We’re a day away. In just over 24 hours, the Yankees will take the field in San Francisco for a special opening night matchup with the Giants. We know who the starting pitchers will be, as Max Fried will square off with Logan Webb.
And for the most part, we know what the Yankees’ roster as a whole will look like tomorrow. But there still is some intrigue, particularly with the team announcing over the weekend that they would begin the season with a four-man rotation, keeping Luis Gil to the side for now. Gil could still make the roster, allowing the Yankees to piggyback him with another starter, likely Ryan Weathers, or the team could opt to have him start the year with Triple-A. The right-hander would be eligible to return to the majors on April 9th in that scenario, two days before the Yankees project to need a fifth starter based on their early-season schedule.
With all that in mind, I’ve thrown together my projected Opening Day roster:
Catchers (2)
Austin Wells
J.C. Escarra
Infielders (6)
Ben Rice
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
José Caballero
Ryan McMahon
Paul Goldschmidt
Amed Rosario
Outfielders (4)
Cody Bellinger
Trent Grisham
Aaron Judge
Randal Grichuk
Designated Hitter (1)
Giancarlo Stanton
Starting Pitchers (4)
Max Fried
Cam Schlittler
Ryan Weathers
Will Warren
Bullpen (9)
David Bednar
Camilo Doval
Fernando Cruz
Tim Hill
Ryan Yarbrough
Paul Blackburn
Cade Winquest
Jake Bird
Brent Headrick
This is pure speculation, but my guess is the Yankees will use Gil’s remaining minor league option and let him keep his pitch count up with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It’s the cleaner option, rather than trying to find a way to keep Gil stretched out at around 80-90 pitches while pitching out of the bullpen. Gil can make a couple starts in Triple-A, then return to the bigs by April 11th to start on the road against the Rays.
Should Gil go down, the focus then shifts to who takes his place. In this projection, I have the Yankees loading up on back-end bullpen arms, breaking camp with all of Paul Blackburn, Cade Winquest, Brent Headrick, and Jake Bird. Of those four, Headrick seemed like the longest shot to make the team coming into spring training, but Gil going down would open up space for the lefty after a strong showing in camp, Headrick striking out 15 batters against one walk in seven innings.
What do you think? What’s your Opening Day roster projection for tomorrow? Let us know in the comments below.
This morning on the site, check out Josh’s review of the Yankees’ strategy and success with the new ABS challenge system this spring. We’ll also get a fun entry in our Yankees Birthday series from Jonathan as he focuses on Ernie Shore, while Matt will preview the Yankees’ Opening Day foes, the San Francisco Giants, in the last entry in our overall 2026 MLB Preview. Later, Jeremy will discuss Finlete, in light of the reports that Yankees prospect Carlos Lagrange has promised a portion of his potential future MLB earnings to investors.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Chicago Cubs
Time: 3:05 p.m. EST
Video: N/A (audio available via WFAN 101.9 FM/660AM or MLB.tv)
Venue: Sloan Park, Mesa, AZ
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