The New York Yankees will play the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night. New York is the favorite but Kansas City will not back down. The Royals upset the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Wild Card round, so they are playing with momentum right now. Still, the Yankees finished with the best record in the American League in 2024. New York made a number of intriguing roster moves before the series, though.

Via the New York Yankees on X, formerly Twitter:

Duke Ellis, who can impact the game on the base paths, made the roster over former All-Stars such as Marcus Stroman and Anthony Rizzo. Ben Rice also made the roster over Rizzo, a surprising first base decision. Jake Cousins, who has not pitched since mid-September due to injury, made the roster as well.

Rizzo struggled throughout the 2024 season. Yet, he is a former World Series champion and three-time All-Star. Rizzo's absence from the Yankees postseason roster is surprising. He has dealt with injuries, something that may have impacted the decision.

Stroman's absence is also surprising. He also did not have his best season but the two-time All-Star will be missed in the starting rotation.

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Will the Yankees avoid getting upset by the Royals?

The Yankees feature a better overall team than the Royals. That does not always matter in the postseason, however. Upsets occur quite often and the Royals have momentum at the moment.

It will be interesting to see how Kansas City fares in the postseason. The Royals' roster has a lot of inexperience and that may be problematic in a postseason series. With that being said, the Yankees cannot take the Royals for granted.

Game 1 of the 2024 ALDS between the Royals and Yankees is scheduled for 6:38 PM EST in New York.