Gavin Lux, Zach McKinstry Among Players On Dodgers Taxi Squad For Wild Card Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers included a couple mild surprises in setting their 28-man active roster for the Wild Card Series, perhaps most notably leaving Gavin Lux off. Along with the 15 position players and 13 pitchers who are active, the Dodgers have a 10-man taxi squad.

Along with Lux it features Scott Alexander, Dylan Floro, Zach McKinstry, DJ Peters, Luke Raley, Dennis Santana, Josh Sborz, Mitch White and Alex Wood. Alexander, Floro and Santana each pitched substantially during the regular season.

Alexander, who contracted coronavirus (COVID-19) and reported late to Summer Camp, was with the team until Walker Buehler returned from his first stint on the 10-day injured list on Sept. 2.

Floro went 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA in 25 games, benefitting from a refined changeup that helped neutralize left-handed batters.

Lux had a disappointing campaign that began with reporting late to Summer Camp for an undisclosed reason. He didn’t join the Dodgers from their alternate training site until late August. Lux only appeared in 19 games and batted .175/.246/.349 with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.

McKinstry sustained momentum from last season by showing well in Spring Training and Summer Camp. He made his MLB debut against the San Diego Padres and appeared in three of four games at Coors Field, making one start.

Peters spent the entire 2020 season training with fellow Dodgers prospects at USC, and has yet to appear in an MLB game.

Raley, a seventh-round pick of the Dodgers in 2010, returned to the franchise during the offseason as part of their trade with the Minnesota Twins. Like Peters, Raley spent all of this year at the Dodgers’ alternate training site.

Santana earned a spot on the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career and flashed some of the promise that once made him a highly-ranked pitching prospect. Santana went 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in 12 games. His inflated ERA was a byproduct of allowing four runs in one appearance.

Sborz spent another season rotating on and off the active roster, pitching to a 2.08 ERA in four games.

White also made his MLB debut this season, throwing three scoreless innings and going 1-0 in two appearances.

When Wood re-signed with the Dodgers during the offseason, it was under the expectation he would be part of the Opening Day roster. That became the case, but Wood only made one start before shoulder inflammation kept him on the IL for much of the season.

Wood returned as a relief pitcher and finished 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA and 1.82 WHIP in nine games (one start). His second start was in the role of an opener for a bullpen game against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 18.

Dodgers postseason roster for Wild Card Series (listed alphabetically in roles filled during regular season)

Starting pitchers: Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Julio Urias

Relief pitchers: Pedro Baez, Victor Gonzalez, Brusdar Graterol, Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Adam Kolarek, Jake McGee, Blake Treinen

Catchers: Austin Barnes, Will Smith, Keibert Ruiz

Infielders: Matt Beaty, Kiké Hernandez, Max Muncy, Edwin Rios, Corey Seager, Chris Taylor, Justin Turner

Outfielders: Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Terrance Gore, Joc Pederson, AJ Pollock

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