Kansas City Royals right-hander Jordan Lyles is expected to remain in the club's starting rotation next season, as per general manager J.J. Picollo. Picollo also stated that Brady Singer and Cole Ragans will be in the rotation with the final two spots up for grabs. Singer and Ragans returning is hardly surprising but Lyles' inclusion is somewhat suspect considering his results this season. The veteran's 6.28 ERA in 31 starts was easily the worst mark among 44 qualified pitchers while his 1.98 HR/9 surrendered ranked 42nd. On the positive side, he made at least 30 starts for the third straight season and should be able to eat more innings for the rebuilding Royals in 2024.

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jay Jackson cleared waivers on Tuesday and is expected to accept his outright assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. As a result, the right-hander would be available to the club in case of injury throughout the postseason. Jackson tossed 29 2/3 innings of 2.12 ERA ball with the Blue Jays this season, although his 4.20 FIP and 3.89 SIERA suggest regression is on the horizon. The 35-year-old also worked to a rough 6.21 ERA/5.12 FIP across 25 appearances and 29 frames with Buffalo this season. He last pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts against the Rays on Sept. 29 and has not allowed an earned run across his last six appearances with the Blue Jays.

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is back in the leadoff spot for Tuesday's Game 1 of the wild-card round versus the Milwaukee Brewers and right-hander Corbin Burnes. Carroll was one of several D-backs regulars to sit out of Sunday's regular-season finale with a playoff spot locked up but he will predictably get back into the fold while manning right field on Tuesday. The sure-fire NL Rookie of the Year hit .285 with 25 home runs, 54 stolen bases, and an .868 OPS across 155 games played this season while his 116 runs scored ranked seventh in all of baseball. He is 1-for-9 (.111) with a walk and three strikeouts across 10 career plate appearances versus Burnes.

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman is hitting out of the eight-hole for the third time in his last four games for Tuesday's Game 1 of the Wild Card round versus the Minnesota Twins and right-hander Pablo Lopez. Two of Chapman's final three regular-season starts came out of the eight-hole, the only two times he has started out of that spot this season. Interestingly, he homered in each of his two starts out of the eight spot this season. While he cooled off significantly following a white-hot April, Chapman still recorded 17 home runs, 39 doubles, four steals, and a healthy .754 OPS across 140 appearances on the season. He is 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his career against Lopez.

Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa will begin the postseason out of the six-hole for Tuesday's contest against the Blue Jays and right-hander Kevin Gausman. Continued plantar fasciitis issues threatened the 29-year-old's availability for this Wild Card series but he will indeed play while hitting out of the six-hole for the first time this season. It was a disappointing regular season for Correa offensively as he hit a career-worst .230 along with 18 homers and a .711 OPS across 135 games. His 96 wRC+ this season is the second-worst mark of his career and his worst mark over any non-COVID campaign. Correa has gone 3-for-14 (.214) with a double and three walks across 17 career plate appearances versus Gausman.

The Arizona Diamondbacks included rookie shortstop Jordan Lawlar on their roster for the wild-card series this week against the Milwaukee Brewers. Arizona's top prospect, per MLB Pipeline, was called up from Triple-A Reno on Sept. 7 and went just 4-for-31 (.129) with no home runs or RBI, one stolen base, 11 strikeouts and two runs scored in his first 34 plate appearances over 14 games. The 21-year-old is plenty talented, though, so the Diamondbacks will include him as a potential spark off their bench on the road in Milwaukee this week. In 105 games on the farm before his call-up this year, Lawlar had 20 home runs and 36 stolen bases.

Minnesota Twins infielder Royce Lewis (hamstring) was included on the team's roster for the wild-card series and is serving as the designated hitter and batting third on Tuesday against Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman. Lewis hasn't played since Sept. 19 due to a mild left-hamstring strain and isn't quite 100 percent, but he was good enough to be included on the postseason roster and will likely serve exclusively as Minnesota's DH in this series against Toronto. The 24-year-old missed extensive time due to injury this year, but he was great when on the diamond, slashing .309/.372/.548 with a .921 OPS, 15 home runs, 52 RBI, six stolen bases and 36 runs scored in 217 at-bats. Lewis has two hits and an RBI in his only two at-bats against Gausman.

Texas Rangers outfielder Robbie Grossman is serving as the designated hitter and is batting third for the Rangers in Game 1 of the wild-card series on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Tyler Glasnow. Grossman, a switch-hitter, has fared much better against left-handers than righties this year, although he's never faced Glasnow in his career and faces a tough challenge to kick off the postseason. The 34-year-old veteran outfielder hit just .206 (50-for-243) with five of his 10 homers against right-handed pitching in 2023. Grossman is coming into this game on a cold streak, too, going 3-for-22 (.136) with no homers or RBI, eight strikeouts and no runs scored in his final nine games of the regular season.