The New York Yankees have announced their 28-man roster for the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays. With the exception of just one switch, the roster will remain the same as the Wild Card Series.
The Yankees have announced their 28-man roster for the 2020 ALDS vs. Tampa Bay pic.twitter.com/Fkc6Cjduf4
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) October 5, 2020
The team added Michael King in exchange for Erik Kratz. For the Wild Card Series, the Yankees carried three catchers and one less pitcher since the series would only go two or three games. Now that it’s the divisional series, the series is five games long, and all in consecutive days.
Unlike other years, there will be no breaks between games two and three, and between games four and five. Those off-days would be used for travel, but since the series is in San Diego in a bubble, there’s no travel and need for those days. Game five if needed will be played on Friday.
Because of all the games being played in a row, there’s even more of a need for pitchers. Traditionally, teams can get away with throwing just their high-leverage pitchers. But this year, the depth of teams’ pitching will be tested to the max. Come the ALCS, all seven games of that series will be played in a row. We won’t see any off-days in a series until the World Series with the traditional format for off-days.
By adding King, it gives the Yankees long-relief depth. It’s also not impossible that he starts a game, as we only know of Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka starting games.
The 2020 postseason is certainly an interesting one, but it’s as exciting as ever. Game one between the Yankees and Rays starts at 8pm ET on TBS.