The Yankees announced their 25-man roster for the ALDS against the Twins on Friday. They'll carry 12 pitchers and 13 position players.
Ready or not, here we come.#NextManUp pic.twitter.com/yAIWruHDLY
- New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 4, 2019
The Twins announced their roster earlier Friday and will take 12 pitchers into the series, as well.
The ALDS roster is đź”’'d in! #BombaSZN pic.twitter.com/BQjZcpt0zR
- Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 4, 2019
One of the debates that likely took place among Yankee brass was the decision to include a 12th pitcher. They likely had CC Sabathia penciled into that spot, but Aaron Boone announced Thursday that the 39-year-old left-hander has not fully recovered from a cortisone shot in his shoulder and would not be available for the ALDS.
With Sabathia on the shelf, the Yankees could have gone with another bat off the bench -- like Mike Ford -- but opted to include another left-handed pitcher, Tyler Lyons. The Yankees picked up Lyons in August after the 31-year-old was released by the Pirates. He appeared in 11 regular season games with the Yankees, allowing four runs on seven hits over 8.2 innings.
There were no shortage of decisions to make among position players, either. They opted for the versatility of Tyler Wade, rather than including Clint Frazier. And while Ford has been swinging a hot bat from the left side, he was left off in favor of the right-hand hitting Luke Voit.
The Yankees will throw James Paxton -- who Aaron Judge called "the best left-handed pitcher in the game"-- in Game 1 Friday, followed by Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino in Games 2 and 3 respectively. The Twins have yet to announce probable starters beyond Jose Berrios in Game 1.