Anthony Rizzo will bat eighth for the Yankees in Game 1
The New York Yankees’ everyday first baseman is back. Not only is Anthony Rizzo on the ALCS roster, he is in the starting lineup for Game 1 and will bat eighth, according to the YES Network’s Jack Curry.
He has not played since September 28, the penultimate day of the regular season, when Rizzo fractured two fingers on his right hand after getting hit by a pitch. The Yankees left him off their Division Series roster, opting to go with Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti at first base. New York defeated the Kansas City Royals in four games to advance to the ALCS. Their series against the Cleveland Guardians begins Monday night in the Bronx.
The 35-year-old Rizzo has had to manage several injuries over the past few seasons. He played just 92 games in 2024, hitting .228 with a .637 OPS with eight home runs.
Though he struggled at the plate for most of the regular season, Rizzo closed on a high note, hitting .385 over his past eight games with a .526 average on balls in play.
Rizzo’s overall postseason numbers are below average, but he has hit well against Cleveland in the postseason. In 2016, he hit .360 in the World Series, helping the Chicago Cubs defeat Cleveland and win their first championship in more than a century. In 2022, he hit .294 with a .958 OPS as the Yankees outlasted the Guardians in a five-game Division Series.
Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti remain on Yankees’ ALCS roster
The Yankees made a few changes to their roster between playoff rounds, but their two first basemen from the Royals series will remain with the team. New York will carry 12 pitchers, leaving them room for a five-person bench. Berti and Cabrera will be part of that bench, while rookie first baseman Ben Rice and pinch runner Duke Ellis were left off.
Berti played two games in the Division series, going 2-7 with a walk. Cabrera went 1-5 over two games with a double and three walks.
In addition, the Yankees added pitcher Marcus Stroman after carrying only 11 pitchers in the Division Series. Stroman will give the Yankees an extra long relief arm out of the bullpen. Stroman is primarily a starter, but New York has already announced Carlos Rodon as its Game 1 starter, followed by Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil.
