Mets remove reliever Joely Rodríguez from Wild Card Series roster due to shoulder injury

Starter Taijuan Walker took his place for the best-of-three series vs. the Padres

The New York Mets have removed lefty reliever Joely Rodríguez from their Wild Card Series roster due to a shoulder problem, MLB announced Saturday. MLB's medical director must confirm all injuries before roster substitutions are made in the postseason. Righty Taijuan Walker will take Rodríguez's roster spot. 

Players can only be removed from the postseason roster in the middle of a series because of an injury, and players who are dropped mid-series must sit the next series as well. Rodríguez will be ineligible for the NLDS should the Mets advance. He can return for the NLCS, assuming he's healthy in time and the Mets make it that far.

Rodríguez was not among the five pitchers the Mets used in their loss to the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Friday. The 30-year-old southpaw held lefties to a .233/.320/.326 battling during the regular season. Rodríguez's injury leaves David Peterson as the only lefty in New York's bullpen. That means he'll be on Juan Soto duty the rest of the series.

The 30-year-old Walker threw 157 1/3 innings with a 3.49 ERA during the regular season and was the favorite to serve as the Mets' No. 4 starter in the NLDS. After the Game 1 loss though, it's all hands on deck, and the Mets will use Walker in long relief if necessary to extend their season.

The Padres won Game 1 thanks to four homers and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings against Max Scherzer. It was one of the worst starts of Scherzer's career, postseason or otherwise. Jacob deGrom will get the ball in Game 2 in hopes of saving New York's season.