What the Yankees Need to Keep AL East Hopes Alive

The New York Yankees sit three games out of first place, inching back up to the top of the American League East. The Tampa Bay Rays are 4-6 in their last ten games, while the Yankees are 7-3. Both clubs have been doing this seesaw act all year, with the Rays holding on to first since June 28 and having as high as a 6.5-game lead just last week.

Give credit to the Yankees for finally putting it together just as both teams gear up to cross the finish line. The difference between them right now is that the Rays are set, while the Yankees are due back to get a trove of all-stars in Aaron Judge, Max Fried and Cody Bellinger.

Giancarlo Stanton may even return at some point, but he has been out so long, and his updates have come so sparingly, that it's hard to put him in the same category as the others.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes starting pitcher Max Fried (54) out of the game against the Atlanta Braves during a pitching change during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whether Stanton comes back within the next few weeks or not, the name of the game for the Yankees to take this division and eventually get a bye in the postseason will be run prevention.

The Los Angeles Dodgers may have landed Tarik Skubal at the deadline, but no team has the three-headed monster of aces that the Yankees have in Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried. Just behind them is Carlos Rodón, and if the Yankees are going to make any noise in the division, those guys will have to be at their best.

For the most part, the rotation has kept its end of the bargain up. Their 3.35 rotation ERA is first in all of baseball, and that's with the injuries they have sustained all year. But just as important as that will be their defense.

Optimizing defense is key to Yankees retaking AL East

Playing George Lombard Jr. has been huge in stabilizing the infield. You can see that in the eye test, and it plays out the same way in the defensive metrics.

Lombard has 7 Defensive Runs Saved and 1 Outs Above Average despite 136 innings of work in the infield. Josè Caballero stabilized the position at the beginning of the year, and that was a reason for their early success, but Lombard is even better than he is.

New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (96) warms up prior to the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bellinger's return will be key, not just for his bat, but defensively as well. This season alone, Bellinger has a 17 DRS and 6 OAA in the outfield. The combination of Bellinger, Spencer Jones and Trent Grisham could be a solid trio out there, and could be even better if they move Jones to center and Grisham to right field.

Right now, Jones has Grisham's speed and arm beat, and Grisham could be better suited to tracking down balls in right field for that reason. His legs and arm are two areas that have severely regressed in recent years, and Jones gives them a better chance of keeping base runners from tagging up late and in close games. It's the little things like that the Yankees need to focus on.

Of course, this means that the Yankees would likely have to designate Amed Rosario for assignment and keep Jones on the roster. At this point, if they want their best defense, that could be the best way to do it—even if they don't want to part with the infielder who is popular in the clubhouse.

While the offense likely will struggle until Bellinger and Judge are back, and even then, both may need to knock the rust off, the one thing the Yankees need to do to claw back into this division is just putting up zeroes and preventing runs. It's the one thing that sets them apart from everybody else in the league—the American League especially.

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