Ok, so you clinched a postseason berth. Now what?
The Yankees will be in October for the ninth time in the last 10 years, punching their ticket on Monday night in Minnesota. There’s still a very outside shot the team wins the AL East — FanGraphs gives them a 12 percent chance at time of writing — but the smart money is on hosting the Wild Card series in the Bronx, likely against the Red Sox. The defining story of the Yankees in 2026 has been how the team has managed so many players, especially key
ones, on the IL while staying competitive, and with several of those players possibly returning, the postseason roster begins to fill up quickly.
We start with the pitching side, where despite what some on the internet may say, Gerrit Cole will be on the postseason roster. The Yankees are not leaving their $36 million man out in the cold despite his last two starts. Indeed, I’m sure priority #1 in Matt Blake’s workshop right now is figuring out how to stop Cole from allowing so many home runs. Depending on the actual seeding and whether the Yankees can run down the Rays atop the division, the team will shuffle its rotation ahead of the season’s final series with Baltimore, and I imagine they’ll set Cam Schlittler up to start Game 1, Max Fried Game 2, and Cole for a potential final contest.
We then think of the bullpen, where I think the Yankees have an understated advantage. Sometimes, you need a guy to wear one, like Bradley Hanner last Saturday facing the Mets. In the postseason, that doesn’t really happen; you can deploy your high-leverage guys early and often, and yank ‘em at the first sign of trouble. The Yankees also have three MLB-caliber starters potentially available to pitch in relief, with Clarke Schmidt expected to be activated this week, Will Warren not necessarily needed in the rotation, and Ryan Weathers likely to be added to the team off the IL before the season ends.
Weathers is the biggest wild card, no pun intended, here as Schmidt has 11 games to get himself used to a relief role, something he’s done in the past. Weathers has come out of the bullpen too, but with less tuneup time, he may end up being the odd man out. I imagine Hanner and John Schreiber will be the current active players dropped for the postseason, opening up those two slots, but it’s just two slots.
The position player side sees a similar challenge, with it left up to debate whether either Trent Grisham or Giancarlo Stanton returns this year. If I were to bet I’d say Trent does and Big G does not, which stings given Stanton’s history of strong postseason play. We know the Yankees like Grish, and like having him in center, but even if he’s back to 100 percent, I think he has to occupy a fourth outfielder role in the playoffs. Since August 1, Spencer Jones has a 122 wRC+ to Grisham’s 102, and while Jones’ defense hasn’t been great, Grisham has looked like he’s lost a step himself in center this year, and the power upside of Jones in a short series has to get priority.
Then the last question is Jazz Chisholm Jr., currently on the IL with a thumb sprain. Anthony Volpe and George Lombard Jr. have provided a very good vibe in the middle of the infield over the last week or so, but both have been weaker hitters than Jazz in that same Aug 1-present period — albeit Volpe has had just 18 plate appearances in that span. I think Jazz gets the nod over Volpe if the Yankees believe he’s game-ready, and the club has stayed devoted to Amed Rosario, leaving Volpe out in the cold.
We still have a week and a half before the season ends, which is just enough time for someone else to get hurt and an injury timeline to be updated. The key is the Yankees are in the dance, and they get to drop some of the weaker elements of the team while they’re in it.
