MLB Stock Report: Are We Ready for a Yankees-Red Sox Wild-Card Series?

Even with the Yankees playing their version of high-quality baseball, that likely won’t be good enough to catch the Blue Jays for the AL East title.

And this past weekend offered a sneak peek of what could be waiting for the Bombers in the postseason: a three-game wild-card series against the Red Sox.

That is, if the Yankees can hold on to the top seed in the American League wild card race. It’s important to note that the Astros, Mariners, and Rangers are in the mix if the Sox can’t hold on to their wild-card spot down the stretch. But New York should be feeling pretty good about its chances after winning the series in Boston this weekend. 

New York went 7-5 during its two-week stress test against the Astros, Jays, Tigers, and Red Sox, winning its series against all except Detroit (who outscored the Bombers, 26-12 over three games). Despite that positive effort, the Yankees on Monday morning were looking up — four games behind Toronto in the AL East standings. 

Now, the Yankees have one of the easiest schedules in the major leagues to wrap up the regular season. They’re set to face a trio of sub-.500 clubs in the Twins, Orioles, and White Sox over their next 13 games. But even if New York goes 10-3 in that stretch, the Blue Jays can still manage to win the division by going 6-7 in their remaining games against the Rays, Royals, and the Red Sox. 

It’s not impossible for the Yankees to overtake the Jays, but their Canadian division rivals have played consistently all year, and a complete collapse at this point in the season is highly unlikely. Entering Monday, the FanGraphs’ projection system is giving Toronto a 92% chance of winning the division.

It starts with New York's rotation. Southpaw Max Fried, the Yanks’ de-facto