Inside The Pinstripes

Report: Yankees Make a Decision on Starting Left Fielder For Game 1 of ALDS

The New York Yankees have announced who will be starting in left field during Saturday's ALCS game.

Grant Young

Sep 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone speaks with reporters before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
Sep 3, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone speaks with reporters before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images / Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
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Left field has become one of the most fascinating positions for New York Yankees fans to monitor this season.

Not because Yankees left fielders are playing well. The .652 OPS that New York left fielders have produced this season is 25th in MLB, and the 15 home runs at the position are also tied for 25th in the league.

But left field has been interesting — at least in September — because it is being platooned by Alex Verdugo and Jasson Dominguez. While fans were hoping Dominguez would assert himself as the everyday starter when he was called up last month, that has not happened.

With the two jockeying for playing time heading into the postseason, a common question within the fanbase was whether Verdugo or Dominguez would be starting Game 1 of the ALDS against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.

And an October 4 report from SNY's Andy Martino has given fans their answer.

"Now we know how the team will open its postseason run: by starting Alex Verdugo against Kansas City in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, according to league sources briefed on the team’s plans," Martino wrote.

There we have it. It will be Alex Verdugo manning left field on Saturday.

However, Martino made sure to note that this doesn't mean Verdugo will hold down the position throughout the playoffs.

"The decision does not mean that Jasson Dominguez will never start in the postseason; the Yanks will take it game by game in deciding which of their two left fielders to play," he added.

Verdugo and the rest of New York's lineup will be facing Royals right hander Michael Wacha.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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