With the exception of Aaron Judge’s quest for a 62nd home run, coming into this weekend, there’s not really anything for the Yankees to play for other than just getting all their ducks in a row going into the playoffs. The AL East has been locked up, and so has a first-round bye in the new playoff format. Theoretically, they could still catch Houston for the No. 1 overall seed in the American League, but those odds are so minuscule that it’s not really worth thinking about.
Other than Judge, the last two series of the season are all about the Yankees figuring out who’s healthy or not, and who should round out the playoff roster.