The rotation houses neophytes Shane Greene and Chase Whitley trending in different directions. There is a good chance CC Sabathia has pitched his last game this season and the Yankees are again waiting for Michael Pineda.
The strongest component across the first 94 games — the bullpen — could be feeling the effects of being used often.
A lineup that is led by Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner desperately needs Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to start producing.
While general manager Brian Cashman hasn’t been shy about making a deal to help a team with too many question marks to be seriously considered as the AL East champions, nothing has developed.
Against that backdrop here are five issues to watch beginning Friday night when the Yankees open a three-game series against the Reds at Yankee Stadium:
1. How will Masahiro Tanaka’s rehab go?
Three of the best doctors suggested the Yankees’ ace try a rehab program to repair a tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament because it is less than 10 percent of the ligament.
The best scenario is Tanaka returning in late August or early September. The worst is Tommy John surgery which would likely cost the $175 million investment all of next season.
If the Yankees had their Opening Day rotation intact all year, it’s better than even money they would be closer to the top of the AL East than the five games they are out. And it’s possible if they all had been pitching, the Yankees could be on top of the race despite a lineup that has a lot of big holes.
Of course, Tanaka was a big part of that rotation that has only Hiroki Kuroda healthy.
If Tanaka, makes it back without surgery, what type of pitcher will he be? Will he be hesitant to throw his signature split-fingered fastball, a pitch that taxes the elbow? Will he be able to get the fastball to the mid-90s when needed? How about his control?
Cashman says late August is the return date for Pineda, but counting on Pineda isn’t a wise idea.
2. Can the bullpen keep covering for a rotation that doesn’t go deep in games?
David Robertson has made replacing Mariano Rivera a non-issue. Converting 23-of-25 save chances has muted the thoughts Robertson couldn’t handle the pressure of following baseball’s all-time saves leader.
Though Robertson hasn’t been overworked, there are concerns in that area attached to Adam Warren and Dellin Betances, former starters who are pitching very effectively in new roles.
Nevertheless, manager Joe Girardi used Betances 40 times for 55 1/3 innings and Warren in 42 games for 48 1/3 innings.
Bullpen-killer Vidal Nuno is gone. Brandon McCarthy is in his place and Girardi said one of the reasons the Yankees liked the right-hander was an ability to provide distance. Whitley, another starter who didn’t work deep, is back in the rotation for now.
3. Where are the runs going to come from?
Who scares opposing pitchers in the current lineup?
McCann and Beltran were signed to lucrative deals to take aim on the short right-field seats and be run producers in the middle of the lineup.
The Yankees believed McCann’s left-handed swing was tailored to the Stadium, and some predicted a 30-homer season for a player who has never hit more than 24. He has 10 homers and 39 RBIs and is not living up to the five-year, $85 million deal.
Beltran’s first three-plus months in pinstripes have been a nightmare on several fronts. He has been on the DL twice. He hasn’t been able to play right field since mid-May because of a bone spur in his right elbow, and the Yankees are hopeful he returns from the seven-day concussion DL Friday night.
Nevertheless, the switch-hitting DH is batting an anemic .216 with nine homers, 28 RBIs and .672 OPS. Girardi has no choice, he has to write Beltran into the lineup if he is able to play but nobody has hurt the Yankees more than Beltran this year.
4. Will anyone notice when the Yankees don’t make the playoffs?
In 2008, the Yankees didn’t make the postseason for the first time since 1994 when a work stoppage erased the playoffs.
Yet the focus on the final two months of the season was it being the last year of Yankee Stadium. Fans ignored the failure on the field for trips down memory lane, which ended on the final night with Derek Jeter thanking the fans at home plate and asking them to bring the same support across the street to the new building.
Last season the Yankees were shut out of October again. And like 2008 they had shade. This time it was Mariano Rivera’s final season.
That’s all people talked about down the stretch while it was apparent the Yankees weren’t going to make it into the postseason.
Now, with the possibility of a second consecutive dark October, the Yankees have the biggest cover of all: Jeter’s final days.
Where Jeter ranks on the all-time Yankee list is up to you. To this generation of fans Jeter is on top of the heap.
And if you think the All-Star Game turned into a Jeter lovefest, you haven’t seen anything yet.
And that will provide the Yankees again with something to cover up a season that likely will end Sept. 28 in Boston.
5. Could the Yankees turn from buyers to sellers at the July 31 trade deadline?
Not likely because the Orioles don’t look like a team that will have a double-digit lead by the end of the month, but the Yankees’ rotation is suspect and the lineup has holes. That’s a recipe for a miserable stretch, which could make the Yankees look at who wants what they have.
Kuroda, who has a no-trade clause, could help a contender. Ditto Brian Roberts. Nobody wanted Ichiro Suzuki during spring training but he could be attractive to a team needing a fourth outfielder.
And don’t discount the Yankees making a deal to bolster their 2015 roster. Francisco Cervelli certainly falls into this category because the Yankees believe John Ryan Murphy is a big league catcher.