Yankees: James Paxton being unable to return for ALDS hurts roster

Yankees LHP James Paxton won’t be able to return for the club’s ALDS matchup with Tampa Bay.

The Yankees officially announced their roster for the best-of-five ALDS (with no off days in between) against the Tampa Bay Rays, who made light work of Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.

The Yankees are going to need all hands on deck from a pitching perspective, so it didn’t come as a huge surprise that veteran catcher Erik Kratz was downgraded in favor of right-hander Michael King, who logged a 7.76 ERA in just over 26 innings of work during the regular season.

In an ideal world, the Yankees won’t have to call upon King in pressurized scenarios, but you simply can’t rule it out given MLB’s unrelenting playoff schedule, which is going to push manager Aaron Boone’s bullpen to the limit against the Rays’ ever-disciplined lineup.

Therefore, it would have been encouraging to see James Paxton return from his extended stint on the injured list, but that just wasn’t possible at this stage in his recovery. The 31-year-old southpaw has obviously been a shell of the hurler he was in 2019, but the consistency he showcased last October will be sorely missed versus Tampa.

Paxton has been shelved with a Grade 1 flexor strain in his left arm since the end of August and he was transferred to the 45-day IL a few weeks later after suffering a setback during his recovery process.

The eight-year veteran has since been spotted playing catch with teammates at Yankee Stadium, and while that’s no doubt a positive sign, it really remains to be seen when he’ll be cleared to start throwing bullpens. Boone acknowledged last week that Paxton could be activated near the end of the playoffs, but that doesn’t help the Yankees right now.

We would assert that the ALDS against Tampa is the toughest matchup for New York outside of a potential World Series matchup with the Dodgers. Having Paxton available to come out of the bullpen would simply put the team in the best position to win, especially given their need for a competent left-handed reliever.

While many assumed he could’ve been the Game 3 starter in this series, it’s hard to imagine Paxton being stretched out to start games after being on the shelf this long. Remember, he was already dealing with velocity issues.

Last postseason, Paxton was arguably the Yankees most effective pitcher, allowing just five runs across 13 innings. His performance in the ALCS — 8.1 IP, 2 ER, and 12 Ks in two starts — in particular proved he was up to that challenge.

His absence, though expected, is still somewhat of a blow to the Bombers.

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