5 Yankees who are still fighting for their playoff role

The Yankees are almost certainly headed to the playoffs, but these five players still need to carve out their postseason role.

In a perfect world, Aaron Boone’s only concern at the moment would be setting up his lineup and rotation for the postseason. Unfortunately, the Yankees still  have a lot of uncertainty heading into October. There are quite a few players on the roster who are still fighting to carve out meaningful playing time next month.

Of course, there won’t be room for everyone who’s made a contribution in the regular season. The stakes are raised in October and the number of players Boone will trust is going to shrink at the same time. That might lead to some hurt feelings inside the organization, but playoff baseball isn’t for the faint of heart.

The following five guys need to play well down the stretch if they want to make the cut. We start by examining what the Yankees top prospect needs to do if he wants to make an impression in October.

5. Justus Sheffield

The talented southpaw has a meaningful role in the team’s future rotation. He won’t be starting any games in the playoffs though. His only chance to help the Yankees next month is to be a high impact reliever.

It’s likely a year too early for him to really earn his manager’s trust, but stranger things have happened. If Sheffield is going to make the postseason roster, he’ll need to be dominant from now until October. He’s got the stuff to pull it off, but his inexperience makes it a real long shot.

His one inning of work against the Red Sox in his debut is probably more representative of what he can give the Yankees right now. Sheffield is going to have highs, but he’s always capable of lows. He’s a longshot to make the postseason roster, but he’ll be trying to pitch perfect baseball over the next several weeks to crash the Yankees’ postseason plans.