The Yankees are heading into September with the kind of optimism that only shows up when the standings look good and help is on the way. They’re sitting atop the AL wild card race, and after taking three of four from the Red Sox over the weekend, they also locked in a potential tiebreaker if it comes to that. Add in Aaron Judge traveling with the club on its West Coast trip while he continues his rehab, and it’s easy to see why Aaron Boone sounded upbeat on Sunday.
“It’s about to be September. Let’s go get it,’’ Boone said Sunday. “Let’s go play our best baseball at the right time.’’
Boone also pointed to the “reinforcements’’ expected “in this coming month,’’ with the hope that the roster gets stronger just in time for October.
Aaron Judge is the biggest piece of that puzzle. The captain is coming back from a first right rib fracture, and he has made it clear he doesn’t want to spend time on minor league rehab games just to rack up at-bats.
Instead, he’ll keep working with the Yankees this week in Anaheim and San Diego, three months after landing on the injured list. Boone said Monday in Anaheim that the next homestand is potentially in play for Judge’s return, though the exact timeline still isn’t settled.
“I’m sure he’ll be ramped up and a lot more involved in pregame stuff’’ this week, Boone said Sunday.
The next checkpoints are straightforward: Judge needs to get through work against a high-velocity machine, then face live pitching. When he does return, he expects to be back in right field, which creates a ripple effect in the outfield and leaves the Yankees weighing Heliot Ramos against Trent Grisham or Spencer Jones in center. The bat matters most, though, and the reality is simple: the Yankees need Judge, but they also need him to find his timing fast.
Clarke Schmidt is on a different track, but he’s another important name to watch. His second minor league rehab outing comes Wednesday, and even after that, the Yankees may need a few more weeks before he’s ready for a bullpen role. Schmidt is almost 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery, and he has wondered whether he might end up in something like a Michael King-style hybrid relief role, working multiple innings and pitching in high-leverage spots.
For now, the Yankees haven’t told him anything specific. The focus is on building him back to a 30-pitch outing, and he won’t be used on back-to-back days. Schmidt, who has spent most of his career as a starter, believes his stuff should tick up in relief.
“You pitch a little bit different in that role…especially if you’re going 1-2 innings,’’ said Schmidt. “You step on the gas a little bit more.’’
George Lombard Jr. is dealing with a more immediate short-term issue, though it doesn’t sound like a major one. He had soreness and inflammation in his right knee after an awkward at-bat Saturday night, described as “but not terrible,’’ and he was out of the lineup Sunday and Monday. The Yankees appear to have avoided an injured list stint, which matters because the 21-year-old rookie shortstop is about to step into his first September pennant race with only 23 MLB games under his belt.
The last 10 games have been rough: Lombard is hitting .171 (6-for-35) with a .445 OPS, and during that stretch he made errors in six straight games. That said, the Yankees know he has a history of taking some time to settle in at each new level before he gets comfortable, so this month is all about learning and tightening things up.
Ryan Weathers is another possible late-September boost. He has been on the IL since Aug. 23 with a left flexor strain, but he could start throwing off flat ground as early as this weekend. If that goes well, he may still have enough time to build back up and join the Yankees as a reliever before the month ends.
Before the injury, Weathers was in the best run of his first Yankees season, putting up a 1.29 ERA over his last six starts. He also has relief experience with the Miami Marlins, which makes him a possible multi-inning left-handed option alongside Brent Headrick and Tim Hill.
Luis Garcia Jr. has already given the lineup a lift. Since arriving from Washington in the Aug.
3 MLB deadline trade, the left-handed hitter has kept rolling through the best offensive season of his career, batting .306 with five homers and an .884 OPS in his first 23 Yankees games. He has settled in as the regular first baseman with Ben Rice at DH, but he won’t start against most lefties.
That could matter if the Yankees draw the Red Sox again in a first-round playoff matchup, since Boston is expected to throw plenty of left-handed pitching at them.
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