SAN DIEGO - The Yankees are running out of runway in the AL East race, and now every day carries a little more weight. New York trails the Tampa Bay Rays by four games with 19 left, and with a four-game series still on deck between the two clubs, the margin for error has nearly disappeared after Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Padres.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Gerrit Cole said after giving up four home runs. “We’re within striking distance of our goals.”
That urgency is showing up everywhere, from the scoreboard watching to the way the Yankees are mapping out the return of Aaron Judge. Judge’s next step comes Monday at an empty Yankee Stadium, where he is expected to face live pitching against pitchers to be determined. If that goes smoothly, Tuesday against the Rockies is in play for his return to the majors.
Aaron Boone wouldn’t shut the door on it.
“I don’t know,” Boone said with a smile. “We’ll see.”
The Yankees, as usual when it comes to Judge and injuries, are keeping the public in the dark on exact timing. But Boone dropped a useful hint Saturday: because Judge wants to skip a traditional rehab assignment, the club has to rebuild his workload in the majors. That could mean starting him for “five, six, or seven” innings and then pulling him, or even giving him a full game before sitting him the next day.
The cautious approach makes sense given the severity of his rib injury, and it sounds unlikely that Judge will be asked to play every inning right away. With the Rockies coming to the Bronx, New York could effectively use that series as a built-in ramp-up for its star. Barring any setback Monday, Judge appears headed back into the lineup during the homestand.
The Yankees also have a center-field opening to sort through after Trent Grisham was diagnosed with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, the same injury that cost him three weeks earlier this season. Boone said “he could” miss the rest of the regular season, though the team still hasn’t set a timeline. Grisham was doing light exercise and testing the hamstring before Saturday’s game, but there may simply not be enough time for him to make it back before October.
That gives Spencer Jones a real shot to grab hold of the job. Jones opened Sunday’s scoring with an RBI double off Padres setup man Adrian Morejon, one of the toughest left-handed relievers in the game. He entered the day with a 220 wRC+ against lefties, a number that comes with some shine from a .560 batting average on balls in play, but the contact quality has been loud and the strikeout rate has been workable.
Earlier in the season, the Yankees saw Jones mostly as a platoon option against right-handers. That has changed with Grisham out. Now he should be in the lineup close to every day, regardless of who starts on the mound.
That matters because if the standings hold, the Yankees would likely face the Red Sox in a Wild Card Series, and Boston has plenty of left-handed looks to throw around in a short series. The list includes starters Payton Tolle, Ranger Suárez and Jake Bennett, plus relievers Aroldis Chapman and Erik Miller. Garrett Crochet could also return from injury and work out of the bullpen.
Jones’ ability to handle that kind of matchup would be a big deal.
There’s another roster question bubbling in the background, too, and it involves Anthony Volpe. Jasson Domínguez arrived in San Diego on Saturday morning and was asked about Volpe’s recent surge in Triple A. His answer was memorable.
“He became Barry Bonds all of a sudden,” Domínguez said of Volpe. “He’s working his ass off to get better, and you can see it every day. I’m telling you.”
Volpe has 11 home runs for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has begun adding third base to his list of positions. Since being optioned in early August, he has started three games there, in addition to shortstop and second base.
That flexibility could matter if the Yankees want another utility option for October. José Caballero already fills that kind of role, but his offense has fallen off badly since the All-Star break, when he has posted a 61 wRC+. He has also struggled against left-handed pitching, with a 78 wRC+ against southpaws this season.
Fans might not love the idea of Volpe coming back at some point this year, but the Yankees haven’t ruled it out. If Caballero keeps scuffling, Volpe has at least forced his way into the conversation as a possible postseason piece.
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Yankees Still Face One Aaron Judge Concern Boone Couldnt Dodge
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New York opened a roster spot by optioning pitcher Elmer Rodrguez to Triple-A, which only sharpened the focus on Judges status. The next checkpoint is expected to be live pitching, a meaningful step for a lineup that has felt his absence for weeks, but the Yankees still have not put a return date on him. [Read more 🡒]
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The harder part is not the bat, but the path back onto the active roster. The Yankees do not have room for him right now, so any return will hinge on the kind of roster moves and injuries that can change a clubs depth chart in a hurry, which is why Stantons status keeps circling back into bigger questions about his future in New York. [Read more 🡒]