The Rays haven't set their playoff roster yet and refuse to comment on it until they do, but it seems like the players have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen when their ALDS roster is finally released. Troy Percival told Marc Lancaster at the Tampa Tribune that he doesn't expect to be on the roster for the first playoff series in Rays history, which means that rookie David Price probably will make the cut.

This isn't really surprising news, nor is it bad news for the Rays. Percival's battled injuries on and off all year and he really hasn't been that great since he returned from the DL in mid-July. Even without giving up an earned run in his last five appearances, he had an ERA of over 9.00 in September to compliment some very rocky outings. The Rays haven't really trusted him to close at all down the stretch.

Without Percival, the Rays will likely lean on Dan Wheeler to close, since Wheeler took that role in the regular season when Percival was hurt or struggling. That leaves Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, and Price to bridge the gap between the rotation and Wheeler. That trio's been very, very good this year, though Price's major league career only consists of 14 innings. A lot is rightly made of the Angels' bullpen, but the group the Rays are going to be closing games with is very good, and they're arguably better without Percival.