Yankees Announce Full Wild Card Roster With One Big Surprise

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The Yankees announced their full 26-man Wild Card roster, with one surprising inclusion standing out ahead of the playoff series.

The New York Yankees released their full roster for their American League Wild Card Series, and Giancarlo Stanton is the biggest surprise. The 36-year-old slugger will be available against the Boston Red Sox tonight despite not having played since April 24.

That inclusion comes even as Aaron Judge, New York’s best hitter and three-time AL MVP, was left off the roster entirely, raising the importance of Stanton’s fragile health for all three games.

Stanton had been sidelined the rest of the season by strains in both his right and left calf that eventually landed him on the 60-day injured list, before MLB Network’s Jon Morosi confirmed the slugger made the 26-man roster.

“Giancarlo Stanton is ON the Yankees Wild Card Series roster,” Morosi wrote. In 24 games this year, Stanton hit .256 with three home runs, a fraction of the production the Yankees are banking on returning in October.

Giancarlo Stanton’s Return Anchors New York Yankees Roster

New York is hoping for an encore of 2024, when Stanton came back from a midseason injury to hit seven home runs across that postseason run. Center fielder Trent Grisham also made the cut despite a hamstring injury that sidelined him since Sept. 4, finishing the year at .211 with 18 homers and 59 RBI in 121 games. Ben Rice, the club’s DH, led the roster with 41 home runs that ranked fourth in the American League in Judge’s extended absence, batting .264 with a 146 OPS+. New York finished 93-68, the top AL wild card, while Boston went 87-75 to claim the second spot and set up this rivalry rematch.

Aaron Judge’s Absence Looms Over Series

Judge’s exclusion became official Tuesday, a decision FOX Sports confirmed hours before first pitch. The 34-year-old strained his calf barely a week into a return from a rib stress fracture that had already cost him 85 games this season, sidelining him from June through Sept. 7. He hit .241 with 18 home runs in 66 games before the setback. Judge can rejoin the roster for the American League Division Series if New York advances, where the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays await the winner.

New York went 7-6 against Boston across 13 games this season, a series that included a 16-1 rout at Yankee Stadium in late August, statistics NESN compiled from the full head-to-head schedule. Cy Young contender Cam Schlittler starts Game 1 after a 14-6 season with a 1.95 ERA and a dominant 2-1, 0.74 ERA mark against Boston.

Max Fried, who missed two months with an elbow injury, follows in Game 2 opposite Sonny Gray and carries a 1-0, 0.77 ERA mark in two starts against Boston this season. Gerrit Cole, who struggled to a 6.75 ERA in his lone start against the Red Sox, would pitch a decisive Game 3.

Boston counters with its own reinforcement. Ace Garrett Crochet, out since April with a shoulder injury, made the roster for short relief only, according to the Boston Globe‘s report on Boston’s finalized roster.

“I’m a goal-driven guy. If I see a deadline, I’m going to meet it,” Crochet said, as quoted by the Boston Globe.

New York holds the season series, the home games and the stronger Game 1 arm. Losing Judge is real, but a lineup built around Rice, a surprising Stanton and Schlittler’s dominance against this exact opponent still enters the series as the favorite over a division rival that has already proven it can win at Yankee Stadium.

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