With their first AL East title in seven seasons wrapped up, the Yankees can begin looking towards the postseason. Sure, they'd like to finish with a better record than the Astros and have the home field should they meet in the ALCS, but there are plenty of other things at stake over the final week of the regular season. For starters, who's going to even be on the roster for the division series? And how will the pitching rotation line up?
One of the best things about this Yankees season has been their "Next Man Up" mentality. They've had a Major League-record 30 players spend time on the injured list, and all of the "replacements" have performed. Which leaves Aaron Boone with a very interesting (and pleasant) problem. Because there are going to be some deserving players who don't make the playoff roster.
I also don't think there's any need to rush Gary Sanchez back for the Division Series. It's 10 days until the Yankees' playoff opener. If Sanchez is ready by then, great! If not, don't put him on the roster! Give him the extra week, have Romine start, and make Kyle Higashioka active as the backup. You can change the roster for each round, so if Sanchez is good to go for the ALCS, he replaces Higashioka.
Edwin Encarnacion should be able to return from his oblique injury sometime during the final road trip, which complicates the first base/DH situation. Because that'll give them six guys for five spots. And, assuming LeMahieu, Gleyber and Didi are guaranteed starters, that means either one of the first basemen or Gio Urshela will start on the bench. My guess is that Voit starts at first, Encarnacion at DH and Urshela on the bench, but coming in defensively for Voit in the late innings. (This is also assuming Giancarlo Stanton will be in left field.)
It also appears that Tyler Wade is likely going to make the roster. There's no need to carry 13 pitchers in the playoffs, so there's an extra spot for a position player, and Wade figures to be that guy. He's quick, left-handed and versatile. Plus, he's been featured regularly over the past several weeks. I'm not really sure there'll be much debate about who'll get that final spot between Wade, Clint Frazier and Thairo Estrada
The other interesting decision will come regarding who'll fill out the bullpen. Originally, Domingo German and Dellin Betances were figured to take two of the eight spaces, but neither one will. That means CC Sabathia will get to end his career coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs. (I'm not sure he would've made the team otherwise.)
Obviously, the bullpen arms who've been relied upon all season will fill those same roles in October. That's Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green. CC makes six. So, we've got two spots left.
Cory Gearrin will get one. When the Yankees picked him up, it was because they planned on using him. And there's no reason to believe the guy they added specifically to bolster the bullpen even more won't be on the playoff roster. Here's where it gets interesting, though. Do you take Luis Cessa, Nestor Cortes Jr., or Stephen Tarpley as the extra reliever?
Cessa has been on the roster all season and has been effective (at times) as the long man. But, if CC is used as a piggyback starter, do you need a second long man? Especially when he's not one of the high-leverage guys. And, Boone has said he plans on using the high-leverage guys a lot. Which would relegate Cessa, mainly, to a mop up role in blowouts. The same can be said for Cortes, who was excellent as the "-estor" part of the equation opener games I affectionately referred to as "Chestor."
Tarpley, meanwhile, was on the postseason roster last year, mainly because of all the left-handed bats on the Red Sox. The Twins have a lot of lefty-swingers, too, so that could give Tarpley the edge if they do, indeed, end up playing Minnesota. Or, it Jonathan Loaisiga, a converted starter who's really been turning some heads during the multi-inning relief stints he's been utilized in since coming off the IL. That would be a bit of a surprise, but not completely shocking. Loaisiga's a hard-throwing strikeout pitcher, which could be very useful against a homer-happy, free-swinging Twins lineup.
Lastly, we have the starting rotation. That picture became a lot clearer with German's suspension and Happ pitching better of late. They have five regular season games left, and the rotation lines up this way: Tanaka, Happ, Paxton, Severino, Tanaka. That would put Tanaka on regular rest for Game 1 on Friday and also allow Boone to stagger them righty-lefty-right-lefty-rigthy. Paxton seems to have earned the Game 1 start, though.
What's nice is that they don't have to worry about someone being available for the Wild Card Game, which Tanaka started in 2015 and Severino started each of the past two years. (It's evidently NOT an AL rule that Wild Card Game is at Yankee Stadium.) In fact, this year, they've got a different problem/luxury. With two off days in the final week and four days off between the regular season and the Division Series, all four of them will be well rested for their first playoff start. Possibly too rested.
Most of the roster spots for the Division Series seem secure. The only real roster questions are that last guy in the bullpen and the extra position player. The real intrigue will involve who starts in the infield and what order the starting pitchers will go in.
If it were up to me, the Division Series roster would look like this:
Starting Pitchers-Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, Luis Severino, J.A. Happ
Bullpen-Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Tommy Kahlne, Adam Ottavino, Chad Green, Cory Gearrin, CC Sabathia, Stephen Tarpley
Catchers-Austin Romine, Kyle Higashioka
Infielders-Luke Voit, Edwin Encarnacion, Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius, DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela, Tyler Wade
Outfielders-Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Giancarlo Stanton, Cameron Maybin
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