4 Mariners who have likely played themselves off the postseason roster

As the postseason draws near for the Seattle Mariners following their rise into first place in the American League West, the team will face difficult decisions in cutting the roster down from 28 to 26 players.

Here are the four players most likely to see the chopping block.

4 players who aren't likely to make the Mariners' playoff roster

1. Emerson Hancock

Hancock was brought into the Mariners' bullpen to fill a long-relief role, but that might not be needed of him come the playoffs. The Mariners will be able to move to a four-man rotation and insert Bryce Miller into the pen to fill the multi-inning role. Miller is a better pitcher with higher upside and more experience with success than Hancock. If it comes down to Miller and Hancock, Hancock will be the one on the outside looking in.

Since returning to the team in September, Hancock has only appeared in five games and allowed four runs in 7.2 innings, though only two of those runs have been earned. Still, he has not done enough to earn a spot in the postseason.

2. Casey Legumina

It could also be Legumina who gets the boot for the playoffs if the Mariners would rather keep both Miller and Hancock in the bullpen.

The 28-year-old has a 5.66 ERA in 46 outings so far, and has been worth -0.9 bWAR. Still, Dan Wilson continues to give Legumina opportunities to pitch deep into games, a sign that he might just stick around for the playoffs.

3. Harry Ford

Okay, it's unfair to say Ford has played his way off the postseason roster. He just has not gotten the opportunities to play at all. He has just four big league plate appearances since being called up, and the team seems to be using him exclusively as an emergency catcher.

Whether or not that's the right strategy for the rookie is questionable, but it would not make much sense to keep him around for the playoffs if the team prefers Garver over Ford as their backup catcher.

4. Cole Young

A month ago, this would have been crazy to speculate, but the truth is, Young has struggled for a while now. He's been relegated to a role as a backup second baseman, with Jorge Polanco and Leo Rivas getting the majority of reps at the position over the last couple of weeks.

Young's bat has cooled off, and it is possible that the team decides to roll with the duo of Rivas and Polanco at second base come the playoffs. That would allow them to keep Ford on the roster as an emergency catcher, just in case anything happens to Raleigh or Garver. It probably won't happen, but if the Mariners want to keep Ford on the playoff roster, it feels like Young would be the one who misses out.