NEW YORK — The Yankees may be preparing to add an October weapon they appeared unlikely to have only days ago.
Talkin’ Yanks reported Friday that rumors circulating around Yankee Stadium had Giancarlo Stanton making the Yankees’ American League Wild Card roster, Max Fried starting Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox and top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange receiving a call-up Friday.
Update: No Carlos Largrange. The Yankees called up RHP Brendan Beck and RHP Yerry de los Santos ahead of the doubleheader against the Orioles.
“We heard rumors around Yankee Stadium that Max Fried is pitching Game 1 against Boston, Giancarlo Stanton will be on the Wild Card roster, and Carlos Lagrange will be called up today,” Talkin’ Yanks wrote on X.
The Yankees had not officially announced those three decisions when the report surfaced.
But Stanton’s inclusion would represent the most dramatic development because the 36-year-old slugger has not played in a major league game since April 24 and only recently re-entered the postseason conversation.
Stanton’s path from long shot to Wild Card possibility
Stanton has spent more than five months sidelined by calf injuries in both legs.
He opened the season by hitting .256 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 24 games before the injuries shut him down. The Yankees later transferred him to the 60-day injured list, leaving little reason for much of the summer to expect an October return.
That changed this week.
Stanton faced pitchers Wednesday at Double-A Somerset, ran the bases and homered during a session in which he received six or seven at-bats. Aaron Boone then acknowledged that Stanton and injured center fielder Trent Grisham had moved onto the edge of the Yankees’ roster discussion.
“Putting them on the outskirts of the conversation,” Boone said.
By Thursday, reports indicated Stanton was continuing to hit and run as the Yankees evaluated whether his bat could help them in the Wild Card Series.
Talkin’ Yanks’ Friday report goes considerably further. If accurate, the Yankees have moved from merely considering Stanton to planning to carry him against Boston.
Yankees could use Stanton in a very different role
A Stanton return would not necessarily mean a return to his normal designated hitter workload.
Boone has already pointed toward a much narrower postseason assignment.
“You’re looking more at a pinch-hit scenario,” Boone said earlier this week.
That role could still carry considerable weight in a short series.
The Yankees are preparing for the possibility of opening the postseason without Aaron Judge because of his right calf strain. Judge has said he hopes to return, but Boone said earlier this week that New York was planning for the Wild Card Series without its captain.
That makes every available impact bat more important.
Stanton would give Boone a late-inning power option capable of changing a game with one swing without requiring the Yankees to trust his legs for nine innings in the field or on the bases.
His postseason history also gives the Yankees a reason to explore that gamble. Stanton has repeatedly been one of New York’s most dangerous October hitters during his Yankees tenure, and a bench role would allow Boone to choose his matchup rather than expose him to a full game after such a long layoff.
If Stanton is indeed on the roster, his comeback would arrive more than five months after his last major league appearance.
Fried rumor would push Schlittler to Game 2
The second part of the Talkin’ Yanks report could produce an equally fascinating postseason decision.
Max Fried starting Game 1 would mean the Yankees are apparently leaning toward holding Cam Schlittler for Game 2.
Publicly, Boone has only confirmed that Schlittler will start either Game 1 or Game 2. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Fried appeared set to start whichever of those games Schlittler did not.
That made Fried a clear possibility for the opener. The new rumor puts him specifically in Game 1.
It would be a notable call because Schlittler has completed a historic regular season. MLB lists the right-hander at 14-6 with a 1.94 ERA, 234 strikeouts and a 0.91 WHIP across 190 2/3 innings.
His ERA is the third-lowest qualifying single-season mark in Yankees history.
Yet the Yankees can structure a best-of-three series differently from a seven-game matchup. Starting Fried in Game 1 would leave Schlittler available for Game 2, which would either be a chance to clinch or a game the Yankees must win to save their season.
Boone has also noted that whichever pitchers handle Games 1 and 2 would be positioned to pitch Games 2 and 5 of a Division Series if the Yankees advance.
Lagrange could get one final audition
The third rumor concerns one of the organization’s most intriguing arms.
Carlos Lagrange, MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 Yankees prospect, has been on the major league radar for months because of a fastball that has reached 103 mph.
The Yankees moved the 23-year-old right-hander from a starting role to the Triple-A bullpen in June, with Boone saying at the time that Lagrange had a chance to impact the major league club in relief during 2026.
That possibility was interrupted by a right shoulder capsule strain that kept Lagrange out from late June until Sept. 16.
He returned throwing harder than ever.
Lagrange topped out at 102.1 mph in his first Triple-A outing after the injury and struck out two batters in a scoreless inning.
He then threw to hitters at Somerset this week. Boone acknowledged Wednesday that Lagrange remained “in the conversation for something.”
A Friday call-up would not automatically guarantee Lagrange a spot on the Wild Card roster.
It would, however, give the Yankees an opportunity to see the rookie’s triple-digit fastball against major league hitters immediately before they finalize their postseason pitching staff.
Three rumors could reshape Yankees’ October roster
Each piece of the Talkin’ Yanks report carries a different level of consequence.
Fried starting Game 1 would reveal the Yankees’ rotation strategy and move their Cy Young-caliber ace to Game 2.
Lagrange arriving in the Bronx would introduce a 102-mph wild card into the bullpen discussion.
Stanton making the roster would be the biggest reversal.
Only days ago, Boone described him as merely reaching the outskirts of the conversation. Now, a report from inside Yankee Stadium has him headed toward a place on the 26-man roster.
If that happens, the Yankees will enter their series against Boston with a bench weapon they spent most of the summer having little reason to believe would be available at all.
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