With six games left in the regular season, the Yankees’ playoff picture is still unclear.
Sunday’s win over the Orioles, which featured a grand slam from Ben Rice in the 10th inning, completed a 7-3, three-city road trip. However, it did not help the Yankees gain ground in the American League East standings, as the struggling Blue Jays took care of business against Kansas City and clinched a postseason berth.
The Yankees, off on Monday and in possession of the AL’s top Wild Card spot, are two games back of Toronto in the AL East. Keep in mind that the Jays hold the tiebreaker thanks to their 8-5 record in head-to-head play.
“We’ve got a chance to still take the division here, and we have some important games coming up,” Rice said. “Every game’s going to be more important than the last one, so we just gotta stay on top of it, keep the foot on the gas.”
By important games, Rice meant the Yankees’ last two series of the regular season, which will take place in the Bronx against the last-place White Sox and Orioles.
With the Yankees looking to reclaim the division lead, or at least maintain home field advantage in the Wild Card round, let’s take a look at some of the biggest questions facing the team ahead of the playoffs.
What will the playoff rotation look like?
With Max Fried and Carlos Rodón wrapping up stellar seasons, the Yankees have two locks for their postseason rotation. It’s the No. 3 spot that’ll stir debate, especially if the Yankees end up in the Wild Card round. Their options are between rookies Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and the erratic Luis Gil.
Schlittler, just 13 starts into his big league career, looked sharp in Sunday’s series finale against the Orioles, totaling one earned run, three hits, one walk and six strikeouts over 5.1 innings. He also held the reeling-but-playoff-bound Tigers to one earned run over six innings on Sept. 11, though he struggled against the first-place Blue Jays on Sept. 5, giving up four earned runs over 1.2 innings, and was a bit wild against the Twins on Sept. 16.
On Sunday, Schlittler said that the Yankees have not spoken to him, Warren or Gil about their postseason plans.
“Whether I get it or not, I trust whatever decision they make,” Schlittler said. “The other guys fighting for the spots, I’m just as comfortable with.”
Warren also had a strong start in Baltimore, allowing one earned run (3 total) over 5.1 innings in Friday’s loss, which featured an error from the pitcher. However, he has had a tough time against the Red Sox, a potential Wild Card opponent, posting a 9.42 ERA over 14.1 innings this season.
Gil, meanwhile, has held Boston to one earned run over 11 innings and has a 3.33 ERA this season, but he’s lacked command in his nine starts following a lat injury in spring training. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year has walked 29 batters in 46 innings, and his 17.9 K% represents a significant dip from last season.
Gil, whose velocity has been a bit down, did make starts in the ALCS and World Series last year, so he does have postseason experience, unlike Schlittler and Warren.
While the Yankees still have some time to decide on their third playoff starter, don’t be surprised if they roster all five members of their rotation. Two of Gil, Warren and Schlittler could become options out of a bullpen that hasn’t inspired much trust this season.
“That’s certainly in the conversation. I don’t know where we’ll end up,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “There’s an unknown there, but I think all three of them would have strengths that you could lean on in the bullpen in a short burst and expect velo to play up.”
Who can they trust in the bullpen?
The Yankees received scoreless outings from six relievers in Sunday’s win, though there were some escaped jams.
There have been plenty of meltdowns for the group this year, as the Yankees entered Sunday’s game with a 4.53 bullpen ERA. That ranked 23rd in baseball.
Their 5.37 ERA since Aug. 1 ranked 28th despite a trade deadline makeover.
One sore spot in the Yankees’ bullpen has been Luke Weaver. Prior to walking one batter and recording one out on Sunday, he had surrendered 10 earned runs over his last 5.2 innings.
“He’s very close to that right now,” Aaron Boone said, referring to Weaver’s dominant form last season. “He’s had a couple hiccups in some games where we’ve been down, but I feel like the stuff is there.”
Camilo Doval has also been a problem for the Yankees, as the trade pickup has had a tough time throwing strikes and preventing runs. Given a 7-1 lead in the 10th inning on Sunday, the former Giants closer, an All-Star in 2023, issued a pair of two-out walks to load the bases before ending the game.
Prior to the Baltimore series, Blake said that Doval’s “role is going to grow with us” and that the Yankees believe “he should be an All-Star caliber pitcher in the back end of a game.” The coach added that the flame-throwing righty has “the capacity” to pitch in high-leverage situations this October, but it’s hard to see the Yankees turning to him in such scenarios at the moment.
While there are other blemishes in the bullpen, Devin Williams, a culprit throughout much of the season, has looked like his best self lately. He struck out the side in the eighth on Sunday, extending his scoreless outings streak to six games.
Williams, stripped of the closer’s role twice this season, has allowed runs in only two of his last 16 appearances.
“You take away a handful of notable blow-ups, he’s had a pretty strong underlying season,” Blake said. “I know people don’t want to hear that, but he actually has, especially lately, thrown the ball really well.”
How will they handle shortstop?
Anthony Volpe’s recent cortisone shot for a partially torn labrum, as well as his poor all-around play, recently opened the door for José Caballero to get some starts at shortstop. However, Volpe started the first three games of the Baltimore series at short. Caballero started there in the finale.
Volpe has hit well since returning to the lineup on Sept. 16, going 5-for-14 (.357) with two doubles and two stolen bases in four starts. He came off the bench and went 1-for-2 with a strikeout and an RBI single on Sunday.
“Hopefully, he’s finding his rhythm,” Boone said.
Volpe, who has been playing through his shoulder injury for most of the season, has been prone to extreme peaks and valleys at the plate throughout his three-year career, and his defense has regressed this season. With that in mind, fans have demanded that the pesky Caballero, MLB’s stolen base leader, get more starts at short the rest of the way.
But Boone has described the uber-versatile speedster as a “10th man” and he’s repeated that there is value in using Caballero as a sub.
On Sunday, Boone added that Caballero has been dealing with a nagging finger issue for the last few months, though it’s not something that has prevented him from playing regularly.
Will Aaron Judge throw at full force?
Aaron Judge made three consecutive starts in right field to open the Baltimore series before DH’ing in the final game. While throwing harder than he initially did when he first returned to right field after a right flexor strain, he is still letting up a bit when he fires.
There have been a few throws that Judge has not attempted since getting back on defense, and he’s lacked velo on a couple of other close plays that didn’t go the Yankees’ way. So, will he be able to throw at full strength in postseason games?
“We’ll see,” Boone said. “I think it continues to improve. We’ll see.”
Brian Cashman recently offered a similar response when asked about Judge throwing with all his might this October, but Boone told WFAN on Aug. 19 that he didn’t think the MVP candidate would throw “normally” for the rest of the season. Boone walked that back when he spoke to reporters later that day, calling his radio comment overstated.
Judge took issue with Boone’s WFAN comment minutes later, adding that he was confident that he would get back to 100% this season. He’s since said that he wouldn’t be playing the outfield if he couldn’t make the throws, though it’s clear he hasn’t been letting it rip much.