ESPN | Jorge Castillo: The Yankees and Red Sox will face each other in the playoffs for the seventh time. It’s a rematch of last season’s AL Wild Card Series when Cam Schlittler memorably burst onto the national stage with eight shutout innings and 12 strikeouts to seal the series in the decisive Game 3. Castillo selects five of the most pressing questions facing the Yankees roster with less than 72 hours before the series gets underway.
Obviously atop the list is the availability of Aaron Judge,
who hasn’t played since straining his right calf on September 16th. Aaron Boone declared that Judge would not be available for the Wild Card Series, something that the three-time MVP disputed the next day. Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham’s availabilities are also up in the air but both are said to be “knocking on the door.” Third base starter isn’t set in stone, with Anthony Volpe taking reps at the hot corner in the final days of the season amid Ryan McMahon’s offensive woes and regressing defense. Neither is the Game 1 starter, Boone said to be between presumptive AL Cy Young Cam Schlittler and Max Fried. The bullpen also has question marks with the injuries to Fernando Cruz, Ryan Weathers, and Clarke Schmidt and the signs of fatigue after heavy workloads for Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty and Jen McCaffrey ($): The Red Sox have plenty of questions of their own, mainly focused on the health of some of their star contributors. Willson Contreras has been Boston’s best hitter but hasn’t played since getting hit on the hand by a pitch on September 17th, the player himself saying his availability is uncertain. It’s also unclear whether Garrett Crochet will even make the roster — the southpaw has been out since April with a shoulder injury and only just threw his second live batting practice. Roman Anthony will certainly be playing, the question is which version shows up after he missed most of the season with a torn finger ligament.
This series will likely be decided by the performance of the pitching staffs. Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez have all given the Yankees trouble this year, while Schlittler, Fried, and Gerrit Cole are equally if not more capable of dominating a game. Both teams have three-headed monsters at the backs of the bullpens, Headrick, Blackburn, and David Bednar opposed by Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman.
New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: Until August, Austin Wells had the lowest batting average and OPS of any hitter with at least as much playing time as him. However, since the trade deadline he posted an .800 OPS and 127 wRC+ including four home runs in nine games entering play Sunday. Wells feels that the turning point was the 15 days he spent on the IL with cervical headaches. With the affliction in the rearview mirror, Wells maintains that he is seeing the ball better and has been able to make a mechanical tweak in his swing, rewarding the Yankees’ decision to not pursue a catcher via trade.
Yahoo! Sports | Michael Whitaker: Justin Verlander called curtains on what has been a remarkable 21-year career. The likely future first ballot Hall of Famer was limited to just two starts in 2026 after suffering hip inflammation and a hamstring injury, but was able to make one last start in front of a sold out Comerica Park crowd, allowing two runs and striking out six over 5.1 innings. CC Sabathia, who himself was just honored with a Monument Park plaque and his No. 52 being retired by the Yankees, took time to congratulate his soon-to-be fellow Hall of Famer, calling Verlander “one of the best to ever do it.” Verlander had many memorable moments against the Yankees in his storied career, including his 2011 ALDS Game 3 start and 2012 ALCS Game 3 start with the Tigers as well as a pair of wins with the Astros in the 2017 ALCS to take home MVP honors. Congratulations on an incredible career, JV!
