The Yankees have finalized their 25-man roster for their ALDS showdown against the AL Central-champion Twins. We learned yesterday that CC Sabathia would not make the roster due to health reasons but Edwin Encarnacion would be ready. Here’s the full breakdown:
Right-handed pitchers
- Luis Cessa
- Chad Green
- Tommy Kahnle
- Jonathan Loaisiga
- Adam Ottavino
- Luis Severino (Game 3 starter)
- Masahiro Tanaka (Game 2 starter)
Left-handed pitchers
- Zack Britton
- Aroldis Chapman
- J.A. Happ
- Tyler Lyons
- James Paxton (Game 1 starter)
Catchers
Infielders
- Edwin Encarnacion
- Didi Gregorius
- DJ LeMahieu
- Gleyber Torres
- Gio Urshela
- Luke Voit
- Tyler Wade
Outfielders
Despite his late struggles in a return from a sports hernia, Voit will get the call over the much hotter-hitting Mike Ford, who batted .274/.333/.619 with 11 home runs in 123 plate appearances between August and September. Voit, of course, has been generally excellent at the plate since debuting with the Yankees following a July 2018 trade with the Cardinals, and they’ll go with that track record over Ford’s hot streak.
Looking up and down the roster, the toll that the injury bug has taken on the Yankees is readily apparent. Absent are Dellin Betances (Achilles tear), CC Sabathia (shoulder), Aaron Hicks (flexor strain), Miguel Andujar (shoulder surgery) and Greg Bird (plantar fasciitis). Even Mike Tauchman, an out-of-the-blue breakout who only got an opportunity due to other injuries, went down with a season-ending calf strain of his own. The injury to Betances is particularly costly with the heightened importance of bullpen usage in the postseason, although the Yankees’ relief corps is still unquestionably impressive even without one of its best arms.
With four left-handed relievers at his disposal, including Happ (who could potentially work the bulk of innings in a Game 4 setting, if needed), manager Aaron Boone will have plenty of options when looking to play matchups in high-leverage settings. The Yankees opted for a fourth bench player, the versatile Wade, rather than carry a 13th pitcher, but several of their arms are capable of going multiple innings.
That Encarnacion was able to make it back to the roster will be no small detail in this series. The veteran slugger has been out since Sept. 12 due to an oblique strain and was a question mark as recently as Wednesday of this week. He’ll join Sanchez and Torres as 30-homer bats on a team that also includes Gardner (28 home runs), Judge (27 in an injury-shortened season) and LeMahieu (26) in what should be an explosive ALDS between baseball’s two most powerful offenses.
No real big surprises IMO, maybe Ford should’ve made it, but I feel confident in Voit.
I’m only counting 24 players if EE isn’t playing.
Too bad Ford didn’t get selected. He is 100% healthy, would have been a better choice in My opinion.
Glad to see CC left off, and also glad Tyler Wade made it.
@PopeMarley
Health has been the issue with CC. IF…IF he were healthy he would absolutely be a much better choice than Cessa or Lyons. CC knowing he has to get 3 to 6 outs is much different than him trying to go 5-6 innings. He still strikes out 9 per 9 IP and doesn’t walk many. He would be an option against the Twins lefties. And with starters being on a short leash he could go 2-3 innings if needed.
I agree south beach. No question that a healthy CC would have been on the roster.
However the anti Yankees who whines all year have got to get their $0.02 into this conversation.
Do you notice how they have gone quiet with their anti Gardy talk? Gardy surely put up and they’ve been forced to shut up!
That includes the moron Geeson who was exiled to Flushing. Glad to have stood up to the bully who was forced to find another alias or another board.
And how about Gardy last night? Boone pencils him into the 3rd slot in the lineup. Gardy shuts those nay sayers up as well.
Lol.
Lyons seems like a fairly questionable choice
Ridiculous to take Voit over Ford.
@southpaw2153 So if the thinking is take Ford over Voit because he is hotter then what you’re saying is, throw out the full body of work for the season. As long as he’s healthy, Voit earned his spot.
It would have been nice to have Ford because he’s a lefty but Voit actually crushes lefty pitching so it’s not that great of a loss.
I meant Voit actually crushes right handed pitchers.
Not ridiculous at all. Ford had such a small sample size.
Voit had. around the same amount of at bats last year as Ford did this year but voit was on the playoff roster …I guess that might have been because lack of options
@robluca21
Absolutely. He was there main 1B towards the end of the year. I think Bird was on the IL (again). And the other option may have been Neil Walker. Not even close to a hard choice last year. This year it could’ve been Voit, Ford or Encanarcion. I still like Voit if healthy. this post-season. Having Ford would’ve have been nice but we probably need as much pitching as possible.
But voit has not been doing well since his return from the DL
So sad Clint wasn’t even mentioned.
Lol you’re joking right
Not surprisingly, this is ridiculously suspicious.
I can’t stand Tyler Wade. Frazier would be a waaaay better bench bat.
Wade is there for versatility and speed.
How does it work with regards to injuries? If a player is on the DS roster but gets hurt and is out for the season can their team replace them on the roster? Each time a team wins a series and advances to the next series are they allowed to redo their 25 man roster?
Yes! Each series you set your roster. Hilarious that C Frazier is not on the roster. Trade him this winter. Arrogant and not that talented. Hot prospect years ago and now. Is getting old. Awesome. He is not a Yankee. Trade him!!!!! Yankees showed what they thought of him……
Blah, blah, blah…that’s not what the article was about.
Jacoby ellsbury
why is Cessa on this roster? Happ in the pen makes him unnecessary. Could use Ford as LH power off the bench vs a tough righty.
Really like this roster. A lot of Yankee haters give the Yankees crap and make jokes about their starting rotation but let’s be honest if you have a choice any starting pitcher in the American League or the New York Yankees bullpen who would you take? I would take the Yankees bullpen they have on this roster three bona fide closers they can try it out at any time.
I’d rather have the Astros 1-3 everyday of the week, and twice on Sunday.
They used to play twice on Sundsy when I was a kid, but not anymore
And baseball really suffers for it. Imagine if they played those two game every Sunday (or every Sunday from mid May to end of August- they could start the season two weeks later, add in a couple of extra off days, and get the playoffs started a week earlier.
Voit is a legitimate major league hitter. He’s a decent first base defender as far as the Yankees’ roster options are concerned. I know he’s in a slump and we all agree it’s probably like 90% to do with his sports hernia, but that’s the kind of thing you can play through short term if you get a few days rest and some kind of heavy duty pain killers that don’t knock you out.
I’m betting over the super short post-season game schedule and after a couple weeks off with generally time to heal while still playing and staying accustomed to non-simulated games, Voit has been on the mend and will only get better. Even if he needs a surgery in the off season, I don’t think he’d be on the post-season roster if he couldn’t hit.
The Yankees played simulated games recently, right? That means Encarnacion and Voit were cleared to play over Mike Ford for reasons beyond sentimentality and seniority.
I’m fine with this roster. given the limited options the Yanks had.