With the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 pm ET, the New York Yankees are set to visit the Cleveland Indians for Game 1 of the Wild Card series. Gerrit Cole, the star offseason signing, will face off against Cy Young lock Shane Bieber in a pitching duel for the ages.
The New York Yankees have officially revealed their roster for the series. It contains some surprise names, as well as a couple of absences that could raise your eyebrows.
For example, first baseman/designated hitter Mike Ford is on the Yankees’ postseason roster, but infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar’s name is not present. Andujar could never fully get going at the plate and is a liability in the field, although, to be fair, he was starting to heat up this month when the roster crunch sent him to the alternate training site.
The Yankees’ rotation against the Indians
The roster has 28 names. Among them are 13 pitchers and 15 position players. Cole will star Game 1 and Masahiro Tanaka, known for his postseason heroics with the Yankees, will take the ball on the second contest.
As of right now, left-hander J.A. Happ, who finished the regular season with a 3.25 ERA despite a rocky start, will take the hill for Game 3. Jordan Montgomery and Deivi Garcia, who functioned as starters during the season with varying levels of success, could be available from the bullpen for Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone.
Some other surprises in the roster are rookie right-hander Nick Nelson and backup catcher Erik Kratz.
Andujar was included in the 12-man player pool as an insurance policy, as was lefty starter James Paxton, who is currently nursing a Grade 1 flexor strain in his left arm but is already playing catch. If he progresses to throwing off a mound relatively soon, he could be an option to return to the Yankees’ pitching corps should they make a deep postseason run.
Here is the complete roster:
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— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2020