Projecting the Yankees' Playoff Roster for the Wild Card Series

The regular season is over for the New York Yankees. From here on out, every game counts double.

Starting Tuesday night, the Yankees will play a best-of-three Wild Card Series against a formidable Boston Red Sox team that they eliminated in the same stadium and setting last year. The latest installment of the rivalry brings a lot of intrigue, both in the matchup and the roster decisions.

Manager Aaron Boone has a plethora of options to choose from across the roster and many questions to answer ahead of Tuesday. It's not going to be an easy decision, so let's take our best crack at it. Here's our best guess for what the postseason roster will look like on Tuesday:

The biggest decisions for Aaron Boone

To Judge or not to Judge

Aaron Judge says he's ready. Medical logic disagrees. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on moderate-grade calf strains, but especially when it's the soleus muscle, you do not want to mess with that. These are the injuries that led to the Achilles injuries of Kevin Durant and Tyrese Haliburton in recent years in the NBA, and if this is a different sport, the risk remains.

He might be medically cleared to DH by the wild card series, but does that help the Yankees? They'd be playing without Ben Rice and Luis García Jr. in two of the games against lefties. It would also cause a logjam, threatening several of the team's best players on the bench at any given time.

Is this worth it just for Judge's presence, as he was extremely rusty before the calf injury and hasn't even begun swinging a bat?

How will they handle third base?

Ryan McMahon is the team's incumbent third baseman, but there's no guarantee he even makes the postseason roster. He's extremely limited offensively, even with a strong final week, and his defense has taken a step back from his usual standard.

New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon hits an RBI double against the Baltimore Orioles. — New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon may or may not start at the hot corner in the Wild Card series. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Yankees have guys who can play above-average defense there, in Anthony Volpe and José Caballero, both of whom are significantly better offensively against left-handed pitching. Amed Rosario probably isn't an option with his putrid defense (does he even make the roster?), but there's flexibility at the position.

How many pitchers will be rostered?

You don't need a full 13 pitchers to get through a playoff series, especially before the LCS. The Yankees will almost certainly roster 12 or fewer, with some estimates as low as 10 pitchers out of the 26 roster spots.

Why only go with 10? In a three-game set with everything on the line, all hands are on deck for your high-leverage arms. With this rotation, if you need to dig into your sixth, seventh, or eighth-best reliever at any point, there's a good chance you're going home.

What's the best use of the bench?

The Yankees will likely have a six-man bench in the postseason, but how should they split up that bench?

Do they go heavy on pinch-hitting options on both sides to mix and match with Boston's bullpen? Do they go heavy on positional versatility? Do they look to maximize speed on the bases by adding pinch-running options? There are a lot of ways they can go, and a lot of players who can fill specific roles.

What pitchers round out the bullpen?

Five of the (at least) seven relievers in the bullpen are already secured: David Bednar, Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, John Schreiber, and Will Warren. The question in the bullpen is: who fills the other spots?

The team placing Fernando Cruz on the 60-day injured list and potentially shutting down Clarke Schmidt makes the decisions easier, but there are a lot of middling relievers fighting for a few spots.

Is Ryan Weathers recovered enough from his injury to pitch in a playoff setting? Is Carlos Lagrange seriously being considered for his MLB debut? If not, does that open a spot for Michael Fulmer? Where do Ryan Yarbrough and Tim Hill sit in the bullpen, with the former not an effective fit for a playoff roster and the latter being one of baseball's least valuable relievers in 2026? It's not an easy choice.

Projecting the Wild Card Series roster

Catchers

In: Austin Wells, Ali Sanchez
Out: J.C. Escarra

This one is pretty straightforward, but I do wonder if the Yankees consider switching up Sanchez and Escarra after Austin Wells has established that he'll be starting every single game come playoff time.

The use of a backup catcher without a platoon system on a playoff roster is for emergencies and to come in after the starter is pinch-hit for or runs, something we could absolutely see at any point in the series. Escarra is a significantly better defender with good experience with the pitching staff and would be a great asset to turn to late in games. Maybe they roster all three of them?

Infielders

In: Luis García Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., George Lombard Jr., Ryan McMahon, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe
Out: Amed Rosario

The real battle here is Volpe vs. Rosario. This is a debate I've been having for several weeks now, and when you look at the facts, Volpe simply provides more value to this team in a bench capacity.

Rosario is theoretically a better hitter, but Volpe has been better against left-handed pitching in 2026. Both can play second and third base in a platoon capacity, but Volpe is a well-above-average defender, while Rosario is one of the worst in baseball on a rate basis. The speed component is about average, but Volpe's ability to steal third makes him a pinch-running weapon.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Yankees rostered Rosario, but the team will have multiple right-handed bats off the bench that they'd sooner go to, and it pays to have other value.

Outfielders

In: Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Heliot Ramos, Trent Grisham
Out: Jasson Domínguez, Duke Ellis

The big question here will be whether the team deems Grisham not only ready to play after his most recent hamstring injury, but also having enough value to play in October. His veteran presence could get him starts over Jones, but the proximity of his last injury will likely reduce him to a bench or platoon role with Ramos... for now.

If Grisham isn't ready, or the team deems his compromised athleticism isn't worth it for this series, expect to see Domínguez as a pinch-running option off the bench.

DH/Utility

In: Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton, José Caballero
Out: Aaron Judge, Max Schuemann

I do not think Judge will be ready for the Wild Card Series. In my mind, he only provides surplus value to this team, when you factor in who he'd be displacing and the real possibility of rust, when he can physically play right field again. If he can't play right field without risking blowing out his Achilles, he shouldn't be on the roster.

Granted, I'd be more willing to roster him if there wasn't another hulking slugger who seems to be ready to take on a pinch-hitting role in the postseason. Whether or not he's physically ready to play in major league games, it seems that Stanton will be back, and having both he and Judge would be a bit redundant considering what both would be limited to.

Why choose Stanton over Judge? One doesn't seem to risk missing the entire 2027 season if he rushes back, and even if the other also has the same risk, he's closer to the end of his career, and the team has already game-planned for when that time comes. They need to be sure about Judge's health.

Rotation

In: Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried
Out: Elmer Rodríguez, Carlos Rodón (will be in bullpen)

The Yankees only need three starting pitchers; the question is only which ones. They have four All-Star-caliber starters to choose from, so it's not an easy choice.

On Sunday, the team announced that Cole will pitch in Game 3 if necessary. Rodón might've been a better option in that spot, given Boston's struggles against left-handed pitching and Cole's demons with the BoSox.

Boone told reporters Sunday that Rodon will be available out of the bullpen for the wild-card round, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. They should have enough multi-inning options in the bullpen for the best-of-three series, with Rodon now included.

Bullpen

In: Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, John Schreiber, Ryan Yarbrough, Tim Hill, Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, David Bednar
Out: Carlos Lagrange, Luis Gil, Michael Fulmer, Clarke Schmidt (IL), Yerry de los Santos

The wild card here is Weathers and his health. According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Boone said on Sunday that Weathers "looks healthy" and "very much in play."

That said, if Boone decides against putting him on the roster, I expect them to roster Fulmer. The only other question here is whether to roster 10 or 11 pitchers, and while there's a lot of buzz about rostering 10, I'll say they opt to put both Hill and Yarbrough on for extra flexibility.

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