Phillies Leave Luis Arraez Off Wild Card Roster After Ankle Sprain
Don Mattingly described Arraez's injury as a 'pretty good ankle sprain.'
The finally stopped their late-season freefall just in time to punch a playoff ticket, but they are leaving their best contact bat in the waiting room. has officially been left off the Wild Card roster ahead of their series against the .
A "pretty good ankle sprain" is how Don Mattingly described the injury that kept Arraez out of the final regular-season games against the Tampa Bay Rays. In medical terms, that translates to a guy who cannot run without looking like he is wearing concrete cleats, which is a massive problem when your entire offensive identity relies on getting on base.
The Phillies barely survived a living hell of a final week to get here. They dropped three straight to the Milwaukee Brewers and got outscored 14-1 in their first two games against the Rays before finally clinching the last National League Wild Card spot on Sunday. Now they have to face a loaded Braves squad without a guy who practically hits .300 in his sleep.
For anyone looking at the series odds, pulling Arraez out of the lineup completely changes the math for . You are replacing a guaranteed tough out with whatever bench depth the can scrape together against 's elite rotation, shifting the pressure entirely onto the rest of the core to manufacture runs.
Game 1 kicks off on Tuesday in , and the will have to figure out how to survive the hard way. If they somehow upset the , they can re-evaluate Arraez for the divisional round, but right now, they just have to hope their remaining bats remember how to hit.