LOS ANGELES — The rule governing how teams can replenish their postseason roster in case of injury has been rewritten for these playoffs to better reflect the regular season.

New since the Cardinals’ last postseason, if a player is injured during the National League Division Series — or any of the series — that player can be replaced by another player at the same position. That means pitcher for pitcher or position player for position player. (If a catcher goes down, yes, a team can replace him with a, say, shortstop, but there would be little reason.)

There is no disabled list, per se, as there is in the regular season. And, if a player is removed from an active roster for a series, that player is also ineligible for the following series.

The rule used to protect a team if a catcher was injured in the middle of a series. The rewritten rule expands that insurance and keeps a team from having to play (read: pitch) a series shorthanded.

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