Three takeaways from the Yankees' series against the A's

1. The Yankees took care of business on their West Coast trip.

Aaron Boone has talked about his team’s intense “focus” from Day 1 of spring training, much of that born from the disappointment and embarrassment of missing the postseason last year with an 82-80 record. Yes, the season has been a roller-coaster, but the Yankees are poised to clinch the AL East title, perhaps as soon as Tuesday night, much of that because of their just-concluded 5-1 West Coast trip against Seattle and Oakland. Because of the long flights and time change, teams — despite liking some of the cities — generally don’t look forward to West Coast trips. And they really don’t look forward to them this late in the season. But the Yankees took two of three from a Mariners team that features some of the best pitching in the American League, then dispatched of an A’s team that had been playing reasonably well. “Everyone in that room knows what’s at stake,” Boone said.   

2. Anthony Volpe provided some hope that he can be a consistent presence at the bottom of the lineup in the postseason.

The second-year shortstop hasn’t made what would be considered a huge leap this season at the plate but nonetheless has shown marked improvement after recording a .209 batting average and .283 on-base percentage in his rookie season. Volpe, hitting .248 with a .296 OBP this season after Sunday, did hit 21 homers last season, compared to 12 this year, but he still has been better overall in 2024. He came into the Oakland series in a horrible September slump, 9-for-56 (.161), before getting three hits Friday night, homering Saturday night and going 1-for-4 on Sunday. The significance of Volpe being a bottom-of-the-order threat in October can’t be overstated.

3. The Yankees will have an interesting decision to make when it comes to their outfield in the postseason.

Aaron Judge will be in center and Juan Soto will be in right. But in left, do the Yankees go with Alex Verdugo, who has struggled much of the season at the plate but is a solid defender? Or will it be top prospect Jasson Dominguez, who homered twice during this just-completed road trip and is the more dynamic player overall but is shakier in the field? Or does the club make no one happy by platooning the pair, depending on the opposing starter? “We’ll see,” Boone said over the weekend of what, as pretty much all baseball decisions are, will be a collaborative call with the front office. “It’s still declaring itself. Trying to keep everyone in the mix that are kind of fighting for different spots and different playing time so again, feel like we have a lot of really good options.”