Jon Berti Takes Back Over as New York Yankees' Starting First Baseman For ALDS Game 4

The New York Yankees and manager Aaron Boone continue to flip-flop between Jon Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera at first base in their ALDS matchup with the Kansas City Royals.

Oct 7, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Jon Berti (19) tags the base to get a double play against Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (19) in the sixth inning during game two of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With a trip to the ALCS on the line, the New York Yankees are once again turning to an inexperienced option at first base.

Veteran utility man Jon Berti will serve as the Yankees' starting first baseman for Game 4 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. YES Network studio analyst Jack Curry was first to report manager Aaron Boone's decision.

Berti also started at first in Game 2 on Monday. That marked his first-ever appearance as a first baseman in a major or minor league game, excluding the 3.0 innings he spent there as a substitute during 2021 Spring Training.

Despite his lack of reps at the position, Berti played a solid first base, even turning an unassisted double play in the top of the sixth. He finished the night 1-for-4 with a strikeout, but New York went on to lose 4-2.

Another utility man, Oswaldo Cabrera, has been the Yankees' other first baseman this series. He started Games 1 and 3, when the Royals used right-handed starters, while Berti got the nod when All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans took the mound in Game 2.

Cabrera hit .268 with a .729 OPS against right-handed pitchers this season, compared to his .190 batting average and .469 OPS against left-handers. Berti, on the other hand, has a .701 career OPS against righties and a .708 career OPS against lefties, making him less matchup dependent than Cabrera.

The Royals are starting right-hander Michael Wacha on Thursday, though, which is who they had start Game 1 as well. Cabrera struck out and doubled in his two at-bats versus Wacha that night.

Boone has had to choose between Cabrera and Berti at first base this series because of injuries to a pair of former All-Stars in Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu.

Rizzo remains sidelined with the fractured fingers he suffered at the tail end of the regular season. LeMahieu has been out with a hip issue since early September. Ben Rice is on New York's ALDS roster as well, but the rookie first baseman has yet to see any action in the playoffs.

Here is the rest of the Yankees' starting lineup, which remains otherwise unchanged:

1. Gleyber Torres, 2B
2. Juan Soto, RF
3. Aaron Judge, CF
4. Austin Wells, C
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B
7. Anthony Volpe, SS
8. Alex Verdugo, LF
9. Jon Berti, 1B
SP: Gerrit Cole, RHP

First pitch for Game 4 is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.

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