Five players most likely to brawl in the Rangers/Blue Jays ALDS

The American League wild-card game kicked off the 2016 MLB postseason with a dramatic and exciting walk-off home run. The ALDS rematch it set up could feature even more fireworks.

With his three-run blast in the bottom of the 11th, Edwin Encarnacion gave baseball fans in two countries the rematch they all craved. Encarnacion and the Toronto Blue Jays will travel to Texas to reignite their rivalry with the Texas Rangers in a rematch of last year’s explosive (in more than one way) ALDS.

By now, everyone is aware of the bad blood between the two clubs. It all started around this time last season, when Jose Bautista unleashed the bat flip heard round the world. Benches cleared twice that game, but the Blue Jays eventually came out on top, winning the contest and advancing to the ALCS.

The Rangers got their revenge in May. After he was hit with a pitch, Bautista slid into second base hard in an attempt to break up a double play. Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor took exception, and landed a nasty right cross directly on Bautista’s jaw. Benches cleared, players were ejected and suspensions and fines were handed down by the league.

That was the last time the two clubs met. Considering the history between the teams, and the elevated atmosphere that is the postseason, it wouldn’t be a shock to see emotions run high during the ALDS.

While we here at The Stew find baseball brawls to be pointless, dumb and generally avoidable, this matchup has many of the variables that create the perfect scenario for yet another baseball brawl.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five players most likely to be involved in yet another benches-clearing incident between the two clubs.

ROUGNED ODOR, SECOND BASEMAN, TEXAS RANGERS
He’s the obvious choice. Odor did punch Bautista in the face the last time the two clubs met, and he’s not exactly sorry about it. On top of that, Odor’s developed a bit of a reputation as a hothead, and has been involved in some other fights during his career. Given his actions the last time the two clubs met, he’s also a prime candidate to be thrown at should any game in the series get out of hand. If that happens, it’s going to be tough to imagine Odor simply dropping his bat, laughing and jogging down to first base.

JOSE BAUTISTA, OUTFIELDER, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
That leaves the next obvious candidate. Bautista’s may not start the physical violence, but it seems likely he would be at the center of any benches-clearing incident with the club. Bautista plays with a lot of emotion, and we already know plenty of players on the Rangers take offense to that type of thing. So if he celebrates a hit too long, or stares at a pitcher the wrong way after an inside pitch, that might be all it takes for things to get out of hand once again. Like Odor, he’s a candidate to take a fastball to the ribs should any game get out of hand.

SAM DYSON, RELIEVER, TEXAS RANGERS
The man on the other end of the most famous bat flip of all-time. Shortly after giving up the now infamous go-ahead home run to Bautista in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS, Dyson got into it with Encarnacion. At the end of the inning, he was involved in another incident after exchanging words with Troy Tulowitzki. We should note that Dyson has faced Bautista since the bat flip, and everything was fine. Dyson didn’t retaliate, and retired Bautista on a line out.

JOSH DONALDSON, THIRD BASEMAN, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Donaldson hasn’t really been at the center of any of the incidents involving the two clubs. With that said, he’s developed somewhat of a reputation for being a red-ass competitor on the field. If you could bet on one player to get mad and red during a baseball game, Vegas would only release odds for Donaldson and Madison Bumgarner, is what we’re saying. If a pitch brushes him back just a little too much, Donaldson won’t be afraid to show his displeasure. That could lead to some words being exchanged, and that’s all it takes with these two teams.

CARLOS GOMEZ, OUTFIELDER, TEXAS RANGERS
We know, he wasn’t even on either team during the past couple incidents. This is more of a bet on someone from Toronto getting angry with Gomez’s antics. He’s the type of player who constantly shows his emotions, and we know how much that seems to infuriate other players around the league. On top of that, Gomez has been playing well since joining the Rangers and seems like a prime candidate to make a big play, celebrate and then make everyone on the other team angry. That type of thing has happened before.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik