Tonight kicks off the first game of the American League Division Series between the Yankees and Royals, and New York has finally revealed its postseason roster. While it can change in between rounds, it cannot change between games unless there’s an injury that occurs during the series. The most notable omission from this group is Marcus Stroman, whom the Yankees signed to be one of their main five starters in October. After making the All-Star team last year with the Chicago Cubs, Stroman saw a dramatic decrease in velocity and stuff, resulting in a poor 2024 campaign.
With a 4.31 ERA and 16.7% strikeout rate, there was no way New York could utilize him in the postseason even if it was in a reliever role, and they’ve made the tough choice to exclude him from their pitching staff for the ALDS.
Marcus Stroman Doesn’t Make the Yankees’ ALDS Roster
The Yankees didn’t choose to roll with Marcus Stroman in their 11-man pitching staff, choosing to go with 15 position players as a way to allow Aaron Boone to aggressively pinch-hit or pinch-run late in games. It felt as if Stroman would be the two or three starter for the Yankees this year after signing a two-year deal in the winter to join the squad, but his season fell apart quickly as his inability to miss bats came as a result of declining pitch quality.
After striking out 20.7% of batters faced with a 57.1% GB%, Stroman had just a 16.7% K% and 49.2% GB% with the Yankees across 30 appearances, posting a hideous 8.80 ERA in September. His sinker velocity dropped from 91.4 MPH in 2023 to 90.0 in 2024, a career-low for the 10-year veteran, and it resulted in the overall Stuff+ for his arsenal dropping from 101 to 92.
The Yankees will roll with four members of their rotation on the 11-man staff, as Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon have already been named the Game 1 and Game 2 starters.
Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt make the roster with their roles for the series being unknown, as they could either take the ball in Game 3 or come out of the bullpen in a reliever role. The off-days after Games 1 and 2 present opportunities for rest in between games and situations where the Yankees could get creative in their usage.
The bullpen will have eight available arms at all times most likely, as there is only one game in the series where the Yankees could find themselves playing a back-to-back, and that’s Game 4. The series kicks off tonight at 6:38 PM EST on TBS as the Bronx Bombers hope to get out to an early 1-0 series lead.
