The New York Yankees are nearly a lock to clinch a spot in the AL wild-card game, but they are not sure yet who will start in the game.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman talked with reporters on Friday about who would start the wild-card game on Oct. 3.
Brian Cashman on the Wild Card Game starter: "We haven’t set on who it’s going to be. We have had those discussions in generalities, but there’s multiple people we’re considering. That’s not a bad thing at all.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 22, 2018
The #Yankees used an 'opener' for last year's Wild Card game… not by design, but they did. Could they again?
"I assume we’ll start with a starter, knowing we can deploy a high-leverage pen. But I’d say we’re in a very open-minded situation. We try to be." – Cashman
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 22, 2018
The team could line things up for whomever they want to start in the game. The regular season finale is on Sept. 30, and their first playoff game wouldn’t be until three days later.
JA Happ has been pretty dynamite since joining the team (6-0, 2.39 ERA in nine starts). Masahiro Tanaka has lowered his ERA by nearly half a run since Aug. 10. CC Sabathia has the experience and offers a southpaw look. And of course there is Luis Severino, who is 18-8 and the anchor of the staff. He got bombed in last year’s wild-card game against the Twins and was quickly pulled, though he performed better in his next start against Cleveland.
The nice thing for the Yankees is that they have plenty of options. The bad things is they don’t have one clear-cut ace.
