Daily News | Gary Phillips: With a playoff berth secured, here’s an initial projection of the Yankees’ postseason roster (focusing on a potential Wild Card Series). Takeaways include Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Cam Schlittler as the three starters over Luis Gil and Will Warren, the former of whom Phillips expects the Yankees to leave off the roster entirely. He also projects Austin Slater to make the cut despite the outfielder going 3-for-23 in limited action since coming over at the deadline and the Yankees to carry
only two catchers in Austin Wells and Ben Rice.
NJ.com | Max Goodman: In advance of Friday’s series-opener against the Orioles, a look at the Yankees’ unexpected opportunity to seize the AL East. “Great, but that’s not the world we’re even living in right now,” said manager Aaron Boone of the team’s division hopes. “We need to try and win every game and that’s our focus.”
For his part, Giancarlo Stanton avoided underestimating the Orioles, who entered the season-ending set 14-8 in September. “Always a threat,” said the Yankees DH of the Orioles. “We know we gotta go out, play well, execute, and play good baseball.” Baltimore is slated to throw its top three starters — Trevor Rogers, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Kyle Bradish — as they attempt to play spoiler. (Round 1 saw the Yanks get off to a good start.)
Yahoo! Sports | Colin Loughran: As the Yankees scope out their playoff rotation, Carlos Rodón gave props to the team’s ace-in-waiting, Gerrit Cole. “For five, six years straight, Gerrit made every start in the regular season and in the postseason,” the southpaw told SNY after securing his 18th win of the season. “Those were big shoes to fill, but it’s going to be nice when we have him back.”
An All-Star this season, Rodón went 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA across his last 1o starts to help the Yankees force their way back into the AL East race. Of his best season yet in pinstripes, the 11-year veteran expressed gratitude for his health and consistency, saying “I’m just glad I was able to go out there and post every five or six days, compete and try to win every game.”
MLB.com | Larry Shenk: A very special happy birthday to Yankees alumnus Bobby Shantz, who turned 100 yesterday. The diminutive right-hander, who was listed at 5-foot-6 and 139 pounds in his playing days, won an MVP and earned a reputation as one of the best fielding pitchers of all time during a 16-year MLB career. He wore the pinstripes for four years, leading all of baseball with a 2.45 ERA in 1957, winning a World Series in ’58 and taking home a Gold Glove in each of his Yankees campaigns.
