This afternoon at 4:08pm ET, the New York Yankees will take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series. Forty-eight years after the Jays initially took the field to Exhibition Stadium as an expansion team, Toronto is facing New York in the playoffs for the first time. That ballpark is long since defunct, but Roger Centre will be bumping long before first pitch.
The Yankees and Blue Jays* have released their ALDS rosters, and New York made only one edit from the 26-man group that
dispatched the rival Red Sox in a dramatic first round. Only three starters were needed for the best-of-three Wild Card Series, but given the quick turnaround, the Yankees needed a fourth to take the ball in Game 1.
*Notably, the Jays left off the injured Bo Bichette as well as starters Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. We touched on those players in our ALDS preview.
2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil was added to the roster and will start the opener. Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Cam Schlittler are expected to follow in the next few contests, with the potential for Fried to return for a do-or-die Game 5 if needed. Gil’s inclusion meant that there had to be some tweak, and here’s the Yankees’ ALDS roster.
Catchers: Austin Wells, Ben Rice, J.C. Escarra (3)
Infielders: Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe, Ryan McMahon (4)
Outfielders: Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, Jasson Domínguez (4)
Utility: José Caballero, Amed Rosario (2)
Designated hitters: Giancarlo Stanton (1)
Starting pitchers: Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil (4)
Bullpen: David Bednar, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn, Will Warren (8)
Mark Leiter Jr. is the man omitted from the bullpen in favor of Gil. He had some big playoff moments in 2024 and has occasionally looked good this year, but the man has simply been too unreliable across 59 games (4.84 ERA, 84 ERA+, -0.6 rWAR). Since fifth starter Will Warren is needed in the ‘pen as a long relief or spot start option, that meant Blackburn was the only other plausible pitcher in danger. The Yankees will likely best be served if he barely pitches outside of blowouts, but the former Mets and A’s starter did record a 0.90 ERA with just two walks and a 36.8-percent strikeout rate in 10 September innings, so all that was intriguing enough for the Yankees to take Blackburn over Leiter.
The position player personnel is identical. Although the Yankees could have dropped the third catcher Escarra in favor of another righty bench bat in Trade Deadline acquisition Austin Slater, they’re staying the course. Escarra didn’t appear at all in the first round, but his presence does allow Aaron Boone to be more comfortable pinch-hitting or pinch-running for Austin Wells if needed, given that Ben Rice will mostly be starting as a first baseman. As also noted in our Wild Card Series roster review, Slater never found a rhythm with the Yanks after coming over from the White Sox anyway, as he was out with an injury for most of his first month and then went 3-for-18 with no extra-base hits or walks in September.
So that’s the Yankees’ ALDS roster! Check out our series preview here, make your series prediction here, and let us know what you think of this bunch.
