HOUSTON — The Houston Astros left veteran relievers Will Smith and Phil Maton off their roster for the AL Division Series against the Seattle Mariners.
Maton suffered an “off-the-field” injury, general manager James Click said Tuesday, adding that Maton would be available later in the day to provide details. Click wouldn't say whether the injury was the reason he was not on the roster.
“Phil’s had an up and down year,” he said. “We were having active discussions when we found out about the injury. So I don’t think I have a yes or no answer to that question.”
Smith, who was acquired from the Braves at the trade deadline, had a 3.27 ERA in 24 appearances for Houston this season. Maton had a 3.84 ERA in 67 games this season.
Instead of those veterans, the Astros put rookie right-hander Hunter Brown on a roster with 12 pitchers and carried an extra position player in rookie infielder David Hensley.
The rest of Houston's pitching roster includes Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, Ryne Stanek, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Hector Neris.
Brown, Hensley, Montero and Neris are making their playoff debuts as are Houston rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena and utility player Trey Mancini, a six-year veteran acquired this summer after spending his entire career Baltimore, and infielder Mauricio Dubon.
Houston will carry two catchers, eight infielders and four outfielders in this series.
The Mariners went with the same roster they did for the wild-card series. They will carry 12 pitchers, three catchers, five infielders, four outfielders and utility players Adam Frazier and Dylan Moore.
Their pitching staff for this series includes Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Diego Castillo, Matthew Boyd, Matt Festa, Matt Brash, George Kirby, Andres Munoz, Penn Murfee, Robbie Ray, Paul Sewald and Erik Swanson.
Logan Gilbert will start Game 1 for the Mariners.
The best-of-five series begins Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Game 2 will also be in Houston on Thursday before the series heads to Seattle for a Saturday game at T-Mobile Park. If necessary, Game 4 will be in Seattle on Sunday, and Game 5 will be back in Houston on Monday.