The regular season ends less than a month from now, and the Yankees are still trying to figure out who they are: the 50-22 juggernaut they were on June 14 or the mediocre team that’s just 28-34 since then?
The final stretch begins Friday with a three-game homestand against the Cardinals, with Anthony Rizzo likely to return soon from the fractured forearm that coincided with the Yankees’ swoon.
He had not been expected to be back with the Yankees this weekend, but his progress from DH to first base was faster than anticipated, and Rizzo played his past two rehab games with Double-A Somerset at first.
Anthony Rizzo likely will return to the Yankees’ lineup in the coming days.
Overall, the Yankees have gotten almost nothing from the first base spot, with DJ LeMahieu and Ben Rice both struggling in Rizzo’s absence.
Only the Mariners have a worse OPS at first base than the Yankees on the season.
Still, even peak Rizzo wouldn’t necessarily fix all the Yankees’ issues.
Outside of a 21-7 May, the Yankees have been around .500 every other month, and they’ve had a hard time getting consistent production from their pitching — both in the rotation and the bullpen.
Through June 14, the Yankees had scored the most runs in the majors and had the best OPS in the AL.
Those numbers have dipped, but they’re still seventh in runs and fifth in OPS after that date.
The potential return of Clarke Schmidt would give a boost to the Yankees’ rotation.
The pitching side has seen a much more significant slide, going from the best ERA in the majors — including the rotation — to 26th-best ERA after June 14, with the rotation fourth-worst in the sport.
The potential return of Clarke Schmidt (lat strain) and Luis Gil (back strain) should help the rotation, and both are expected back early next month as they finish up rehab assignments.
Overall, though, there has been some improvement from the rotation, which had a 2.73 ERA in the team’s previous 17 games prior to Carlos Rodon’s clunker Wednesday in Washington.
The bullpen is more complicated, with more moving parts.
Scott Effross, a key pickup at the 2022 trade deadline from the Cubs, is healthy but hasn’t shown enough in the minors to warrant a move to The Bronx.
That could change in September.
And Ian Hamilton, Lou Trivino and Nick Burdi could be a part of the pen if they regain their form as they recover from injuries.
Mark Leiter Jr. has been awful in his past seven appearances, having given up seven earned runs and four homers in 5 ¹/₃ innings, and the Yankees have been piecing together the pen with Tim Mayza and Phil Bickford.
The addition of another position player and pitcher when rosters expand Sunday will also change the complexion of the roster.
And beginning Friday, the Yankees have the 10th-toughest schedule — and third-hardest in the American League — the rest of the way, according to Tankathon.com.
The team they are trying to hold off in the division, Baltimore, faces the third-softest schedule between now and the end of the regular season.
