3 surprising players who could crash Yankees' playoff roster in Wild Card round

Despite their best efforts, the New York Yankees are all but guaranteed to face the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series. Like any time the two heated rivals face off against each other, the three-game set will almost certainly push both teams to do whatever it takes to gain an advantage. For the Yankees, that could mean adding a few surprising players on the roster that you might not expect. 

With the Yankees nearly a lock to play the Red Sox, manager Aaron Boone has already been eyeing his likely starting rotation in preparation for the postseason. The Yankees will likely roll with a combination of Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, and Gerrit Cole. That rotation would likely lead to some creativity when it comes to how the rest of the roster is constructed.  

That creativity could potentially be used exclusively within the team’s bullpen. Would that mean that Carlos Rodón is left off the roster for the short series in favor of a pitcher more capable of coming out of the pen? With plenty of tough innings between the Yankees and Red Sox coming up, there could be some surprise arms out of the bullpen to bridge the gap between the starters and closer David Bednar. 

3 surprise pitchers who could give the Yankees valuable innings in the postseason

Over the last few weeks of the season, relievers Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn have seemed to be feeling the effects of a long season where they have each thrown more than 77 innings. With that wear and tear weighing on their shoulders, they have both looked a little more human as of late. That doesn’t mean that they won’t step up when it matters the most in the postseason, but they may need some help.

The Yankees will need to collect at least 54 outs against the Red Sox in order to move on to the Divisional round. When it comes to the postseason, it doesn’t matter how you get those outs. In fact, it doesn’t even matter who gets those outs for you.  For the Yankees, they could be giving the ball to a few pitchers that may turn some heads.

Ryan Weathers 

While his battle with a nagging elbow flexor strain could complicate things, Ryan Weathers has the potential to become a game-changing pitcher for the Yankees in the Wild Card round. Out since August, Weathers may not come back in time to finish out the regular season. With the Yankees’ first postseason game scheduled for September 29, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for Weathers to make it back for a matchup against the Red Sox, either. 

But if he can bounce back and throw an inning or two, Weathers may become one of the team’s most valuable weapons out of the pen. With a 9.4 K/9 rate this season, the southpaw is more than capable of picking up a much-needed punchout to quell a potential rally. Perhaps more importantly, he’s induced nine ground ball double plays in high-leverage situations this season.  

If healthy enough to pitch, Weathers could be an effective option for Boone. That would go a long way toward saving relievers like Headrick and Blackburn for the later innings if needed.    

Yerry de los Santos 

With only three games to worry about in the Wild Card round, Boone could easily look to add as many versatile relievers as possible. Yerry de los Santos may not be the first name you'd think of when considering a lockdown postseason bullpen, but he could become a valuable arm against the Red Sox. 

His propensity to fill the base paths with runners isn't exactly the best formula for postseason success. With a career WHIP of 1.334, it would be very unlikely that Boone would turn to de los Santos in a close game. But in the event of a blowout in either of the first two games, de los Santos would become the best option to eat innings and save the high-leverage arms for the next day. That could be invaluable in the long run.  

With a high ground ball rate and an ability to miss barrels, de los Santos has been good at limiting the damage during his time with the Yankees. That could continue against the Red Sox. Just don't expect to see him jogging in from the bullpen in a tight one (even though he was briefly RP4, almost by default, in mid-August).

Elmer Rodriguez

After looking like a whole new pitcher following his most recent call up in August, Elmer Rodriguez offered fans a glimpse into his future as a postseason starter. Maybe just not this year, though. But that doesn't mean he won't be a big factor in the Wild Card round. 

With an impressive combination of a power sinker and a four-seamer, Rodriguez is capable of getting ahead of hitters and establishing his fastball. This could allow him to set up his strong offering of breaking balls. On the season, batters are slugging just .182 off the sweeper and an embarrassingly low .091 off of his curveball.  

As a short relief option, Rodriguez could see an uptick in velocity that would better play off of his breaking balls. With wipeout stuff, Rodriguez could be yet another surprise weapon for Boone to unleash out of the bullpen. 

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