Rays postseason roster choice could doom them in Wild Card round

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When the Tampa Bay Rays revealed their roster for the Wild Card round against the Texas Rangers, some of the choices raised some eyebrows.

Among the decisions from manager Kevin Cash was to carry just 11 pitchers against the Rangers, a decision that Cash said shows just how much belief he has in his starting pitchers for Games 1 and 2 in Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin.

"As far as the pitchers are concerned, it's a short series," Cash told reporters before Game 1. "We've got confidence certainly in our starters. (Zack) Littell is on there. He's pitched out of the bullpen before. Kevin Kelly, not on there, very difficult decision. The fact that he contributed all season long to us. Felt like Kit (Andrew Kittredge) was really trending in the right direction here as of late and can help us."

Kevin Cash rolling the dice with Tampa Bay Rays Wild Card roster selection

Certainly Tampa Bay's bullpen has been one of their strengths in recent weeks, as we detailed in our Wild Card preview earlier today. However, Cash is certainly putting a lot of faith in both Glasnow and Eflin to shut down the Rangers and not have to rely too heavily on his bullpen.

With the Wild Card round being a best-of-three beginning on Tuesday and no off days in between, Cash's decision makes sense on the surface ... as long as his starters provide him the length he needs. If Eflin or Glasnow is roughed up early, a lack of arms in the bullpen could provide the Rangers with an unexpected advantage as the series goes along.

Cash is also well known for his love of platooning players, so having plenty of position players to counter any pitching moves by opposing manager Bruce Bochy makes sense as well.

If Tampa Bay's starters can't provide the length they need, this decision could be a big one discussed after the game. We're live here at Tropicana Field and will provide postgame analysis and coverage.