In Game 1 of the World Series, the Yankees will face the pitcher they almost acquired at the trade deadline.
Manager Dave Roberts announced Tuesday that Jack Flaherty will take the ball for the Dodgers in the Fall Classic opener on Friday, facing Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
“They're really good,” Flaherty said of the Yankees' lineup, which he hasn't faced this season.
Roberts plans for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who the Yankees also tried to sign in the offseason, to start Game 2, and then the Dodgers to use Walker Buehler (in order) in Games 3 and 4 for a bullpen game. That's what he said.
The Yankees were interested in acquiring Flaherty from the Tigers before the deadline, but concerns about Flaherty's medical exam led to a potential deal falling through, and the Dodgers rushed into negotiations to acquire former Yankees prospect Trey. Sweeney was selected as part of the Flaherty acquisition package.
“It's crazy to think if I could have been on the other side of this, but I'm happy with the situation I'm in and being a part of this team,” Flaherty said.
As a Dodger, Flaherty had a 3.58 ERA in 10 games to end the regular season and allowed 12 earned runs in 15¹/₃ innings in three starts in the playoffs.
“At the end of the day, if we could have matched up, we would have brought Jack Flaherty,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said shortly after the trade deadline passed. “It was difficult to match and that's why he wasn't there. It's that simple.”
Freddie Freeman will take a few days off this week to rest his sprained ankle and expects to be “100 percent good” for Game 1 on Friday.
The Dodgers' star first baseman, who has been ruled out of the team for three playoff games so far this month due to an injury, said this week's time off was valuable.
“It's a big deal to be sick every day and not be able to run and not be able to get treatment,” Freeman said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “I can still hit and do all that stuff. When I took my first running step a few days ago, everything in my ankle flared up. Now I've gone three days in a row without running and only need treatment. I feel like every day is going to get better.”
In mid-September, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts downplayed Shohei Ohtani's chances of pitching in the postseason after the two-way superstar spent the regular season strictly hitting after offseason elbow surgery. I left it in
On Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said he didn't think much about the possibility of something like that happening in the World Series.
“But if that happens, we're going to be prepared for everything,” Boone said. “We know what they're throwing, what they feature, etc. We'll be prepared for anything.”
The Yankees are considering using 13 pitchers and 13 position players on their World Series roster, compared to 12 pitchers and 14 position players in the ALCS.
That would allow them to add Nestor Cortez to the roster without removing a pitcher, but they would have to cut one position player.
Trent Grisham, who has not yet played in a game this postseason, appears to be the frontrunner.
