The Bronx is abuzz as Yankee Stadium prepares for Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the archrival Boston Red Sox. Check out our full series preview here in the lead-up to first pitch at 6:08pm ET.
Now that we’re mere hours before the game, the Yankees have released the 26-man roster for this series. In the event that an injury substitution is needed, the replaced player would be ineligible to return until a possible ALCS. The best-of-three also allows for some creative roster construction,
as fewer starting pitchers are needed.
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 (3)
Bullpen: David Bednar, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn, Will Warren (9)
The Yankees will go with three catchers for at least this round, which makes a lot of sense. Escarra has been stashed at Triple-A and has appeared just once in the majors since July, but because Rice is also starting most of these games alongside Wells, Escarra’s presence adds flexibility and insurance to the catching position. Moreover, the man who Escarra is effectively replacing on the roster is Trade Deadline acquisition Austin Slater, who is a lefty masher in theory but got injured shortly being acquired and never got into a rhythm upon his return. Rosario already occupies that role anyway.
The offense is fairly standard beyond the Escarra addition, and the pitching staff is logical as well. Gil pitched Sunday in the regular-season finale, so because he wouldn’t be fully rested for any of these three games from Tuesday through Thursday, he’s left off. The young righty also just doesn’t really have a profile that would likely play well out of the bullpen, so no need to mess with that.
The Yankees announced their starters for this series as Fried as Game 1, Rodón in Game 2, and Schlittler in Game 3. They did decide to carry Warren though, and if someone’s back locks up à la Max Scherzer just before Game 5 of the 2019 World Series, he could spot start. Otherwise, he’ll be ready to offer long relief (where he’s more stretched out than Blackburn), but the best-case scenario is obviously that he doesn’t need to be used.
The bullpen is sure to cause some nail-biting among Yankees fans, and almost every single member of the staff is capable of making you want to watch through your hands (especially Williams, Doval, and Leiter to varying degrees), but this is the personnel who they have to deploy right now. The only notable omission is Ryan Yarbrough, who was great in the first half as a swingman before his injury, and he pitched just three times in September, none since the 16th. Anyway, let’s hope that the ‘pen brings their “A” game.
