The Yankees have sewn up the AL East and at least the second seed in the American League playoffs.
The only thing left for them to do is to try to catch the Astros and hold off the Dodgers for home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
That — and get as healthy as possible.
Aaron Boone talked again Sunday about “striking that balance’’ between resting key players while also giving themselves the best chance to win games.
“First and foremost, we’ve got to take care of our guys,’’ the manager said. “We’re gonna pour everything into trying to win games, too. … We’ll rest guys here and there, but still kind of go for it.”
The balance includes not starting Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton or Luis Severino until their final series beginning Friday in Texas.
They could go with openers for both games in Tampa Bay, which is fighting for a wild-card spot, while also trying out CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ in unfamiliar roles out of the bullpen.
Houston, up by half a game and holding the tiebreaker over the Yankees, closes with a pair of games in Seattle and four in Anaheim.
While the Yankees figure to take it easy on Gleyber Torres, who hasn’t played since leaving Friday’s game following a scary-looking slip and undergoing an MRI exam on his right hamstring Saturday, they’ll also hope to continue to get encouraging news on the progress of Edwin Encarnacion (oblique) and Gary Sanchez (groin).
Beyond that, Boone stressed that the final week of the regular season will carry weight for other reasons, as well.
As the Yankees look to finalize their postseason roster, they could bring anywhere from 11-13 pitchers, according to Boone. Other decisions also need to be made.
“There’s no question, for a number of guys, these are important games,’’ Boone said. “These games matter. There are definitely some spots on the team that will be tough calls, close calls.”
Some of those fringe players understand the situation.
It’s part of the reason Tyler Wade, who has received extra playing time recently, took off on a delayed steal in Saturday’s win.
“You want to take advantage of the opportunity,’’ Wade said. “My thought is not trying to make the postseason roster, but to show them that when I went down to Triple-A, I put a lot of hard work in and hopefully showed them a lot. I know they’re looking at me as a guy that can run the bases, play defense wherever they need me or steal a bag.’’
Boone also noted the composition of the roster could change depending on whom they play and how far they advance.
“It may not be just be 25 guys,” Boone said of how many players the Yankees lean on in the playoffs. “It might be 27, 28, 29. Who knows? It’s important they perform, stay sharp and continue to build confidence here down the stretch.”
Boone should know.
The manager pointed to the regular season as reason to expect to need more than the standard number of players.
“The bottom line is, as it’s proven out this year for us more than we could have ever imagined, it’s gonna take our entire roster if we’re gonna do something special in the postseason,’’ Boone said, referring not only to the roster crunch, but how lineups might be constructed if Luke Voit and Encarnacion are both healthy.
“That’s my anticipation and these things also have a way of working themselves out,’’ Boone said. “Hopefully we have difficult decisions on a nightly basis.’’