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5 thoughtful surprises that will make your heart beat faster Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab on new book “We Are Free, You and Me”: NPR

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NEW YORK – On game days, Aaron Boone's routine involves passing the Yankees' lineup to manager Brad Ausmus before heading into the stadium.

And it was “generally pretty great” writing for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge this year.

“I try not to take it for granted, especially seeing what we see all year from these two,” the Yankees manager said Tuesday, the first of four days of practice before the AL Division opener Series at Yankee Stadium – against either the Kansas City Royals or Baltimore Orioles.

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Here's how the Yankees could face a right-handed starter in Game 1:

Yankees potential ALDS lineup for Game 1

  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. Alex Verdugo, LF

8. Ben Rice, 1B

9. Anthony Volpe, SS

Upper third of the order

Since returning to the top spot on August 16, Torres is batting .313 with an OPS of .840 in 39 games.

Before that, Torres – in his free agent walk year – had batted .236 with an OPS of .658 in 115 games.

The Soto-Judge pairing was dynamic, combining for 99 home runs, 250 runs scored and 253 RBI. They finished 1-2 in the AL in OPS, with Judge hitting 1.159 and Soto hitting .989.

When the Yanks last reached the postseason in 2022, Judge was a bit physically overwhelmed after chasing 62 home runs, but he arrives this October in good overall health.

Middle third of the order

Wells and Stanton swapped the batting order for lefty starters, and Stanton was a productive hitter with 11 home runs, 24 RBI and a .963 OPS in 27 Yankees postseason games.

A candidate for AL Rookie of the Year honors, the left-handed Wells fought his way into the mound spot during Jose Trevino's time on the injured list (calf strain).

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But Wells' performance declined in September and he batted .111 (8 for 72) with a .411 OPS in 21 games.

Left-handed hitter Chisholm Jr., traded from the Miami Marlins at the MLB deadline, had a total of 24 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 2024.

Lower third of the order

Boone hasn't revealed which direction he'll go in left field, but veteran left-hander Verdugo could have the edge over switch-hitting rookie Jasson Dominguez with his superior defense.

“We’ll let the week unfold (before we make a decision),” Boone said, although he believes Dominguez “will play a big role” in the postseason regardless of his configuration in Game 1.

Oswaldo Cabrera's value as a utility player suggests rookie lefty hitter Rice will start at first base, although Boone hasn't made a decision yet. With Anthony Rizzo dealing with broken fingers, his status as an underdog for the ALDS remained unchanged on Tuesday.

Volpe was a hard-hitting hitter all season, batting .151 (11-of-73) with a .394 OPS in his final 21 regular season games.

On By John Fenwick

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