Yankees Mock Postseason Roster 2.0

Theres just a week left in the regular season, and the Yankees have the AL East all but wrapped up.

With the playoffs a certainty, that means the team must answer difficult playoff questions about who it will roster and how it will allot playing time when all the chips are down.

Last week, Peter took the first shot at projecting the Yankees postseason roster.

Not too much has changed since, but things are starting to crystallize.

Lets take a look at how they could line up in their first playoff series.

While they havent officially clinched, the Yankees are nearly assured of their first series being a best-of-five ALDS with three off-days interspersed.

C: Austin Wells 1B: Anthony Rizzo 2B: Gleyber Torres SS: Anthony Volpe 3B: Jazz Chisholm Jr.

LF: Jasson Dominguez CF: Aaron Judge RF: Juan Soto DH: Giancarlo Stanton The shakiest points on the roster are probably first base and left field, and for now, we project Anthony Rizzo to hold down his spot, while we now have Jasson Dominguez sliding into a starting outfield role.

Despite picking up a couple of clutch extra-innings hits this week, Rizzos bat has still been ice cold since returning from the injured list, with a .534 OPS to his name over 19 games.

That said, hes looked solid on defense, saving his infielders from a few errors the last couple weeks (Chisholm in particular might owe him a thank-you card): Also keeping Rizzo in the lineup is a lack of clear alternatives.

Though Ben Rice has been outstanding since getting demoted back to Triple-A (hes got a 1.107 OPS this month), its hard to imagine the Yankees opting for the rookie unless something happens to Rizzo this week.

They have experimented with Oswaldo Cabrera at the cold corner, giving Cabrera three starts at first, so perhaps theyll turn to him more frequently if Rizzos bat keeps slumping.

Meanwhile, Dominguez may have at last fully slid past Verdugo in the pecking order.

Dominguez started in five of the Yankees six games last week and appeared in all of them, slashing .250/.348/.600 with two homers.

His offensive upside clearly outstrips Verdugo, though working against the youngster is his defense.

Even if his miscues in Seattle were flukes caused by the sun, mistakes are mistakes, and Verdugo has a reasonable case that he provides steadier, higher-floor outfield defense right now.

Most of the rest of the lineup is clear cut.

Austin Wells is entrenched at catcher, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto require no introduction, and Gleyber Torres and Chisholm will be manning second and third respectively.

There could be a little bit more intrigue elsewhere, however.

Anthony Volpes glove and baserunning are so outstanding that hell be the Yankees starting shortstop almost no matter what, but the team has subbed him out for Cabrera a couple times late in games.

Volpes bat heated up over the last few games, but if he slumps again, its worth keeping an eye to see if the Yankees continue to look for chances to swap Volpes bat out when trailing.

Also, Giancarlo Stanton is firmly entrenched as the DH, but we should at least note that he got consecutive healthy days off earlier this week for the first time in his Yankee tenure.

Since Aaron Boone described that decision as matchup-based, it stands to reason Stanton could see the bench if the Yankees strongly dislike his matchup with the opposing pitcher.

C: Jose Trevino INF: Jon Berti INF: Oswaldo Cabrera OF: Trent Grisham OF: Alex Verdugo The shakiest inclusion here is Trent Grisham.

Trevino, Berti, and Cabrera are all valuable subs who will make the roster, and the Yankees will presumably keep whoever loses out in the battle between Dominguez and Verdugo.

Grisham has been an afterthought for most of the second half, starting just one game in September.

Still, the last time the Yankees were in the playoffs and the schedule only necessitated them carrying three starting pitchers, they opted to roll with 14 position players.

An ALDS with three scheduled off-days means theres little use for 10 relievers.

Grisham is the best bet to snag a bench spot if they carry 14 hitters again.

SP1: Gerrit Cole SP2: Carlos Rodon SP3: Luis Gil SP4: Nestor Cortes SP5: Clarke Schmidt Gerrit Cole will get the ball in Game 1.

There wasnt any doubt about that even after his odd self-inflicted meltdown against the Red Sox , but his sparkling nine-inning outing against Oakland over the weekend surely calmed any stray nay-sayers.

A month ago, Rodon was not an obvious choice for Game 2, but its becoming increasingly clear that hell likely be the guy.

By overall full-season numbers, he has been no better than Nestor Cortes, Luis Gil, or even Marcus Stroman.

Rodon has been money lately, though, looking mostly dominant across four September starts.

He is also the highest paid and he arguably has the highest ceiling of any non-Cole starter (even if Gil would like a word on that front).

Plus, Rodon has almost no major league experience as a reliever, while Cortes and Clarke Schmidt are versed with relief work.

Gil is coming off a shaky start in Oakland, and its easy to feel trepidation about Gils control issues in a playoff setting.

But hes simply too good to ignore, even if Cortes and Schmidt have completely reasonable cases for starting a game.

For now, bet on the Yankees turning to Gil, but keeping him on a short leash, with several arms in the bullpen capable of throwing multiple innings on hand in case things go awry.

Luke Weaver Clay Holmes Tommy Kahnle Ian Hamilton Mark Leiter Jr.

Tim Hill Marcus Stroman Luke Weavers excellent work as a closer has him entrenched as the teams top arm.

Tommy Kahnle looks dependable as ever, while Ian Hamilton has looked sharp since returning from injury, doing enough to pencil himself in as the third-most trusted member of Boones relief corps for now.

For better or worse, the Yankees still seem committed to getting Clay Holmes into high-leverage spots.

Well have to wait and see how he performs in this seasons final week, but if he finishes well, expect Holmes to keep a grip on some amount of late-inning work.

The injury to Jake Cousins last week throws the bottom of the bullpen into a bit of disarray.

The Yankees hope hell be ready for the playoffs, but if hes not, theres no obvious alternative to fill his slot (sorry to Tim Mayza, but not really).

Mark Leiter Jr.

might be in pole position; hes been dreadful as a Yankee, but is at least coming off a strong outing against the As, tossing two shutout innings.

Clayton Beeter got the call-up after Cousins hit the IL and theoretically could be a factor, but expect the Yankees to err on the side of a vet.

Hill and Stroman seem like the best bets to fill out the pen.

Stroman did a serviceable job in his first relief appearance, holding the Mariners to one run over three innings.

He hasnt pitched since, so expect the Yankees to give him another go at it this week.

Hill remains one of the most unorthodox pitchers in baseball, running a strikeout rate straight out of the 1920s, but hes managed to bring his ERA under 2 with New York.

While hes not as good as that figure indicates, hes done enough to earn a roster spot as of now and should remain a fine choice to handle middle-inning work..

This article has been shared from the original article on pinstripealley, here is the link to the original article.