ll series talk goes in here. Non series talk goes somewhere else. No PBP, that can be found from other sources if you need it. All games are broadcast on AT&T Sports SW unless otherwise noted. 8-30 Framber Valdez (L) vs. Dane Dunning (R) 7:05 Bally Sports SW 8-31 TBD vs. Martin Perez (R) 1:05 Bally Sports SW MLBN (out-of-market only)
Who do we think is starting on Wednesday? I will be at the game. Also, saw the news about Diaz and Brown being called up. Will this be today? Does this affect their arbitration clock? I assume not but kind of surprised they didn't just wait until September 1st. Excited that they are giving chances to other players that could make a difference down the stretch. Hopefully they both get some playing time to see what they can do.
By all accounts they won't be activated until rosters expand on Thursday. They need to be on 40 man roster by midnight ( tonight) to be post season eligible. Garcia is on 5 days rest. McCullers and Javier on 4.Brown threw 58 pitches in 3+ innings Sunday. My guess for Wednesday is Javier starting with Garcia piggy backing.
MLB Loophole: A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible. I've not heard of the commissioner denying a petition. The Astros have Brantley, Castro, James, and Taylor meeting the IL criteria. So for all intents and purposes, the Astros can have 4 guys not on 40-man roster by 8/31 added to the postseason roster. It would not surprise me if the Astros made the move beforehand just in case as there really isn't a reason to wait a day.
That is an option I did not consider. I don't understand the reasoning behind it. Why allow a replacement who is not on the roster for a player who is eligible to return? If it works I am all for it but it is backwards to me.
The 8/31 rule for players in a team's organization is backwards. There is a no reason to limit a team from utilizing its entire organization with an arbitrary deadline. If a team wants to add a pinch runner or emergency catcher to their 40-man on September 30th for the postseason, let them. Why shouldn't a team be able to do this? The loophole may be weird, but it fixes a rule that isn't needed. I get wanting to keep teams from using players from outside their organization.
Could be perfect for Astros. Verlander will be fresh going into playoffs. McCullers getting more starts to fine tune Test Brown to see if he is ready for playoff bullpen work.
Already on the 40 and no move is needed today. Brown is already coming up (and post season eligible to boot) on 9/1- and he just threw 4 innings 2 days ago, so he's in no way pitching tonight or tomorrow. Made as much sense as anyone else. Your only other options would be Whitley, Mushinski, Paredes, Solomon, Dubin or Blanco. Bielak makes the most sense in that context for the next 2 days.
