5 questions for the Yankees with 38 games left until the MLB playoffs

Monday marked two weeks since this year’s trade deadline, one in which the Yankees were among the most talked about teams when it came to speculation on what they might do.

The deadline ultimately came and went with the Yankees, for a variety of reasons, not doing nearly as much as had been expected as general manager Brian Cashman acquired just two pieces — first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and reserve Heliot Ramos.

In the two weeks since, the Yankees, who around the deadline also brought up rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. and gave rookie outfielder Spencer Jones every day playing time, haven’t looked all that much different from their pre-deadline selves.

After avoiding a three-game sweep in Toronto over the weekend, the Yankees stood at 69-55, including 6-6 since the Aug. 3 deadline, 5 ½ games behind the Rays in the AL East.

As they start a three-game series Tuesday in Baltimore, five questions facing the Yankees with roughly six weeks left in the regular season:

Will Aaron Judge play again this season?

Pretty much a daily question since Judge went to the IL on June 5 with a fractured rib, right? Manager Aaron Boone disclosed in Toronto that the outfielder began throwing on Friday, the first upper body work of any kind done by Judge during this extensive, and slow, rehab process. Boone, speaking to an Apple TV reporter before Friday night’s game, floated a “one month” timeline for a potential Judge return. Though, asked about that a day later, Boone acted like the proverbial kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Uh, it might have been. It could be. I don’t know,” Boone said, asked if he indeed had given that specific timeline to the reporter. “You know, if things progress well, that could be in play, yes.”

Make of it what you will.

Will this offense ever reach its potential?

The answer to that, of course, relies heavily on how the first question plays out.

The offense, averaging 5.2 runs per game when Judge got hurt, has averaged 3.8 without him, going 33-32 in that stretch. But it also will be impacted by when Cody Bellinger (hamstring) and Giancarlo Stanton (calf) return. Bellinger is the closest of the two, slated to start what is expected to be a brief rehab assignment Thursday or Friday, with his activation to the roster expected within days after that. Stanton, whose progress the Yankees have shrouded in mystery almost as much as Judge’s, has been running near full speed for a week, one of the last boxes the veteran DH needs to check. The Yankees continue to be cagey on a return date for Stanton but, barring setbacks, Sept. 1 seems to be a possibility.

Could not adding a reliever — or two — come back to bite them?

There have been questions about this bullpen pretty much since the Yankees left spring training, many of those concerns expressed, it should be pointed out, by plenty of people inside the organization. But for all the noise surrounding it, the bullpen has mostly excelled. David Bednar, after a rough start, has been terrific and Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn have been revelations. But the latter two pitchers’ workloads bear watching — a team-high 63 for Headrick and 46 for Blackburn — down the stretch, as well as the 57 appearances by veteran Fernando Cruz.

Who goes to the bullpen when Carlos Rodon returns?

Rodon will start against the Orioles on Tuesday and it will be either Will Warren or Ryan Weathers bullpen-bound. Weathers has far more bullpen experience in his career than Warren, but the former has outperformed the latter this season, especially of late, going 3-2 with a 2.56 ERA in his last 11 games.

That includes 2-0 with a 0.85 ERA in Weathers’ last five starts. By merit the hard-throwing Weathers should stay in the rotation. But the lefthander, who has dealt with his share of injuries, is at a career-high 134 innings, long ago surpassing his career high of 94 2⁄3 established in 2021.

Will the Yankees be preparing for the ALDS or best-of-three wild card?

The 5 ½-game deficit is hardly insurmountable and, for all their offensive issues, the Yankees’ rotation — fronted by Cam Schlittler, Max Fried (placed on IL on Monday) and Gerrit Cole as their Nos 1-3 — is second-to-none in the league. And it could get a tad better with the addition of Rodon.

If, and it’s a big if, Bellinger, Stanton and Judge are back in full by mid-September, anything’s possible, particularly with a four-game series with the Rays at the Stadium Sept. 22-24 (Sept. 22 is a doubleheader). Still, the Rays, even after having just been swept by the Orioles, appear to be the more complete team and the safe way to bet is another Yankees postseason that starts in the wild-card round.

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.