Mets playoffs: Kirk Nieuwenhuis makes Mets' NLDS Roster

Following news that Juan Uribe will be unable to play in the NLDS, reserve outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis has officially been placed on the Mets' NLDS roster. With the Dodgers featuring a predominately right-handed bullpen, it's likely that Nieuwenhuis's duties will be limited to pinch-hitting and making defensive appearances. Nieuwenhuis ended his regular season on a 6-for-27 skid.

Nieuwenhuis's potential role on the team's playoff roster was cloudy because of a crowded outfield. Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, Michael Cuddyer, and Juan Lagares were all presumed locks, making it an uphill battle for Nieuwenhuis to crack the team's postseason roster. But it probably helped that Eric Young Jr. hardly cemented a roster spot in his second go-around with the Mets, going 0-for-8 at the plate and getting caught stealing in two of five attempts since rejoining the team.

It was an odd journey for Nieuwenhuis in 2015. The Mets traded him to the Angels earlier this season, but they re-acquired him. In the Mets' last game before the All-Star break, he became the team's first player to ever hit three home runs in a home game. Nieuwenhuis also hit a pinch-hit home run against Jonathan Papelbon in a crucial matchup with the Nationals that proved to be one of the season's defining moments.