How coronavirus hiatus and adjusted schedule could impact Yankees as playoff push commences

The Yankees were once again affected by another team contracting the coronavirus, as their weekend series against the Mets was postponed due to one player and one staffer contracting it. 

But, unlike last time when the Yankees' schedule was affected by the early-season Miami Marlins outbreak, the team was going through a little skid before the stoppage in play. And the team wasn't at all injured like they are now, with many key players on the Injured List.

The Bombers just got swept by the Tampa Bay Rays last week, ending a six-game winning streak and kicking them out of the top spot in the AL East. They now sit a game behind the Rays, but they could easily regain that position with some big wins this week. 

It will be the Atlanta Braves first on the weekly schedule with a two-game set down in Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, the Yankees and Mets will be playing five games in three days over the weekend -- two doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday with the single game on Saturday. The last makeup game will be on Sept. 3 to complete the six games for the season. 

This action-packed week that doesn't offer much of a break will be trying for the Yanks, who are still hoping to get some help off the IL. Here's how the hiatus affects the Yankees: 

Judge is back

Good news for the Yankees is someone is finally coming off the IL. Aaron Judge, who was dealing with a calf strain, said that he begged the Yankees not to put him on the list but they did so out of caution.

Now Aaron Boone is saying Judge hasn't had any limitations and he expects him to be back on the field to begin this run. That will be huge for the Yankees, who still have Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and now Gleyber Torres on the IL. Judge was also red hot at the plate, mashing nine homers and collecting 20 RBI over his first 17 games. So he'll certainly be looking to pick up where he left off.

Judge should be the only player to return to the roster this week, though. LeMahieu did resume baseball activities, but his time frame was 2-3 weeks for his sprained left thumb. He was placed on the IL on Aug. 17 so he could come off but it isn't likely as of now.

It's still a huge boost for this team that has had Boone needing to configure the lineup in various ways (Luke Voit leading off was one of them) to make up for the injuries.

Bullpen Usage

The pen was hit with a couple of injuries last week, with Zack Britton and Luis Avilan needing to go to the IL.

Britton is the big one here because Aroldis Chapman just got back and the Yankees won't want to overextend him. Britton collected eight saves before the closing duties returned to Chapman.

With five games in three days at the end of the week, Boone is going to need to be very careful with his bullpen. Strategically sending them out there is paramount to make sure the quality of pitching remains adequate and injuries don't continue to pile up.

Look for Adam Ottavino to get over his first bad outing of the season (0.2 IP, 3 ER vs. Rays last Thursday) and be a crucial part of this week.

Starters needs to step up

Pivoting off the bullpen, the Yankees' starters need to help them out a bit this week, especially when the doubleheaders start to come around.

With James Paxton hitting the IL, the Yankees are down another starter. Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka will be getting the ball on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. But then the Yankees need to get creative.

J.A. Happ, Jordan Montgomery and Cole would've been the normal Friday-through-Sunday rotation. With two extra games now, the Yankees will likely need to either call up a starter (Deivi Garcia is an option, says Boone) or go with an opener like Chad Green or someone else. That latter option, though, is tricky because we just discussed not overextending the bullpen.

For the normal rotation guys, trying to go deep and pitching effectively would bode well for Yanks' success this week.