The New York Yankees are 3.5 games out of the AL East lead entering the action on Aug. 26 as the final month of the season approaches.
New York has won six of their last eight games, but did drop the opening game in their three-game series against the Houston Astros. Moreover, the team is trying to stay afloat without Aaron Judge and Max Fried.
Judge is progressing through batting practice and running as he recovers from a stress fracture in his right first rib. Meanwhile, Fried is recovering from a left elbow bone bruise.
For MLB insider Jon Heyman, if New York can get both these players back for a postseason run, they are the team to beat in the American League.
“We’re assuming at this point Stanton probably will not come back, but Judge and Fried are important parts of this team, and that’s an understatement,” Heyman said in an Aug. 25 video from the New York Post Sports.
“If they get them back, they’re the best team in the American League. They should win this league. This team, this league is not very good, but that team looks good.”
Moreover, Heyman likes what he sees from the Yankees team even without Judge and Fried.
“Right now, you’ve got a shortstop that looks ready. I know he’s made a couple of errors over the last week, but George Lombard Jr. looks very, very good. They’re hitting a little bit better lately, and their pitching is outstanding. That bullpen has been terrific.”
Yankees Are Cream of Crop in American League
As for other potential threats to the Yankees in the postseason, Heyman isn’t sold on other teams in the AL. He notes that four teams from the AL East could be postseason-bound, but even then New York should be able to get past their rivals.
“We might have four teams coming out of that division to make the playoffs, which we’ve never seen before,” Heyman added. “Toronto actually has a relatively easy schedule. The only winning team they have left, or at least a non-losing team they have left, is Texas. I believe they’re .500, so they may get in the playoffs, and we easily may have four teams in the American League East.
“It’s unbalanced. The league is unbalanced. The division is unbalanced. And right now, I think the Yankees are the favorite to come out. I’m not saying anything people don’t know. They should be the favorite to come out of the American League.”
New York Get Brutal Take on World Series Hopes
While Heyman sees the Yankees as the favorite in the AL, especially if Judge and Fried are back, Chris Gimenez of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM doesn’t see it that way.
Gimenez believes that the Yankees have one major weakness on their squad that will prevent them from lifting the World Series title in the fall.
“This is why the Yankees are not going to win a World Series this year,” Gimenez said in an Aug. 15 video from MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. “And this is why the Yankees didn’t win a World Series two years ago.
“It’s not because of a lack of talent. They can’t pitch. No, no, they can’t hit. Their offense, still being what it is without two or three of their best offensive players currently, can still get the job done with that pitching staff. It’s because of the defensive lapses that they’ve had.”
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