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Yankees Playoffs 2020: Who will New York face in Wild Card series?

ByThomas Carannante|
Luke Voit #59 of the New York Yankees celebrates with Aaron Hicks #31 and DJ LeMahieu #26 after Voit hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 16, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Luke Voit #59 of the New York Yankees celebrates with Aaron Hicks #31 and DJ LeMahieu #26 after Voit hitting a three-run home run during the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 16, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The playoffs start on Sept. 29 but the Yankees’ first opponent could be a number of teams.

When the New York Yankees clinched a spot in the 2020 MLB postseason, fans exhaled. Nobody cared who’d they face in the Wild Card series; everyone was just glad to be there. A week and a half prior, the Yankees were 21-21 and playing some really unsightly baseball.

But now we’re getting closer to the first day of the playoffs on Sept. 29 and it’s time to ponder who the Bombers might face in the short three-game series. Right now, the Yankees sit at 33-26, good for the No. 5 seed in the American League.

That means, if the season ended today, New York would travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox for the three-game set. Every game would be played at Guaranteed Rate Field. There will be no further travel until the ALDS and ALCS, which will take place in the “bubble” in California.

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But that could very easily change before the regular season comes to a close on Sunday. The White Sox and Minnesota Twins are jockeying for first place in the AL Central, with only one separating the two, and the Cleveland Indians trial the Sox by one game. Minnesota will finish 2020 against the Cincinnati Reds; the White Sox will have the crosstown rival Cubs; and the Indians take on the Pirates.

So, yeah, a lot can change between now and Sunday, but we’ll be updating this article as much as possible to reflect the standings/playoff matchups.

But right now, here’s what we’re looking at:

  • No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays vs No. 8 Toronto Blue Jays
  • No. 2 Minnesota Twins vs No. 7 Cleveland Indians
  • No. 3 Oakland Athletics vs No. 6 Houston Astros
  • No. 4 Chicago White Sox vs No. 5 New York Yankees

Two things here: 1) Don’t get cocky about facing the Twins even though historically the Yankees destroy them in the playoffs. They have the third-best ERA in Major League Baseball and have one of the best offenses too. 2). This is hardly locked in given all that can change, so prepare to play the Twins, or the White Sox, or the Indians … or even the Rays!

For those hoping for a first-round series against the Astros, we’re sorry, but it can’t happen. The seeding for these playoffs is as follows:

  • Division winners claim the top three seeds
  • Second-place teams claim the next three seeds
  • Two wild card teams claim the last two seeds

The Rays have the No. 1 seed locked up and clinched the AL East on Wednesday. The A’s are likely locked into a No. 2 or No. 3 seed because they already clinched the AL West. The Twins or White Sox will capture the No. 2 or 3 seed based on what happens Sunday.

The Yankees can drop all the way to the No. 8 seed and face the Rays if they lose today and the Toronto Blue Jays win. The best New York can do is the No. 5 seed, so this team will be traveling for the Wild Card series regardless. Their opponent is far from locked in, so follow the MLB scoreboard on Sunday!

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