Boston’s J.D. Martinez is not on the Red Sox roster for Tuesday’s AL wild-card game after spraining ankle on Sunday. Reed Hoffman/Associated Press
BOSTON — Designated hitter J.D. Martinez was left off the Red Sox roster for their one-game wild-card playoff against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, two days after he twisted his ankle running out to the field in a rare defensive appearance.
Playing the outfield because Boston finished the regular season in Washington, an NL park where the DH is not used, Martinez slipped on second base while taking his position between innings. He remained in the game for a half-inning before he was replaced by a pinch hitter. Manager Alex Cora said Monday that Martinez was getting treatment and the Red Sox would see how his ankle responds. The four-time All-Star batted .286 with 28 homers and 99 RBI this season.
It was not surprising that pitcher Chris Sale was left off the roster after he started Sunday’s game at Nationals Park, and given that it was just his ninth appearance since returning from Tommy John surgery. The Red Sox opted to play it safe with his surgically-repaired left elbow. By not being on the roster for Tuesday’s game, Sale could face the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 or 2 of the American League Division Series if Boston beats New York.
The Yankees added outfielder Greg Allen to their roster, along with Rob Brantly as a third catcher. Left-hander Andrew Heaney and right-hander Brody Koerner were designated for assignment to open roster spots.
With ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, Kyle Higashioka will be behind the plate. Manager Aaron Boone said starting catcher Gary Sánchez will not be his designated hitter, leaving Sánchez to begin the game on the bench along with Brantly, who was 3 for 20 in six games with the Yankees this season.
Allen is speedy and could be used as a pinch runner.
RAYS: The winner of Tuesday night’s wild-card game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will face Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan in Game of 1 of the AL Division Series on Thursday night.
Rookie Shane Baz will take the mound for Game 2 on Friday night. Depending on bullpen use in the opening two games, Rays Manager Kevin Cash said Drew Rasmussen is the “highly likely” Game 3 starter.
McClanahan, who last year became the first pitcher to make his major league debut in the postseason, went 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 25 starts this season.
BREWERS: Milwaukee right-hander Corbin Burnes will start Game 1 of the NL Division Series with Atlanta on Friday.
The Brewers announced Tuesday that Burnes (11-5, 2.43 E1RA) will start the opening game and that right-hander Brandon Woodruff (9-10, 2.56) will start Game 2 on Saturday. The Braves are going with right-hander Charlie Morton (14-6, 3.34) for Game 1 and left-hander Max Fried (14-7, 3.04 ERA) for Game 2.
Burnes led the NL in ERA this season and had 234 strikeouts and only 34 walks in 167 innings.
In his only start against the Braves this season, Burnes gave up five runs and nine hits over four innings. The Brewers still won the July 30 game 9-5. Morton made one start against the Brewers and was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA.
ASTROS: Left-hander Framber Valdez will start for Houston in Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Manager Dusty Baker announced the decision but did not reveal his rotation past Game 2. He previously said Lance McCullers Jr. will start in the series opener Thursday.
Valdez won a career-high 11 games this season with 125 strikeouts, and his 3.14 ERA in 22 starts was his best since his rookie season in 2018. The 27-year-old missed the first 49 games this season after breaking his left index finger in his first start of spring training.
UMPIRES: Record-setting umpire Joe West will call balls and strikes for the NL wild-card game, and Mark Carlson will be the home plate umpire for the AL wild-card game.
Ted Barrett, Tom Hallion, Sam Holbrook and Alfonso Marquez will be crew chiefs for the Division Series, Major League Baseball said.
West, who in May broke Bill Klem’s record for major league games umpired, will be the crew chief for Wednesday night’s NL game between the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. He will be joined by Alan Porter at first, Laz Diaz at second, Jim Wolf at third, Chris Segal in left and Ramon De Jesus in right.
Carlson will be joined for Tuesday night’s AL wild-card game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox by James Hoye at first, crew chief Jerry Meals at second, Jordan Baker at third, Ryan Blakney in left and Jansen Visconti in right.
RANGERS: Texas dismissed hitting coach Luis Ortiz and bench coach Don Wakamatsu after a 102-loss season.
Two days after the season ended with the Rangers being shut out for a majors-high 15th time, the team said that Ortiz and Wakamatsu would not return to manager Chris Woodward’s staff in 2022.
The status of assistant hitting coach Callix Crabbe and Alex Burg, the team’s coordinator of run production, will be determined by the new hitting coach. Crabbe and Burg were given permission to seek other employment opportunities.
NATIONALS: Shortstop Alcides Escobar agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract to stay with Washington next season.
Escobar, who will turn 35 in December, batted .288 with 21 doubles, two triples, four homers and 28 RBI in 75 games with the Nationals after signing with the club in July.
Before joining Washington, he hadn’t been in the major leagues since 2018. Escobar has a career average of .259 with 245 doubles and 470 RBI over a total of 12 seasons in the majors with three clubs. He was an AL All-Star for the Kansas City Royals in 2015.
ROCKIES: Colorado agreed to multiyear deals with right-hander Antonio Senzatela and first-baseman C.J. Cron.
Senzatela’s $50.5 million, five-year contract includes a club option for 2027. Cron will return on a $14.5 million, two-year deal. The 26-year-old Senzatela is coming off a season in which he made 28 starts and finished with a 4-10 record. He posted a 4.42 ERA and struck out 105 over a career-high 156 2/3 innings.
Senzatela was signed by Colorado as a non-drafted international free agent on July 8, 2011, out of Valencia, Venezuela. Over five seasons with Colorado, he’s gone 36-35 with a 4.84 ERA.
Cron is slated to make $7 million next season and $7.5 million in ’23. The 31-year-old Cron hit .281 with a team-leading 28 homers after signing a free-agent deal last February. His three grand slams this season were the most in franchise history. He also earned NL player of the month honors for August when he led the NL in hitting (.387), home runs (11) and RBI (34).
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
