On Wednesday night in The Bronx, the Yankees played a game that did not matter for their playoff standing.
Earlier in the afternoon and some 60 miles southwest, though, they held a live batting practice session that had more potential implications — heavy on “potential.”
The rehabbing Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham took part in live batting practice and ran the bases while top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange faced hitters as part of the Yankees’ stay-ready group. Depending on how the next few days play out, both with their health, the health of others and the Yankees’ internal conversations, there is a chance all three could find their way onto the AL wild-card series roster next week, or that none of them do.
Such is the tenuous state of the Yankees as they try to figure out their playoff roster with so many key players trying to race back from injuries — the biggest being Aaron Judge, whose moderate calf strain has the club preparing as if he will not be part of the plan for the wild-card series, despite Judge still hoping to make himself available.
Stanton has been out since late April with three different calf strains, two of which he suffered while running the bases on the verge of returning to the active roster in June and again in August. Whether he can finally get over the hump this time remains to be seen, but Aaron Boone indicated Stanton got six or seven at-bats, which included a home run.
“They’re knocking on the door,” the manager said of Stanton and Grisham.
Asked if the first round was realistic for Stanton, after not playing a game in five months, Boone said he did not know and that “anything’s possible, but we’ll see.” He also later acknowledged that if Stanton does make the roster — which would appear to be slightly more feasible if the Yankees carry 15 position players and 11 pitchers — it might just be as a right-handed bench bat, which could have value against the Red Sox’s lefty-heavy pitching staff.
“You’re looking more at a pinch-hit scenario,” Boone said. “We’ll see if that’s even a realistic option. I don’t know yet.”
Like Stanton, Grisham (hamstring strain) is not expected to be activated before the end of the regular season, but could become an option for the wild-card roster, given that the Yankees’ current fourth outfielder is utility player José Caballero.
Lagrange, meanwhile, was expected to get a shot in the Yankees’ bullpen in the second half before being diagnosed with a capsular sprain of the right shoulder in early July. After a six-week shutdown and a buildup, though, he came back to pitch an inning in a Triple-A game last week (topping out at 102.1 mph), giving him a shot to make his MLB debut in the playoffs.
“He’s in the conversation for something,” Boone said.
Asked if there was a downside to calling up Lagrange (who is not yet on the 40-man roster) for the final few games of the regular season, Boone pointed to the fact that the Yankees will have “real innings” to cover this weekend while trying to protect (or stay away from altogether) certain pitchers.
But because of Lagrange’s tantalizing potential, he remains an intriguing option for the postseason.
There is also the fact that there is plenty of uncertainty in the Yankees’ bullpen beyond David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn. Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Weathers were hoping to be on the roster for the wild-card series, but neither is a sure thing.
Schmidt, who experienced biceps cramping while warming up Sunday, played catch Wednesday and felt better, but if he is not a “real viable option by [Thursday], then we’ll probably go a different way,” Boone said.
Weathers (left forearm flexor) is expected to throw a two-up bullpen session Friday and then face hitters next week, though pitching coach Matt Blake left the door open for Friday to turn into a live session to expedite the process.
