Insider leaves 3 key veterans off first Yankees playoff roster projection

With under 30 games to go before the MLB playoffs begin -- with a bracket that ideally includes the New York Yankees -- there are a few spots clearly lagging on the team's current roster.

The necessary adjustments to set the team on the right path will undoubtedly be awkward, and could involve shunting a locker room favorite in DJ LeMahieu and a hand-picked Aaron Judge compatriot in Alex Verdugo. LeMahieu holds very little value as a starter; at the very least, his role should be greatly diminished down the stretch (and that's a generous assessment) when Anthony Rizzo and Jon Berti return. Verdugo has been one of the game's worst qualified hitters for months, batting glove allergy or not. Jasson Dominguez deserves priority, at the moment, and will hopefully receive it in September, whether or not Aaron Boone sees a "lane" for it.

Whatever decisions the Yankees make this month -- including radical changes or standing pat in ill-advised fashion -- should have postseason reverberations. The bench is tight. Demoting LeMahieu and Verdugo to purgatory in September is all well and good, but that doesn't mean they'll be carried in October. Wouldn't you rather see Trent Grisham, Oswaldo Cabrera, or Berti?

The Athletic's Yankees insider Chris Kirschner kept all these troubles in mind when he put together his first playoff roster projection of the year. Notably, though, he also hit on another, under-discussed conundrum. Both LeMahieu and Verdugo were left off his theoretical roster, but so was Marcus Stroman, who may not have earned a playoff start and whose stuff doesn't seem all that tantalizing out of the bullpen. If that turns out to be the case, expect a potential chemistry speed bump.

Yankees playoff roster projection without LeMahieu, Verdugo, Marcus Stroman

Ironically, the hatchet that we all thought was buried between Stroman and the Yankees before the season could once again rear its ugly head. In 2019, Brian Cashman claimed Stroman wouldn't have been a worthwhile trade acquisition because he wouldn't have been a playoff upgrade over their incumbents. If the Yankees sign him five years later, then deem that to be the case once again ... don't expect Stroman to be wearing any of his trademark throwback gear come October. It would be a devastating blow to the lifelong Yankee fan, especially after he delivered essentially everything they asked him to this season.

But feelings can't get in the way when it comes to winning at the margins in October, and as things stand, Kirschner's playoff rotation of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Nestor Cortes Jr. -- with the talented Clarke Schmidt in the bullpen -- feels definitively possible. Stroman really could pitch his heart out all year, then miss the October boat.