Both rosters consist of 26 players, with each team carrying 13 pitchers and 13 hitters.
The Yankees notably dropped utility player Jon Berti on the roster to make room for pitcher Nestor Cortes. Cortes has not pitched since Sept. 18.
The Dodgers added pitchers Brusdar Graterol and Alex Vesia as well as infielder Miguel Rojas to the roster while dropping outfielder Kevin Kiermaier and pitchers Evan Phillips and Edgardo Henriquez.
The Yankees reached the World Series after taking down the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS while the Dodgers advanced after defeating the New York Mets. This is the first time the Yankees have qualified since 2009 while the Dodgers were last in the World Series in 2020.
The will be the 12th time the two franchises have met in the World Series, with the Yankees winning eight of the 11 previous matchups. The last matchup came in 1981, when Los Angeles won in six games.
Gerrit Cole will be on the mound for the Yankees in Game 1 while Jack Flaherty will get the start for the Dodgers. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m. ET.
Nestor Cortes, Yankees Have 'Weighed the Consequences' of World Series Roster Spot
Oct 23, 2024
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 19: Nestor Cortes #65 of the New York Yankees throws a simulated inning prior to Game 5 of the ALCS presented by loanDepot between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Nestor Cortes hasn't pitched for the New York Yankees since Sept. 18 due to a left elbow flexor strain, and doing so during the World Series would potentially put him at further risk for a serious injury, perhaps even one requiring Tommy John surgery.
It's a gamble he's willing to make.
"The conversations have been really clear throughout the whole postseason," he told reporters Tuesday. "We have weighed the consequences that this can lead up to, but if I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it."
Cortes knows there's no guarantee he'll ever be back in a World Series and doesn't want to miss the opportunity.
"I could pitch this World Series and be good and then go into spring training and blow out and not expect it," he told reporters. "So, I guess the World Series is a once-in-a-lifetime thing—hopefully not for this team. But given the circumstance and knowing how important this is, not only wanting to pitch but I feel like there is a need in my left hand and facing those left-handed batters over there, it's going to be important for me to be healthy and be effective."
"The guys have definitely picked up everything and they've performed absolutely incredible"
Nestor Cortes was asked what it would mean to him to be on the World Series roster:
Cortes would be used out of the bullpen for the Yankees, potentially in high-leverage situations against left-handed hitters Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, the Nos. 1 and 3 batters in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup.
It would be a somewhat new role for him after starting 30 games for the Yankees this past season, going 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 162 strikeouts. But he has come out of the bullpen 49 times in his career, has plenty of experience facing Ohtani (who only has two hits in 12 career at-bats against him, with one strikeout) and he would give Aaron Boone another left-handed option.
Aaron Boone doesn't think Nestor Cortes is built up enough to be a 3-4 inning guy in the World Series pic.twitter.com/upJylaSdDm
Whether Cortes could handle multiple innings at a time remains to be seen. He threw 28 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday and believes he'll be on the World Series roster—which would mean the Yankees carry 13 pitchers and 13 position players for the Fall Classic, which Boone has confirmed is a possibility—so long as he doesn't have any setbacks on Wednesday.
"It's as good as it could be," Cortes told reporters regarding his arm. "I think when the adrenaline kicks in and given the fact that we're on the biggest stage of baseball, I think I'll be able to do it. I think given how versatile I am and different roles I've been in throughout my career, I'm going to be up for the task and ready to go."
Yankees' Aaron Judge Hypes Shohei Ohtani as MLB's 'Best Player' Ahead of World Series
Oct 22, 2024
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 19: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees talks with Lauren Jbara after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the ALCS presented by loanDepot to advance to the 2024 Major League Baseball World Series at Progressive Field on Saturday, October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is likely to take home his second American League MVP award in the last three years, but he believes the title of the best player in baseball belongs to someone else.
While speaking to reporters ahead of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Judge dubbed Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani "the best player in the game."
"He's an impressive athlete, the best player in the game"
Ohtani is also likely to earn an MVP trophy this year after completing the first 50-50 season in MLB history with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He's playing in the postseason for the first time in his career after leaving the Los Angeles Angels to join the Dodgers, and his star power is likely to grow even more during the World Series.
"He hits for average, hits for power, the speed, doing what he did this season with 50 stolen bases, that got talked about a lot but I don't think it got talked about enough," Judge said of Ohtani, going on to call him "an ambassador for this sport."
Judge also put together a stellar 2024 campaign, hitting .322 and leading the majors with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. Having the two best players in MLB face each other in the World Series is a rarity that won't be taken for granted.
"Obviously, I've gotten to see Aaron now for seven years, got to know him well. Just the reverence I have for the person. Excited that he's going to get to go be on this stage," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. "Of course, I know playing against Shohei, what an amazing talent he is, and obviously going to the Dodgers this year and having the kind of season he's put out there, I think it's great for the sport, great for baseball, and looking forward to the battle of it all."
The Yankees and Dodgers will meet for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night in Los Angeles.
Yankees' Aaron Judge Says He Loves Playing at Dodger Stadium Ahead of World Series
Oct 22, 2024
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 19: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees warms up before Game Five of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Ahead of his first World Series appearance, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is looking forward to playing in Dodger Stadium.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Judge said he's always loved playing at Dodger Stadium and he will have a lot of family in attendance since he is from California.
Aaron Judge says he loves hitting when he goes to the west coast
He and Giancarlo Stanton have already discussed how excited they are to play at Dodger Stadium pic.twitter.com/Q3TvElOucu
The Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series for the first time since 2009 with a thrilling 5-2 victory in 10 innings over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the ALCS on Saturday night.
Juan Soto played the role of hero in that game with a go-ahead three-run homer to cap off a nine-pitch at-bat against Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis.
The Yankees will be opposed by the Dodgers, who clinched their fourth World Series berth since 2017 by defeating the New York Mets in the NLCS. This is the 12th meeting all-time between these historic franchises in the Fall Classic, but the first since 1981.
Judge's excitement about facing the Dodgers isn't a surprise. It's hard to find many teams he hasn't had success against, but the six-time All-Star really enjoys playing against the Dodgers.
He owns a .389/.463/1.111 slash line with eight homers in 10 games against the Dodgers in his career. Of his six hits at Dodger Stadium, four of them have been home runs.
Of course, there are some bad memories for Judge in Los Angeles. He tore a ligament in the big toe on his right foot crashing into the fence making a catch in a game between the Yankees and Dodgers on June 3, 2023.
The injury wound up keeping Judge out for almost two months and effectively ended the Yankees' postseason hopes last year. They were 35-25 before he was injured, but went 19-26 in 45 games with him out of the lineup.
New York's 82-80 record in 2023 was the worst for the franchise since its last losing season in 1992 (76-86).
A healthy season from Judge and the addition of Soto elevated the Yankees back to the top of the mountain in the American League. They went 94-68 in the regular season and have won seven of nine games through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Yankees and Dodgers played a three-game series in the Bronx during the regular season from June 7-9. The Dodgers took two of three, but the Yankees didn't use either Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodón in the series.
Game 1 of the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers will begin on Friday at 8:08 p.m. ET.
MLB Insider: Yankees' Juan Soto Eclipsing Ohtani's Contract 'Seems Like a Pipe Dream'
Oct 22, 2024
CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 19: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a home run in the 10th inning against the Cleveland Guardians during Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The calls for Juan Soto to become the highest-paid player in MLB began even before his go-ahead homer in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the ALCS for the New York Yankees landed in the center field seats at Progressive Field, but it doesn't seem likely to happen.
Per The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli, Soto surpassing Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal in free agency "seems like a pipe dream" at this point.
Ghiroli did note it's not impossible if Soto is willing to take a lot of deferred money in a deal. That was the approach that Ohtani took in his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
(Barely 25-year-old) Juan Soto will enter free agency as a 14 year, $514M player in our system, mathematically speaking. It's the highest single-position valuation our algorithm has ever spit out, and it feels like a starting point - not an end game for negotiations.
Ohtani's deal is officially a 10-year, $700 million pact, but $680 million of that is being deferred until after the contract expires. He will be paid $68 million annually from 2034 to '43.
The net-present value of Ohtani's contract as determined by MLB is $46 million per season. It's still the richest deal in MLB history by average annual salary, surpassing the $43.3 million mark set by Max Scherzer when he signed with the New York Mets in December 2021.
Soto will almost certainly become the second-highest-paid player in MLB by total value and average annual salary to Ohtani this offseason. Mike Trout is currently the second-highest-paid player by total value with a 12-year, $426.5 million deal from the Los Angeles Angels.
Before the Washington Nationals traded Soto to the San Diego Padres in July 2022, they tried signing him to an extension worth $440 million over 15 years that he rejected.
Juan Soto declined $440M, 15-year offer from Nats and will be available now. A few reasons he declined: 1. Heavy backloading of deal is tantamount to big deferral 2. $29M AAV is seen as old figure in light of Scherzer, other deals 3. Team is likely to be sold so owner unknown.
The four-time All-Star will turn 26 on Oct. 25 and turned in a fantastic walk year in his first season with the Yankees. He set a career high with 8.1 FanGraphs wins above replacement, 41 homers and 128 runs scored during the regular season.
When you combine Soto's age with the elite level of offensive production he has every single year, it will be hard to imagine him signing for anything less than $500 million. Even that might end up being a starting point in negotiations.
Diving into the questions that will define the 2024 World Series.
Photo: Yankees Unveil World Series Patch for Jerseys, Hats Ahead of Dodgers Showdown
Oct 21, 2024
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 19: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees hoists the William Harridge Trophy after the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the ALCS presented by loanDepot between the to advance to the 2024 Major League Baseball World Series at Progressive Field on Saturday, October 19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The New York Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009, and the team is commemorating the moment with a special patch on their jerseys and hats.
Get your World Series gear at the Yankee Stadium Team Store 🙌
The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in five games to win the American League Championship Series. New York closed things out in dramatic fashion in Saturday's Game 5 when star slugger Juan Soto hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the 10th inning.
The Yankees will be facing the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a marquee matchup that pits the two teams with the best records in their respective leagues against one another. It will be a star-studded showdown that features the likely AL and NL MVPs in Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, respectively, as well as big names like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Giancarlo Stanton.
The World Series will get underway in Los Angeles on Friday, and fans will certainly be excited to see the Yankees playing for the title for the first time in 15 years.
Yankees' Gerrit Cole to Start Game 1 of 2024 World Series vs. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Oct 21, 2024
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 15: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians during Game Two of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Gerrit Cole will be the team's starter for Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The rest of the starting rotation remains fluid.
Cole was limited to 17 appearances in the regular season and went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA and a 3.69 FIP. He has pitched in three playoff games so far, allowing six earned runs and striking out 12 in 16.1 combined innings.
His best postseason outing so far came in Game 4 of the American League Division Series. He held the Kansas City Royals to one earned run over seven innings as the Yankees secured a series-clinching 3-1 win.
Cole was the obvious choice to open the Fall Classic for the Bronx Bombers. He's well rested since his last start was on Oct. 15, and one reason he earns $36 million a year is to lead the way for the rotation in a moment like this.
If only Boone had as much certainty with the rest of his starting slots.
Carlos Rodón is the only other Yankees starter to eclipse double digits in innings this postseason. The southpaw figures to take the bump to get Game 2 underway on Saturday.
Beyond that, Boone has a few options between Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt and perhaps even Nestor Cortes. The manager left the door open for Cortes to rejoin the team after an elbow flexor strain has kept him out for a little over a month.
There is a "good chance" that Nestor Cortes will be on the Yankees' World Series roster pic.twitter.com/HPRGRws0Tj
The Dodgers are playing short-handed themselves but had more than enough offense to eliminate the San Diego Padres and New York Mets in the last two rounds.
It will be on Cole to have the kind of performance in Game 1 that sets a tone for New York for the rest of the series.
Ohtani's Dodgers vs. Judge's Yankees Is Star-studded MLB World Series of a Lifetime
Zachary D. Rymer
Oct 21, 2024
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a three run home run during the second inning against the San Diego Padres in Game One of the Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Whatever else the 2024 World Series ends up being, it is already historic.
It will, after all, reunite the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees for Round 12 of the most storied Fall Classic fight in history.
The Yankees were already awaiting the Dodgers when Game 6 of the National League Championship Series got going at Dodger Stadium on Sunday evening. Even if it took seven pitchers to get it done, the Dodgers ultimately punched their own ticket to the Fall Classic with a 10-5 win over the New York Mets.
THE @DODGERS ARE MOVING ON TO THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE 22nd TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY! #CLINCHED
Dodgers vs. Yankees just feels right, if for no other reason than these were the two best teams in their respective leagues this season. The Dodgers led the National League with 98 wins. The Yankees led the American League with 94 wins. That simple, really.
With the notable exception of two-time MVP and $700 million man Shohei Ohtani, the World Series isn't unfamiliar territory for the Dodgers. This is their fourth trip to the Fall Classic just since 2017.
"It's the place that I've dreamt of playing all my life," a jubilant Ohtani said after the game.
Nonetheless, the words "comeback" and "throwback" apply to the 2024 World Series.
For 2022 AL MVP and two-time MLB home run leader Aaron Judge and the Yankees, it marks the end of a 14-year absence from the World Series. And while the Dodgers and Yankees have gone head-to-head in the World Series 11 times before, the last bout before was all the way back in 1981.
While we wait to see what kind of history will be made, what is absolutely, no-doubt-about-it for sure is that the 2024 World Series will be a hit.
This World Series Is Already a Huge Win for MLB
Baseball is dying? Psh. They always say that, and it's never true.
Still, it's not out of bounds to highlight the World Series' decline as a cultural touchstone.
It used to be that annual viewership of the World Series could only be measured by the tens of millions. The Dodgers and Yankees were there for the peak in 1978, when over 44 million people tuned in.
The World Series has been bleeding viewers ever since, first in little droplets and, more recently, in great big gushes. It hasn't been viewed by 20 million people since 2016, and the 2023 World Series was the least viewed of all time.
This is surely indicative of a general loss of interest among consumers, but more so of how the proliferation of entertainment options during the 21st century has scattered eyeballs and scrambled attention spans. Monoculture is dead. And with it, any hope Major League Baseball has of reclaiming its former market share.
Yet even if it is nothing else, what is happening now is a taste of the good ol' days.
Interest in the MLB playoffs has skyrocketed this October, with Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal reporting a 20 percent increase in viewership. The quality of the games and faster pace have helped, though it bodes especially well for the World Series that market sizes are also a factor.
New York and Los Angeles are the two biggest media markets in North America, and that alone ought to have MLB wondering if the Fall Classic could at least double the viewership (i.e., barely 9 million) of last year's series. Moreover, the presence of both Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto should ensure that millions more watch from Japan.
In theory, everyone will be tuning in to see the games. In practice, they'll be tuning in to see more specific targets.
"It all starts and ends," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said to Diamond, "with the players."
The Brightest Stars in MLB Will Be Out
Given the markets involved, perhaps it won't be surprising that the 2024 World Series will feature about $650 million worth of players.
And yet, you can be forgiven if your first thought was "That's it?"
Indeed, five MVP winners (Ohtani, Judge, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Giancarlo Stanton) and a Cy Young Award winner (Gerrit Cole) will participate in the 2024 World Series. Ohtani, Judge, Betts, and Juan Soto also boast top-selling jerseys.
Shohei Ohtani has the most popular jersey in Major League Baseball for the 2024 season
He also had the most popular jersey in 2023
1. Shohei Ohtani 2. Bryce Harper 3. Aaron Judge 4. Mookie Betts 5. Francisco Lindor 6. Ronald Acuña Jr. 7. Juan Soto 8. Jose Altuve 9. Fernando… pic.twitter.com/uJTiHnqQln
Ohtani and Judge are the titans of baseball right now, and both are at the height of their powers. Ohtani is fresh off chartering the 50-50 club, while Judge had a higher OPS this season than he did when he set an AL record with 62 home runs in 2022.
There will otherwise be the ongoing subplot of how many zeroes Soto can add to his free-agent price tag with further postseason heroics. Especially after his pennant-clinching homer in Game 5 of the ALCS, even $600 million doesn't sound outrageous as things stand now.
For his part, Stanton will look to further cement himself as an all-time playoff slugger after winning ALCS MVP honors. And for his, Betts is adding his best postseason yet to a Hall of Fame-worthy resume.
Even now, as we're all still on the outside looking in, the notion that there will be this much star power in one World Series feels special. And not just in a must-see TV kind of way. More so in a Living History kind of way. Like something amazing is the only possible outcome.
And if so, well, that would be very on-brand for a Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series.
The Dodgers and Yankees Have Hard Acts to Follow
Some prefer to argue that a rivalry isn't the real deal unless both sides are landing punches. And by this logic, the early history of the Dodgers and Yankees in the World Series provides a good example of what a rivalry isn't.
The Yankees were the victors in each of the first five Fall Classic showdowns between the two clubs. And for Dodgers fans, that was a lot of heartbreak packed into a mere 12-year span between 1941 and 1953.
The then-Brooklyn Dodgers finally broke through in 1955. The New York Times marked the mood of the moment as follows: "Not even the staunchest American League diehard could begrudge Brooklyn its finest hour."
The score in head-to-head World Series matchups since then: Dodgers 3, Yankees 3.
It is astonishing how many all-time great baseball moments were born in those six series. Jackie Robinson stealing home in 1955. Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956. Sandy Koufax striking out 15 in 1963. And, of course, Reggie Jackson going off for his trio of homers in Game 6 in 1977.
Clearly, it is not merely because of frequency that all those Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series still loom as large as they do. You can't have a storied rivalry without, well, stories.
There are any number of ways that the 2024 World Series could grow the legend. Ohtani, Judge, Soto and Betts are about equally good bets to have their own "Mr. October" moment. Then again, maybe Stanton's post-prime revenge tour will keep going. Or, perhaps it'll be Cole authoring a manifesto on why starting pitchers deserve to live.
Heck, it seems foolish to even put it past NLCS MVP Tommy Edman continuing his out-of-nowhere run as the hottest hitter on the planet.
Regardless of how it comes together, it is not a fool's errand to bank on the 2024 World Series to form lasting memories. Suffice it to say you don't need to look at the DraftKings odds (Dodgers -120, Yankees +100) to see that this series has "Classic" written all over it.
It is simply too big to disappoint. It is too big to go quietly. It is too big to fail.
It is Dodgers vs. Yankees. What more could you want?
MLB Playoff Bracket 2024: Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series Picture After Mets Lose
Oct 21, 2024
Major League Baseball couldn't have scripted a more notable 2024 World Series matchup if it tried.
Big cities? Check.
Big fanbases? Check.
Long histories of success? Check.
Star power? Check.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will face off in the Fall Classic after the former clinched their spot with a 10-5 victory over the New York Mets in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday.
Reaching this stage is nothing new for Los Angeles, which won the 2020 World Series as well as the 2017 and 2018 National League pennants. In fact, the Dodgers have reached at least the NLCS nine times since 2008.
New York isn't that far behind with seven appearances in the American League Championship Series in that span, although its last World Series title came in 2009. That isn't too long ago for many teams, but the Bronx Bombers have 27 championships in their illustrious history.
Fifteen years counts as a drought in the Big Apple.
Ending that championship-less stretch will be anything but easy, as it will mean figuring out a way to defeat a lineup that includes Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, among others.
Of course, the Yankees have their own star power.
Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo headline a lineup that overpowered the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS. Stanton and Soto combined for seven home runs on their own in the five-game series victory over Cleveland and will look to keep rolling against the Dodgers.
Fans of the modern game will surely love to see Ohtani, Judge, Betts, Soto, Stanton and the other stars all on the field together in this series.
And fans of the history of the game will surely love to see this particular matchup once again under the spotlight. After all, the Yankees and Dodgers faced each other in 11 different World Series with some coming when the latter were in Brooklyn and the most recent one happening in 1981.
New York is 8-3 in those World Series matchups and will look to continue its historical dominance over its next foe.
