1 problem Yankees must address before MLB playoffs

The New York Yankees have been battling to stay within reach of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East all season. It has largely been an uphill battle because they have had to struggle to find something of a reliable offense this season because of injuries to superstar Aaron Judge and slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

While those two have been out for well over half the season, they have also missed the bat of Cody Bellinger in recent weeks. That means they have had to struggle to put runs on the board.

Now that the season has reached the home stretch, the Yankees are still waiting for Judge to come back from his rib stress fracture, and he could be back at some point in September. Stanton has had a calf muscle injury and his rehab took a turn for the worse with another aggravation of the injury that may cause him to miss the rest of the season.

Bellinger will be ready to play — perhaps as soon as Sunday — as he has recovered from the Grade 2 hamstring surgery that he sustained July 25.

Yankees pitching staff has had issues 

These offensive injuries would be bad enough for most teams. However, the Yankees starting pitching staff that has sustained the team for the majority of the season is now under pressure.

The return of Gerrit Cole from Tommy John surgery was supposed to be the move that solidified the Yankee rotation. Since returning from in late May, he has made 16 starts and he has a 7-6 record with a 3.11 earned run average. He has been fairly solid, but he has not been dominating. If they are going to pass the Rays and take the No. 1 spot in the American League playoff structure, they need their ace pitcher to show that he can still shut down opponents for seven innings and overpower the hitters.

He may get to that point, but he is not there year.

In the meantime, the Yankees can’t pair left-hander Max Fried with Cole. He went on the injured list with a bone bruise and inflammation of his left elbow in the middle of August. While the stay on the 15-day IL is not expected to last a long time, will Fried be sharp when returns to the rotation?

There are reasons to think that he will have to be cautious when he returns. This is his second stint on the IL as he was sidelined from May 14 to July 22 with another left elbow bone bruise that resulted from a hyperextension.

Going into the final weeks of the season after suffering two IL stints is not an optimistic sign for Fried.

Can Schlittler finish the job?

Cam Schlittler has been the team’s best pitcher all season. He has an 11-6 record along with 193 strikeouts in 158.0 innings and a 2.16 ERA. Schlittler is clearly one of the top contenders for the American League Cy Young Award. However, the Yankees lost four straight Schlittler starts before they beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Schlittler has featured an overpowering fastball as his trademark, but he struck out just 4 batters in 6.0 innings in the win over the Blue Jays. He had double-digit strikeouts in just 1 of his last 5 starts.

The 25-year-old Schlittler has more than doubled the 73.0 innings he pitched last year. There could be an issue with his stamina as the season has reached this crucial stage.

If that wasn’t enough, starter Ryan Weathers came out of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays with a left forearm strain after throwing a 78-MPH sweeper. If Weathers has to miss time, look for the Yankees to call up Elmer Rodriguez to take his spot.

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