HOUSTON — Will Smith, the left-handed reliever who won a championship with the Atlanta Braves last year, was added to the Houston Astros‘ roster ahead of their World Series matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Smith, who replaced right-hander Seth Martinez, stands as the only lefty in the Astros’ bullpen and can be used as a matchup option against the left-handed-hitting Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, who combined for a 1.426 OPS during the National League Championship Series.
The Astros have also regained their third-base coach, Gary Pettis, who missed the American League Championship Series because of an undisclosed illness. Astros manager Dusty Baker said Pettis was medically cleared to return for the start of the World Series.
“I didn’t think he was going to be, but he wants to be here,” Baker said. “He did everything that was needed to clear the protocols of health, and so he’s doing great.”
The Astros also announced that Framber Valdez will get the Game 2 start opposite Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, as was widely expected.
The Phillies also made a minor tweak with their World Series roster, replacing left-hander Bailey Falter and utility man Dalton Guthrie with right-hander Nick Nelson and utility man Nick Maton. Phillies manager Rob Thomson had toyed with the idea of moving Harper up to the No. 3 spot in the lineup, putting him closer to the leadoff-hitting Schwarber, given that the Astros’ bullpen was exclusively right-handed, but he opted to keep him fourth.
Thompson consulted with several coaches and players before the game and decided not to change the top half of the lineup.
“To a man, they were like, ‘You know, we’ve been swinging the bats pretty good right where we’re at. Everybody’s really comfortable with where we’re at,'” Thompson said. “So, that’s what we’re going with.”
