“They’re a scary team” - Aaron Boone discusses Royals bullpen and challenges ahead as Yankees prepare for ALDS

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes that every team could be a challenge for them as the club prepares to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS. Boone also highlighted the Royals' success and how they could prove to be dangerous. Both clubs will battle it out in Game 1 of the best-of-five series at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

The Yankees and Royals have met seven times this season, with the Yanks leading the head-to-head 5-2. However, it won't matter much with the Royals coming in hot into the postseason. The Royals swept the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card round, led by their MVP Bobby Witty Jr.

Speaking to the New York Post, Boone talked about the Royals' phenomenal series win:

"Their bullpen, I feel like is really ticked up here over the last month. So I think they're a formidable team. They're a scary team," Boone said. "You know, they, they're coming off a big road series victory against a good opponent.

"And we'll probably walk into here with a lot of confidence. You know, and that said though, we're excited for the challenge of it and can't wait to get going Saturday night," he added.

Aaron Boone believes that the return of Vinnie Pasquantino in the middle of the roster and Lucas Erceg as the relief pitcher will pose a challenge for his Yankees team.

Anthony Rizzo won't make it for start of ALDS against Kansas City

The Yankees are still a couple of days away from Game 1, however, star first baseman Anthony Rizzo won't be included in the lineup. General Manager Brian Cashman shed some light on the matter, talking about how the two-fractured fingers on his right hand might cost him a large chunk of postseason games (via SI.com):

"He's gonna be trying to beat the turnaround time, typically, for that," Cashman said. "But as I said, you treat the patient, not necessarily the MRI or the X-ray. And he is presenting well without doing activities thus far.

"So it's giving us maybe a glimmer of – I wouldn't say hope, but glimmer of 'Hm, we'll see. Let's talk further about this down the line as we get closer to having to make the final decision'," he added.

Meanwhile, Cashman has appointed for Oswaldo Cabrera and Ben Rice to fill the void at the first base for the team. The Yankees might also see the return of the veteran DJ LeMahieu who's been sidelined since Sept. 3 due to a hip injury.