So it's official: The Braves have left their $13 million second baseman off their playoff roster. And who in spring training didn't expect that Elliott Johnson and Paul Janish would be the team's two second basemen in the playoffs?

Dan Uggla is not among the 25 players the Braves can use against the Los Angeles Dodgers in their divisional playoff series, which begins Thursday night. Keeping Uggla off the roster was not unexpected -- although personally, I would've kept both he and B.J. Upton on it for this series -- but the surprise was how the team filled out the roster. Manager Fredi Gonzalez and general manager Frank Wren decided to keep 11 pitchers, not 12, active, as well as outfielder Jose Constanza and infielder Paul Janish.

Also left off was pitcher Paul Maholm, but in a best-of-five series the Braves need only three starters (Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, Julio Teheran). (UPDATE: Never mind. Braves actually have decided to go with Freddy Garcia as a potential Game 4 starter. Count me among the surprised.)

Here's the complete roster:  

PITCHERS (11): Luis Avilan (LH), Luis Ayala (RH), David Carpenter (RH), Freddy Garcia (RH), David Hale (RH), Craig Kimbrel (RH), Kris Medlen (RH), Mike Minor (LH), Julio Teheran (RH), Jordan Walden (RH) and Alex Wood (LH).

CATCHERS (3): Evan Gattis, Gerald Laird and Brian McCann.

INFIELDERS (5): Freddie Freeman, Paul Janish, Chris Johnson, Elliot Johnson and Andrelton Simmons.

OUTFIELDERS (6): Jose Constanza, Jason Heyward, Reed Johnson, Jordan Schafer, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton.

You can read below for some background on Uggla and Upton, both of whom were speculated about being left off. Because the Braves are thin at second base (injuries to Ramiro Pena and Tyler Pastornicky) and Upton was a star for Tampa Bay in the 2008 postseason, I think a case could be made that both should have been on the playoff roster.

But their statistics this season have been so anemic, it's difficult to mount a strong argument against keeping either on the roster.

• PREVIOUS BLOG

As the only team in baseball's postseason to have two $13 million players hitting .179 (Dan Uggla) and .184 (B.J. Upton), respectively, the Braves face some unexpected decisions today: To bench or not to bench their two highest paid players and who had very little to do with them winning the National League East Division?

The Braves, who open their N.L. divisional series Thursday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, haven't announced their 25-man roster yet. They likely won't until Wednesday's open workout at Turner Field. But Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that the team has decided to leave Uggla off the roster and likely go with a 12-man pitching staff, pending the health of reliever Jordan Walden.

An excerpt from Bowman's blog:

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez met with some players regarding roster decisions after the team held a workout that was closed to media members on Tuesday at Turner Field.  An industry source said Uggla was informed that he will not be part of the 25-man roster the Braves will use during their best-of-five NLDS matchup against the Dodgers. ... Before making anything official on Wednesday, the Braves will first evaluate the health of some of the players, including right-handed reliever  Jordan Walden, who has been ineffective in three of the four appearances he has made since missing three weeks with a strained groin. ... If Uggla is indeed left off the roster, the Braves could go with a 12-man pitching staff, which could provide some insurance in the event that Walden’s struggles continue.

UPDATE: Our David O'Brien also is reporting that the Braves are "leaning toward" leaving Uggla off of the playoff roster. Here's an excerpt from his story on MyAJC.com:

A person familiar with the situation said team officials had a difficult time with the decision Tuesday, but were leaning toward excluding Uggla from the 25-man roster for the best-of-five playoff series. The Braves weren’t expected to announce the roster before Wednesday. ... His 22 home runs were third-most among Braves this season, but Uggla’s .179 batting average was the worst among major league qualifiers, as was his .157 average in home games. A three-time former All-Star, Uggla was third in the National League in strikeouts with a 171 in 448 at-bats, beating his own franchise record of 168 set in 2012.

Some thoughts: It's difficult to mount much of an argument against either Uggla or Upton being left off the playoff roster. They've been miserable. Uggla has delivered in power (77 homers) in his first three seasons as a Brave but his batting averages have been anemic and declined each season: .233, .220 and .179. He went to the extent of having Lasik surgery during the season, but that hasn't helped. He's hitting .137 with runners in scoring position and .169 with men on base. He also tied his career high of 171 strikeouts despite having a career-low 537 plate appearances.

Upton has been a disaster since signing a franchise record five-year, $75.25 million contract. His .184 average is 71 points below his career average in Tampa Bay ( .255). He fell from 28 homers and 78 runs batted in his final season with the Rays to nine homers and 26 RBI this year with the Braves.

His batting average with runners in scoring position: an implausible .108.

Postseason rosters should be about giving the team the best chance to win. Nothing about Uggla's or Upton's respective seasons suggest they qualify.

Here are the two biggest arguments against benching either:

-- Uggla: Despite his lack of production, he plays hard and is a popular player in the Braves' clubhouse. The team also is extremely thin at second base after season-ending injuries to Ramiro Pena and Tyler Pastornicky. That said, Elliott Johnson has become a favorite of manager Fredi Gonzalez since being picked up off waivers from Kansas City (and he's hitting a respectable .261).

-- Upton: He had a tremendous postseason with Tampa in 2008, including hitting .321 with four homers and 11 RBI in the ALCS win over the Boston Red Sox. While the odds of him suddenly catching fire in this October probably are long, he nonetheless is one of the few Braves with a postseason resume.

It's not an easy decision by Gonzalez and general manager Frank Wren. Or is it?

Your thoughts?