of ‘25, but it seems his return to the mound will have to wait a bit longer after he was excluded from the Cubs’ roster.

Add us as a preferred source on Google