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Yankees Opt for Speed and Leave a Two-Time All-Star off Their ALDS Roster

Marcus Stroman was left off the Yankees' ALDS roster in favor of added speed on the bases.

By Adam Bernstein

Sep 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone speaks with reporters before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
Sep 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone speaks with reporters before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images / Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
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The chase for the Yankees' 28th championship begins on Saturday night when New York hosts the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the best-of-five American League Division Series. The Yankees announced their 26-man roster ahead of their series with Kansas City, and the biggest surprise is that right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman was left off their ALDS roster, and the team rostered Duke Ellis instead.

Due to injuries, the Yankees left DJ Lemahieu, Nestor Cortes, and Anthony Rizzo off the roster. Still, Stroman and right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr., one of the team's additions at this year's trade deadline, were healthy ahead of the ALDS series. The team made the tough decision to leave the veteran arms off their roster because of their struggles in the second half of this season.

In 29 starts and one relief appearance, Stroman had a 4.31 ERA with 113 strikeouts and 60 unintentional walks in 154 2/3 innings. Since the start of June, the 33-year-old has a 5.70 ERA, likely a factor in the team's decision to leave Stroman off the roster.

The team rostered four starters for this series, including Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil. Cole will take the bump in Game 1, and Rodon will toe the slab in Game 2 on Monday night. We will see Schmidt or Gil start Game 3, and the other will be used out of the bullpen in this series as a middle reliever.

The Yankees will carry 11 pitchers and 15 positional players, providing added speed off the bench. The team opted to keep outfielder/pinch runner Ellis, who stole 62 bases at various levels this season. Ellis started this year with the Chicago White Sox and was claimed by the Mets and Mariners off of waivers before being signed by the Yankees in late August.

While Ellis only played 11 games at the major league level and has five plate appearances between Chicago and New York, he came in handy as a base stealer and had a perfect stolen base percentage.

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