The Yankees’ postseason is about to begin, yet they still have a few balls up in the air.
With the Bombers hosting the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Series for the second straight year, their roster could turn out a few different ways with Game 1 scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday. They know that Cam Schlittler is going to start Game 1, but some other decisions had yet to be finalized as of Sunday.
“We kind of know which way we’re going,” Aaron Boone said after the Yanks’ season finale against the Orioles was rained out. “We’re going to sleep on it tonight and make some calls [Monday].”
With the Yankees still deliberating ahead of Monday’s pre-playoff workout, let’s take a look at some of the most pressing questions facing the team.
IS AARON JUDGE GOING TO PLAY?
Aaron Judge suffered a moderate strain of the soleus muscle in his right calf on Sept. 16. The Boston Sports Medicine & Research Institute says that moderate calf strains require 3-6 weeks of rest and recovery, and Judge had yet to begin baseball activities as of Sunday morning, Boone said.
One would think a player in Judge’s situation is not an option. But the captain often gets what he wants, and Judge has repeatedly said that he’s been planning as if he’ll be ready for Game 1. Boone has said that is not something the Yankees are counting on, but he also hasn’t ruled anything out. That includes a scenario in which Judge is active for the Wild Card Series but not available until after Game 1.
Asked on Sunday if he would need to see Judge do any baseball activities before placing him on the Wild Card roster, Boone replied, “Yeah, I mean, look, it’s Sunday. We’ll obviously get to Tuesday morning where we have to enter [our roster], and we’ll just kind of see what we have. Along with the trainers and medical [staff], we’ll make a decision.”
WILL ANYONE ELSE RETURN FROM INJURY?
Judge is hardly the only rehabbing Yankee hoping to return for the Wild Card Series. Giancarlo Stanton (calf) and Trent Grisham (hamstring) have both been hitting; they faced live pitching multiple times over the final week of the regular season.
Friday’s live batting practice session came against left-hander Ryan Weathers, who is also aiming to return as a reliever from a forearm flexor strain that sidelined him on Aug. 23.
Stanton, 36, has not played in a game since April 24 due to three separate calf strains, each of which he sustained while running the bases. The slugger did manage to hit throughout the summer, including against live pitching and the Yankees’ Trajekt machine.
The Yankees will have to decide whether Stanton did enough to warrant a roster spot in the Wild Card; he would likely be restricted to pinch-hitting. Working in his favor is that the Boston pitching staff is overwhelmingly left-handed. Given the lefty-heaviness of the Yankees’ lineup, Stanton’s right-handed bat could factor in as a late-inning weapon.
Stanton has also been a prodigious postseason performer, boasting 18 home runs in 48 career playoff games.
“Look, he hasn’t played baseball all year since April, since he went out,” Boone said Sunday. “That said, along the way, he’s been hitting all year through even the different setbacks and stuff, and I feel like nobody knows themself and their body as well as Big G does.”
There is a wider range of outcomes for Grisham, who could return to center field — where, in his absence, rookie Spencer Jones has impressed — come off the bench, or miss the WIld Card roster entirely.
With all of its left-handers, Boston isn’t an ideal matchup for the lefty-swinging Grisham. Boston is likely to start two left-handers in the series, and the Yankees will surely want to deploy lefty-crushing outfielder Heliot Ramos in both games.
Still, the Yankees could use Grisham in center and Jones in right when Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray starts. Or they could save Grisham for the right scenario off the bench, even though he was having a down season on both sides of the diamond before his Grade 2 hamstring strain on Sept. 4.
The Yankees love Grisham’s plate discipline and power, so it’s not difficult to envision them using him.
Weathers, meanwhile, said he feels “super healthy” after Friday’s live session. After making 25 starts this season, he can envision himself in a one-inning relief role this postseason.
WHO IS THEIR BEST AT THIRD BASE?
The hot corner has been a disaster for the Yankees this season. Defensively, their third basemen — primarily Ryan McMahon, José Caballero and Amed Rosario — ranked 27th in errors (19), 24th in Defensive Runs Saved (-8) and 23rd in Outs Above Average (-7) entering Sunday.
Offensively, the group was 26th in wRC+ (74) and OPS (.629). The lefty-swinging McMahon and the righty-swinging Caballero and Rosario all finished the year with a sub-.700 OPS.
Complicating matters is that McMahon has regressed defensively, and the Red Sox are loaded with left-handed pitching. But the speedy Caballero has gotten some starts at third even when righties are opposing the Yankees lately, so that might be a moot point. Rosario, meanwhile, can’t be trusted in the field and hasn’t lived up to his reputation as a lefty killer this season.
“I understand he’s had a couple misplays here along the way, but I want him in the game and the ball hit to him in a big spot,” Boone said of McMahon. “Offensively, it’s been a struggle, especially in the second half and lately getting it going. But through his struggles that he’s had offensively, he’s gotten a lot of big hits for us, too, along the way.”
Another wrinkle in the third base mix is Anthony Volpe. He’s only played the position in the minors a few times, and he played his first major league game there last week. However, he’s been decent against lefties in his career, posting a .719 OPS.
WHO WILL STEP UP IN BULLPEN?
The Yankees know Schlittler, Max Fried and, if necessary, Gerrit Cole will start the three Wild Card games. Ideally, top relievers Paul Blackburn, Brent Headrick and David Bednar will finish them if they’re close.
The bigger question is who else the Yankees can trust in high-leverage situations. The solution could be three other starting pitchers.
Their best-case scenario is that Carlos Rodón (2.67 ERA in 16 starts) won’t be needed until Game 1 of the ALDS, but the Yankees plan to carry the left-hander as a reliever in the Wild Card round. Meanwhile, Will Warren looked sharp in a pair of multi-inning relief appearances this month, totaling six scoreless innings, including a 3.2-inning, seven-strikeout gem on Friday.
Warren is certain for a spot in the bullpen, and the Yankees won’t hesitate to go to him in a big spot, but he likely won’t be an option on back-to-back days.
The Yankees had not decided as of Sunday whether to include Weathers, who could benefit from building up with more live sessions before he’s activated in a later round.
Still, Boone liked what he saw from Weathers’ first live session, saying, “The stuff was really good.”
There is risk, of course, in counting on pitchers who would have to shake off rust and/or adjust to a new role in the season’s biggest games.
All of the Yankees’ other relief options come with questions. Can right-hander John Schreiber (1.64 ERA in 11 appearances with the Yankees) remain so consistent? Will lefty Tim Hill (4.60 ERA) return to his past reliable form? Will right-hander Michael Fulmer (4.50 ERA in 10 appearances with the Yankees) or lefty longman Ryan Yarbrough (3.69 ERA in 63.1 innings) land the final spot in a roster crunch?
HOW WILL ROOKIES PERFORM?
Last year, Schlittler delivered an all-time coming-of-age moment as a rookie in his postseason debut, hurling eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts against the Red Sox in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
Will another Yankees rookie leave his mark on this postseason?
There are two candidates in Jones and shortstop George Lombard Jr., both of whom finished their first MLB seasons strong.
Jones, 25, hit .287 with six home runs and an .832 OPS over his final 33 games. Lombard, 21, hit four homers with 10 RBI and a .969 OPS over his last eight games.
Both could go a long way in lengthening the Yankees’ postseason lineup; the righty-swinging Lombard, in particular, provides some needed balance.
