Buck Showalter says Zack Britton was ‘healthy and available’

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed star pitcher Zack Britton could have been used in Tuesday’s AL Wild Card game.

Tuesday night began the MLB postseason with the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Wild Card game. The result would see the Blue Jays win on a walk-off home run from Edwin Encarnacion in the 11th inning.

Throughout the late stages of the game, the Orioles got stuck in multiple situations where players were on base with one or none out. It could have warranted for a situation for star closer, Zack Britton to enter the game. However, manager Buck Showalter did not bring him in. He left Ubaldo Jimenez for the 11th inning, and got battered by the heart of the Jays lineup.

Not bringing in Britton became the story of the postgame fallout. Was the potential AL Cy Young candidate even available to pitch, though? According to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, from what Showalter said in the press conference, the 28-year-old had been “available and healthy”.

This probably won’t sit well with Orioles fans, who may have hoped for Britton’s use in the crucial situations. It’s a call they will question throughout the offseason.

Not bringing in arguably the team’s best pitcher is indeed a head-scratching move. He posted a 0.54 ERA in the regular season, had 47 saves, and 74 strikeouts in 67 innings. These are incredible numbers for a reliever, one that should have warranted use when the season is one the line. It seemed that Showalter wanted to save Britton for a closing opportunity, though. As seen during the game, that’s wasn’t a guarantee, so why not use him before it’s too late?

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This decision will be debated for a while. Did Showalter make the correct call to want to wait to use Britton?