Siri added to Rays’ roster; injured Luke Raley out

ST. PETERSBURG — After taking their discussions and deliberations all the way to Tuesday morning’s deadline, the Rays announced their 26-man roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the Rangers.

As the Rays navigated through several key injuries down the stretch, manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the club would take all the time it had to evaluate its options. The biggest lingering questions centered on the availability of center fielder Jose Siri (fractured right hand) and outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley (cervical strain) and how the absence of one or both might affect their position player group.

Both players said after taking live batting practice Monday that they would be active if it were up to them. In the end, Siri was added to the roster and Raley was not. Cash said Raley was “still not quite himself and did have a little bit more pain.”

On the other hand, Cash said Siri’s hitting looked “pretty normal,” even if he has to play through some soreness. Siri was in the lineup Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s [the] postseason,” Cash said. “Normally we wouldn’t have done this, but these games are a little bit more meaningful.”

Interestingly, the Rays opted to begin the postseason with 15 position players and only 11 pitchers for the best-of-three series at Tropicana Field. (Keep in mind: Clubs can change their rosters between series.) That meant dropping rookie pitchers Taj Bradley — a starter who worked out of the bullpen twice during their last regular-season series — and Kevin Kelly, a Rule 5 pickup who led the team’s relievers in innings pitched.

The Rays, who haven’t announced their pitching plans for a potential Game 3, included starters Zack Littell (who has worked out of the bullpen before) and Aaron Civale (who has not) on the roster to help cover innings, if necessary.

“It’s a short series. We’ve got confidence, certainly, in our starters,” Cash said. “Kevin Kelly, not on there, very difficult decision. He contributed all season long to us. Felt like [right-hander Andrew Kittredge] was really trending in the right direction here as of late and can help us.”

On the position player side, perhaps the Rays’ most intriguing decision was carrying top prospect Junior Caminero, who has a ton of talent but only seven games of Major League experience after beginning this year with High-A Bowling Green. According to MLB Network research, Caminero — who struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning Tuesday — was the youngest hitter to make his postseason debut since Bryce Harper in 2012.

“The guy is talented, no doubt,” Cash said. “We’re probably asking more of him than we would have if it wasn’t the postseason.”

Here is the Rays’ full Wild Card Series roster.

PITCHERS (11): RHP Shawn Armstrong, RHP Aaron Civale, RHP Chris Devenski, LHP Jake Diekman, RHP Zach Eflin, RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Tyler Glasnow, RHP Andrew Kittredge, RHP Zack Littell, LHP Colin Poche, RHP Robert Stephenson

CATCHERS (2): Christian Bethancourt, René Pinto

INFIELDERS (7): Jonathan Aranda, Osleivis Basabe, Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz, Curtis Mead, Isaac Paredes, Taylor Walls

OUTFIELDERS (6): Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe, Manuel Margot, Harold Ramírez, Jose Siri, Raimel Tapia