The New York Yankees have released their roster for the 2019 ALCS against the Houston Astros, and it has a few changes compared to the ALDS roster.
The team has added CC Sabathia and Aaron Hicks to the roster. CC missed the ALDS due to a little shoulder soreness, but has continued to stay fresh.
Hicks has been out since August 3rd with a right flexor strain. He bat .235 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 221 at-bats, good for a 1.3 WAR. He was on the 60-day IL, and the team DFA’d David Hale to make room for him.
Adding two guys to the ALCS roster comes at a cost. The team took infielders Tyler Wade and Luke Voit off of the active roster. Voit really struggled down the stretch, but Wade played really well as a September call up.
If it was up to me (which it’s obviously not), I would of put CC on in place of Luis Cessa, and keep Hicks off. That way, they could use Wade as a fifth outfielder if needed. The Yankees rolled with just four official outfielders in the ALDS (Gardner, Stanton, Judge, Maybin) and they should of done the same in the ALCS.
Wade has a lot of defensive versatility, is very fast, and his offense has came a long way this season. Instead of keeping an extra pitcher, they should of put Wade on the roster.
Now that CC is on the roster, the Yankees will likely have another high-leverage weapon. CC looked really good in his lone relief appearance this year, and could be a middle innings guy to bridge it to somebody like Ottavino or Kahnle.
Game one begins at 8PM ET with Masahiro Tanaka on the hill. Let’s go Yankees!