What the Yankees Playoff Roster Tells Us About Their Pitching and Lineup Strategy

It's playoff time in the Bronx. In just a few hours, the New York Yankees will meet their bitter rivals to the north in the postseason for the second straight year, the fourth time in the last nine years, and the seventh time since 1999.

In the lead-up to tonight's action, the big question for the Yankees was who's in and who's out for the Wild Card Series roster, something that could've gone a dozen different ways with nearly 35 possible players under consideration.

We got our answer on Tuesday morning, as manager Aaron Boone decided not to roster the rehabbing Aaron Judge or Ryan Weathers, but to bring Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham back from the injured list. The decision to roster 16 position players also brings about many different lineups, platoons, and in-game decisions Boone can use throughout this three-game set.

How the Yankees may manage their lineup platoons

It's abundantly clear that the Yankees went into this series wanting as many options as possible offensively from both sides of the plate, hence their unique decision to roster 16 position players for this three-game set.

Only a few positions are relatively set in this series, regardless of who's out there pitching. Austin Wells will catch most innings, Ben Rice will stay at designated hitter, George Lombard Jr. will be entrenched at shortstop, and Cody Bellinger will be in left field. Everything else is still up in the air.

At first base, expect Paul Goldschmidt to start (and potentially lead off) against left-handed pitching after once again being among the league's best platoon bats. Luis García Jr. will start Game 2 against Sonny Gray, but he might not see much time aside from that.

At second base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will either start all three games or be put in García's shoes as a platoon bat. The question might be who the Yankees will use there if not Chisholm. José Caballero and Anthony Volpe have gotten considerable reps there in his absence, but even Amed Rosario could find a way into the lineup.

Speaking of Rosario, I think it's much more likely he will play at second base than third if he does get a start. Ryan McMahon did get put on the Wild Card Roster, but there exists a world where the team throws Caballero or even Volpe against left-handed pitching. A good lane works out in Game 2, where McMahon can hit a righty and play defense behind Max Fried.

Going to center and right field, things seemed pretty secure with Spencer Jones and Heliot Ramos, but a curveball has been thrown in there with the sudden activation of Trent Grisham.

The 29-year-old has had a down year, but can provide value in certain situations. I doubt he starts over Jones at any point, but could he be platooned with Ramos? Such a move would likely move Jones to right field, which might sound like a big defensive downgrade, but it's not like Ramos or Jones have been great on their own.

How a deep bench provides many levers to pull

With 16 position players rostered, that means there are seven players on the bench, something you almost never see in baseball. This isn't a 40-man roster expansion from 2019; this is a real playoff game with a ton of levers to pull.

Here are your pinch-hitting options. In Game 1, that might be Grisham, Chisholm, and García all lining up for a chance to hit in a specific matchup. In Game 2, you'll see Rosario, Goldschmidt, and Ramos considered for those opportunities. There's also the elephant in the room: Giancarlo Stanton, who will likely get first dibs at a pinch-hitting opportunity in all three games to see if he can conjure his old playoff magic.

There's also the ability to pinch-run. Depending on who's on the bench for a given game, the Yankees can send out someone like Volpe, Caballero, Chisholm, or even Rosario to pinch-run, something that is valuable given the potential for Stanton's fragile body to reach base.

On the back of that, there's a bunch of positional versatility. The Yankees have several players with experience at each position to play late in games or even in an emergency:

C (3): Wells, Sanchez, Rice (emergency)
1B (4): García, Goldschmidt, Rice, Bellinger
2B (4): Chisholm, Volpe, Caballero, Rosario
SS (3): Lombard, Caballero, Volpe
3B (4): McMahon, Caballero, Volpe, Rosario
LF (5): Bellinger, Ramos, Jones, Rosario, Caballero
CF (4): Jones, Grisham, Bellinger, Caballero
RF (5): Ramos, Jones, Bellinger, Rosario, Caballero

There would need to be utter disasters or complicated lineup card shenanigans to happen, but almost every position has at least four players who've played it in 2026. That's not too shabby.

How the bullpen trust tree shakes out

With 10 pitchers on the roster, Boone is electing to go with the shortest bullpen you'll ever see in a playoff series, with just seven guys. Some of the players envisioned for these roles in recent weeks, namely Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Weathers, are absent, at least for now.

The team's planned high-leverage guys are all rested and ready to go, as David Bednar will close and be set up by Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn, but beyond that is anyone's guess.

It really might matter in the situation. Instead of Tim Hill, the team rostered Ryan Yarbrough as the lefty specialist, likely only to be used in low-leverage situations or to get one left-handed batter out. There's a righty specialist in John Schreiber who could work in the opposite fashion if the team needs to get someone like Willson Contreras out.

I'm most curious, though, about how the team deploys their two converted starters: Will Warren and Carlos Rodón. In a small sample, Warren has looked awesome as a reliever, sitting 95-96 on a usually flat fastball and making the most of not saving his stuff to get through 100 pitches. He could be a bridge if someone gets chased early.

But so could Rodón, someone the Yankees will potentially need in the ALDS if they make it. Rodón pitching in his series wouldn't compromise his ability to go Game 1 at Tropicana Field alone, but what if the team needs him for much more length than is ideal? Well, if we reach that situation, the first goal will be to find a way to get through this series.

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