Duke

Ellis

Ellis got into 11 contests last year between the Yankees and White Sox. The 26-year-old speedster has been removed from New York’s 40-man roster, but will remain with the club as extra depth.

The Yankees only went with 11 pitchers for the ALDS, but they will add Stroman back as another starting pitcher option for a best-of-seven series. Outfielder Duke Ellis will be left off the roster to make room for Stroman.

Marcus Stroman and Mark Leiter Jr. are absent, as the Yankees have chosen to go with 11 pitches. That opens up an extra spot on offense for Duke Ellis to serve as a pinch-runner. Ben Rice is also on the roster in place of Anthony Rizzo. DJ LeMahieu was not activated.

Jon Berti is ready to come off the IL, so that’s probably the countermove here, not a Jasson Domínguez callup. Ellis went 1-for-1 with a steak in three appearances for the Yankees.

Duke Ellis is a lot of things. Jasson Dominguez is not one of them. The Yankees will instead go with the speedy Ellis as a bench option who can spell in the outfield and pinch run. It’s certainly possible Dominguez will get a chance with the Yankees again in 2024, but fantasy managers will certainly be disappointed by this news.

The Yankees recently picked up Cam Eden from the Blue Jays and sent him to Triple-A. Ellis is basically the same player; he can help out as a September/postseason pinch-runner and really shouldn’t have any role otherwise. He made his major league debut with the White Sox earlier this season, going 0-for-4 with four steals in eight games. He’s hit .235/.315/.336 with 51 steals in the minors this year.

Ellis was claimed off waivers last month from the Mariners and hasn’t made an appearance for Seattle. The 26-year-old speedster got into eight contests earlier this year for the White Sox.

Ellis makes sense for Seattle as a late-inning pinch-running specialist at some point in the postseason, but he’s not exactly fantasy-relevant at this point, despite his wheels on the bases. The 26-year-old speedster got into eight contests earlier this season for the White Sox prior to being waived.

Ellis was designated for assignment over the weekend by New York just a few weeks after being claimed off waivers from the White Sox.

Ellis will head to Triple-A Syracuse as extra organizational outfield depth for New York after being scooped up off waivers on Friday. The 26-year-old speedster stole four bases in eight games during a brief stint with the White Sox earlier this month. He has 34 thefts across 41 games this season in the upper minors.