Aaron Boone didn't say much about the Yankees' postseason roster and rotation during his Wednesday news conference, but what he didn't say about CC Sabathia may have spoken volumes.
When asked about whether the 39-year-old former Cy Young Award winner would be on the AL Division Series roster against the Twins, Boone said, "That's another thing we are working through."
WFAN's Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti opened their show Thursday discussing the Yankees' roster decisions, Sabathia in particular.
"Really the big question for the Yankees right now, what's the roster going to look like for the Twins?" Esiason said. "Is CC Sabathia going to be on the roster? And that, like, kind of came out of nowhere yesterday. I think everybody just assumed that he was going to be on this playoff roster.
"I would think that you would want to have a left-handed bat in the lineup just in case because of the plethora of right-handed pitchers that the Twins are going to be throwing at the Yankees," Boomer added. "I kind of have a sneaking suspicion. ... Do you think that they would have ... (Edwin) Encarncacion, (Luke) Voit and (Mike) Ford all in the ... roster?"
"If they don't have CC, it definitely opens up that opportunity for another position player," Giannotti responded.
The Yankees moved Sabathia, who will retire after this season, to the bullpen in September in anticipation of the postseason. The left-hander, who has a 4.95 ERA this season, has been battling knee and shoulder issues.
Boone "was coy about everything, but he was really dancing around the CC questions," Gio said. "And you would feel like if CC Sabathia was going to be on this roster, that would be something that he would just flat out say.
"Do I think that, that's going to be the difference between a win and a loss in this series, whether they go with the extra pitcher and it happens to be CC or they go with an extra position player? No, I don't. I think what it tells you, though, is they're pretty locked in to what their formula's going to be on how they're going to attack the rotation, but we just don't know what order it's going to be. But it's definitely going to be (James) Paxton, (Luis) Severino, (Masahiro) Tanaka in some way, shape or form, and then they're going to go with Chad Green (as an opener) and then J.A. Happ probably after Chad Green. And if something else happens after that unforeseen, do you need CC Sabathia around or not?"
Later in the show, Esiason and Giannotti both predicted Sabathia would not be on the ALDS roster. Boomer also predicted the Yankees would start Paxton in Game 1, while Gio believes Tanaka will get the start.
To listen to the open from Thursday's "Boomer and Gio" show, click on the audio player above.
