Blue Jays and Mariners make ALCS rosters official with a few surprising additions

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners have officially submitted their ALCS roster ahead of Game 1 and there are a couple of surprising changes of both sides.

For the Blue Jays, it's a double swap of pitchers as Toronto has brought back starters Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to the big league roster while relievers Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl have been removed and will have to watch the Blue Jays take on the Mariners from the sidelines.

On the Mariners side, Seattle brings in starter Bryan Woo, and infielder Miles Mastrobuoni and have removed infielder Ben Williamson and utility man Luke Raley.

Blue Jays make ALCS roster official with a few surprising additions ahead of Game 1

For Toronto it gives them a little more depth in the starting department as they had just three starters on their ALDS roster against the Yankees, using Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber. All three guys got to start Games 1-3 respectively and Game 4 was a bullpen game, which worked to perfection to close out the series.

The additions of Bassitt and Scherzer lessen the chances that Toronto would need to utilize a bullpen game, but Toronto Manager John Schneider has yet to tip his hand as to how he will use the two veterans against the Mariners.

He's certainly got options as he could just go with a traditional five-man rotation over the course of a seven game series, likely giving Gausman and one of Yesavage or Bieber a second start if the ALCS goes a full seven games. But Scherzer's struggles over the last month have been well documented and Bassitt is coming off a back inflammation injury that could limit his abilities.

Schneider also could have one or both guys join the bullpen as they've lost Nance who was typically an innings eater out of the 'pen, and Bruihl who was mostly utilized as a lefty specialist. Neither Scherzer nor Bassitt throw from the left side, but both are, in theory, capable of giving the Blue Jays a couple of innings out of the 'pen if giving the appropriate time to warm up.

It is certainly an interesting choice to slightly deplete your bullpen in favour of strengthening your rotation - but at the same time if Bassitt and Scherzer are at their best, they are clearly upgrades over Nance and Bruihl, although it is a big IF.

In the meantime, Toronto will continue to not have the services of shortstop Bo Bichette, and infielder Ty France. Bichette continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered in early September while France has been on the shelf since September 23 with left oblique inflammation.

On the other side, Seattle is getting Woo back from the IL. He was placed on the injured list on September 19 with pectoral inflammation, but reports indicate his bullpen sessions have been sufficient enough that he can pitch in this series.

Just like Scherzer and Bassitt for the Blue Jays, if Woo is at his best he is a huge addition to the Mariners pitching plans as their entire staff is coming into the series with some beleaguered arms after their ALDS went five game with the Tigers, and the fifth game decided in a 15-inning marathon. Woo was 15-7 this season with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched and a 0.93 WHIP.

Pitching matchups are always scrutinized at this time of the year and both Blue Jays Manager Schneider and Mariners Manager Dan Wilson are hoping they've set themselves up for success with the arms they've added ahead of the series opener on Sunday night.