Projecting Yankees' playoff roster with Aaron Judge back in lineup
· Yahoo Sports
There’s one big question that has been answered in shaping the Yankees’ postseason roster.
Aaron Judge is returning to the Yankees lineup Tuesday after missing over three months with a rib fracture.
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But there are a lot of pitching questions to sort out, especially with those coming off the injured list and transitioning to bullpen roles on a short runway.
With that, here’s our way too early Yankees’ first-round playoff roster prediction.
For matchup purposes, we’ll go by today’s standings, which has the Yankees hosting a best-of-three wild card series against the Boston Red Sox.
Rosters can be altered before each postseason round. Injured players can be replaced in-series (pitcher for pitcher, position player for position player) but the injured player would be ineligible for the next playoff round.
Projected Yankees pitchers (12)
Starters (3): RHPs Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler; LHP Max Fried.
Relievers (9): RHPs David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Will Warren, John Schreiber, Michael Fulmer, Clarke Schmidt; LHPs Brent Headrick, Tim Hill, Ryan Weathers.
On the bubble: LHP Carlos Rodon.
Also available: LHP Ryan Yarbrough; RHPs Yerry de los Santos, Elmer Rodriguez, Luis Gil, Bradley Hanner.
Currently injured: RHPs Fernando Cruz, Angel Chivilli, Kervin Castro.
Analysis: In a best-of-three series, the guess is Rodon is outside the rotation and prepares to start Game 1 or 2 of an AL Division Series.
Warren is here to assume a long relief role, if necessary, which also puts Yarbrough out of a wild card mix.
This roster construction assumes there aren’t any setbacks with Weathers (flexor strain) and Schmidt (rehab, Tommy John surgery).
And it further suggests these two starters are fully ready as relief options; Schmidt hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 3, 2025, and Weathers hasn’t made a big-league relief appearance since 2023.
Schreiber arrived on the Yankees’ 40-man roster via waiver claim on Aug. 31, making him eligible for postseason. This year’s success against righty hitters (.140 average, .406 OPS) is his calling card.
Another late veteran addition, Fulmer had looked good in a handful of Yankee appearances, and his experience matters.
Yankees infielders, utility players (8)
Luis Garcia Jr., 1B; Paul Goldschmidt, 1B; Ben Rice, 1B-DH; Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B; George Lombard Jr., SS; Ryan McMahon, 3B: Jose Caballero, IF-OF Amed Rosario, 3B-2B.
On the bubble: None.
Also available: Anthony Volpe, Max Schuemann, Oswaldo Cabrera.
Analysis: In the Yanks’ recent four-game series against Boston, the right-handed hitting Rosario started two games at two positions.
Overall last weekend, Rosario went 4-for-10 against the Red Sox, with a bevy of lefty relief pitching. They might even have Garrett Crochet (lat/shoulder) as a bullpen option before long.
Considering matchups, the guess is that Rosario (despite his glaring defensive shortcomings) and Goldschmidt have secure spots in a short series vs. Boston.
Also, in last year's AL wild card series, the Yanks took 12 pitchers and 14 position players, which is the predicted design here.
Yankees outfielders (4)
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Heliot Ramos.
On the bubble: Trent Grisham.
Also available: Jasson Dominguez.
Currently injured: Giancarlo Stanton.
Analysis: You wonder if the Yankees get here as an organization, selecting the rookie Jones over the veteran Grisham, who was placed on the IL this past weekend due to a right hamstring strain.
Leaving Rosario off the roster could allow the Yanks to accommodate Jones, Ramos and Grisham, who does have a clutch-hitting reputation and a Yankee Stadium power swing.
Since his arrival at the MLB trade deadline, Ramos - a substandard defensive outfielder - hadn’t faced a lot of lefties as a Yankee, and his overall results were poor.
But Ramos’ first Yankee home run came in a big spot against the Red Sox, and you’d expect a reluctance to leave him out against a Boston team with so much lefty pitching.
Yankees catchers (2)
Austin Wells, Ali Sanchez
On the bubble: None.
Also available: J.C. Escarra.
Analysis: The lefty-hitting Wells has picked up offensively since August, and Sanchez won’t be starting any postseason games.
Plus, the righty hitting Sanchez has been here since early June, and the Yanks did not import a catcher at the trade deadline.
Since Rice hasn’t caught all season, you’d expect the Yanks to rule out exchanging Sanchez’s roster spot for someone like Jones, Ramos, Grisham or Rosario.
Veteran catcher Mitch Garver, signed to the minors in August, was never called up and was placed Wednesday on the restricted list by the Yanks’ Triple-A affiliate.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Projecting Yankees' playoff roster with Aaron Judge back in lineup