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HOUSTON — The New York Yankees made several changes as they announced their 26-man roster for the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

The No. 1-seeded Astros, on the other hand, made only one addition, with both teams going with an even split between pitchers and position players with 13 apiece.

The Yankees chose to include one more pitcher for the best-of-seven ALCS, one less than they had for the division series against Cleveland in which they got past the Guardians in five games.

Trade-deadline acquisition Frankie Montas, who has been on the injured list since mid-September after receiving a cortisone shot to treat right shoulder inflammation, was included on the 13-man pitching staff. Montas did not pitch to expectations after being acquired by the Yankees before the Aug. 2 trade deadline, going 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts.

The Yankees are counting on Montas’ vast experience against the Astros, with the 29-year-old pitching the last six seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Montas is 8-5 with a 3.40 ERA in 15 career games against Houston (13 starts), including a 3-2 record and 3.86 ERA in six career games at Minute Maid Park.

The Yankees also opted to leave out long man Lucas Luetge, who did not pitch in the divisional round against Cleveland despite having been included in the active roster. The club went instead with rookie pitcher Greg Weissert, with fellow rookie reliever Ron Marinaccio not medically cleared after having to deal with a lingering shin injury.

Veteran utility man Marwin Gonzalez, who only saw limited action in the previous round, was also left off the AL Championship Series roster, as well as versatile infielder DJ LeMahieu.

LeMahieu has not been able to play in any postseason games because of a right foot injury that landed him on the injured list back in September. LeMahieu was hopeful that he would be able to be activated after doing baseball activities while rehabbing and taking batting practice the last few weeks, but the Yankees chose to go with rookie Oswald Peraza as a healthier reserve option.

The rookie Peraza, who plays most infield positions but is a natural shortstop, was a spark plug for the Yankees as they struggled down the stretch, hitting .306/.404/.429 over 18 games since making his MLB debut Sept. 2.

With Peraza on the roster, it is likely that fellow Venezuelan rookie Oswaldo Cabrera will now mostly be relegated to the outfield since the Yankees did not include an additional player to replace left fielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks’ season came to an end after suffering a left knee injury in Game 5 of the division series against the Guardians after a collision in shallow left field with Cabrera, who started Game 5 of the division series at Yankee Stadium at shortstop.

Pinch-running specialist Tim Locastro made the roster once again, and will be an option in the outfield after playing 26 games in the outfield this regular season, mostly as a defensive replacement. Cabrera has also played 37 games in the outfield, including three this postseason.

And Matt Carpenter, who made the ALCS roster after being activated for the ALDS after being out with a foot fracture since Aug. 8, will also be an option, having had 15 outfield appearances for the Yankees. Carpenter, who has been limited to a lefty bat off the bench, has said that he feels healthy and that playing the outfield could be an option for him.

The Astros mostly kept the same roster they used for the division series against Seattle, where they swept the Mariners in three games. The only change in Dusty Baker’s roster was the inclusion of one more pitcher for the longer series — Seth Martinez — leaving out outfielder Jake Myers.

The Astros will face a right-handed-heavy lineup in this series against New York, and Martinez, who made his first career postseason roster, finished the 2022 regular season with a 2.09 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings pitched, holding opponents to a .187 batting average, and right-handed hitters to a .135 BA.

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

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