VOTE: Who should be the Yankees’ starters at these two positions?

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The stage is just about set for the MLB playoffs to begin.

The Yankees fortunately get to avoid the Wild Card Series, though they wont know their American League Division Series opponent until later in the week, when the Royals and Orioles finish duking it out in their best-of-three at Camden Yards.

In the meantime, manager Aaron Boone gets to ponder his playoff roster for a little while longer.

Most of the spots in the starting lineup are easy to fill out center fielder Aaron Judge, right fielder Juan Soto, and all that jazz.

Out in left field and first base, though, Boone faces some serious questions.

For some, putting Jasson Dominguez in the starting nine is a no-brainer.

The 21-year-old is a tremendous talent, even with only 26 career games under his belt.

His offensive ceiling is well above that of incumbent left fielder Alex Verdugo.

Others might have been startled by Dominguezs defense out in left, as the natural center fielder seemed a little choppy compared to Verdugo.

Well leave it to you to make the judgment.

First base is an even more interesting discussion, given Anthony Rizzos likely absence following a penultimate-game plunking.

Oswaldo Cabrera has been on the big-league roster all year long, posting a modest 87 OPS+ and stepping in at first on multiple occasions even though hes more of a third baseman or outfielder.

Rookie Ben Rice is also in the equation, having been recalled on Sunday.

He won hearts with a three-homer game against the Red Sox in July, but dipped into a slump shortly afterward that led to his demotion at the end of August.

Although Rices 72 OPS+ in the majors is clearly lower than Cabrera, some fans would argue that the lefty-swinging Rice has the potential to offer more than the utilityman, and that he has more experience at first base (though he was primarily a catcher as recently as last year).

Its also worth noting that platoon isnt an obvious answer because while Cabrera is a switch-hitter, he did not play well against southpaws at all in 2024, so its not as though the answer can be play Cabrera against lefties and Rice against righties.

So play manager! Who would you write in? Vote away and well revisit the results later in the week, when the ALDS will truly be on deck..

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

https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/10/1/24259514/yankees-mlb-playoffs-fan-survey-starter-left-field-jasson-dominguez-verdugo-first-base-rice-cabrera