


Don’t miss Greg Joyce’s text messages from The Bronx and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Yankees.
Sign Up NowThe Yankees have already done the most important part of the postseason planning: They have all but wrapped up an invitation to the tournament. Despite the Tuesday night bullpen inferno that still only counted for one loss, not three. And so they entered Wednesday’s game with magic numbers of 13 (if we are talking about Texas) or 12 (if we’re talking about Cleveland).
Once this push through the Tigers and Red Sox clears out by the weekend, they also have a fairly manageable final 13 days to look forward to. Unlike Mets fans, Yankees fans needn’t sweat these final hours of the season. They’re going to get in.
Then the question becomes: Who are their biggest challengers to defending their American League championship once the calendar flips?
That’s why I’m here. Let’s rank the possibilities, from least frightening to most troublesome.