NEW YORK — The defending American League champions are back in the postseason, hungry to change the narrative as they approach the finish line of a rollercoaster season.
The Yankees secured a playoff berth with their 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Tuesday evening in the Bronx, celebrating the achievement with popped bottles in the home clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s incredible. It never gets old,” captain Aaron Judge said, squinting through a barrage of bubbly. “It’s something special that very few players in their careers get a chance to feel and achieve. You never want to take this for granted.”
Even as they sprayed and shouted, the memories of last autumn seemed to linger inside the room. They savored several of those types of parties down the stretch in 2024, but they were shut out of the one that mattered most, watching the Dodgers celebrate on the big diamond in the Bronx instead.
This is their opportunity to change that.
“I still feel like it’s yesterday. That’s how much I’m driven by last October,” Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “So this October, we’re coming to prove a point.”
What could the postseason roster look like?
Catcher (2): Austin Wells, Ben Rice
First base (1): Paul Goldschmidt
Second base (1): Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Shortstop (1): Anthony Volpe
Third base (1): Ryan McMahon
Outfield (5): Cody Bellinger, Jasson Domínguez, Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, Austin Slater
DH (1): Giancarlo Stanton
Utility (2): José Caballero, Amed Rosario
Starting pitcher (3): Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil
Relief pitcher (8): Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams
Closer (1): David Bednar
Who will the Yankees face?
Buckle up, because that’s still to be determined. Manager Aaron Boone has historically been careful about revealing a preferred opponent, even behind closed doors, where he has told staffers: “Be careful what you wish for.”
In this scenario, there’s no clear-cut answer of whom the Yanks would want in a Wild Card Series, anyway. There are scenarios where they could face the Astros (3-3 head-to-head record this season), Red Sox (4-9) or Tigers (2-4), all of whom present unique challenges.
Of course, their goal is to bypass that hurdle by overtaking the Blue Jays (5-8) to win the American League East, where they’d await one of the Wild Card clubs in an AL Division Series. Toronto holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York.
“We’re going to walk into the playoffs with a really good team, capable of beating you a lot of different ways,” Boone said. “We can at least feel good about that. We’ve got to go do it, obviously, but we’ve got a lot of good players.”
Who would start a potential Game 3?
Great question. The above roster (which has 12 pitchers and 14 position players) lists Gil as the No. 3 starter entering the first round, but that’s not assured – and the rotation would need to be shuffled to accommodate that, as he’s on turn to start Game 162 on Sunday and the Wild Card Series begins Tuesday.
Perhaps the Yanks could use a spot starter like Paul Blackburn for that game instead. Gil is the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, but he missed a good portion of this season due to injury.
Warren has been a rotation stalwart, the first Yanks rookie to make at least 30 starts in a season since Doc Medich in 1973, but he has been hit hard by Boston this year. And Schlittler has been electric since his late-season callup, lighting up radar guns with triple-digit heat.
“I feel good about our five guys – I feel good about any one of them starting a game,” Boone said. “As we get closer and as this week unfolds, we’ll start to have a better idea and feel for how we want to set things up.”
Are there any health issues?
Every team has bumps and bruises at this stage, but arguably none may be more significant than the state of Judge’s right flexor tendon. Judge returned from a stint on the injured list on Aug. 5 and resumed outfield play on Sept. 5, though he has been cautious airing out his arm. Can Judge throw out a runner at home plate if the situation calls for it?
“I do feel like those question marks we had, I felt like we had the answers in there,” Boone said. “Without question, you can see it building in every area. I feel like there’s a handful of guys that have personally gotten through some tough moments in the season. Collectively, as a team, I feel like we certainly have.”
What’s still up for grabs?
As previously mentioned, the Yankees’ goal of overtaking the Blue Jays for the top spot in the AL East remains in play – just one game back with five to play.
“I always said I believed in us winning the division,” Chisholm said. “I would never not believe in this team. I always believe in my guys, and I keep on believing in my guys – all the way until the wheels fall off.”
