Jake Cousins remains on track to be back in time for the ALDS, as long as he gets through two more hurdles this week.
The Yankees reliever, on the injured list with a strained right pec, is planning to throw a bullpen session Tuesday, then face hitters in a live session Thursday, which could give him the green light to be activated off the IL in time for Saturday’s Game 1 of the ALDS.
“I feel really good,” Cousins said Sunday at Yankee Stadium before a 6-4 win over the Pirates to close out the regular season.
Cousins played catch Friday and Saturday and came through that feeling good before taking Sunday off.
He is set to throw again Monday before getting on the mound Tuesday for the first time since he left a Sept. 19 game in Seattle after just six pitches because of pec tightness.
If healthy, Cousins would be an important piece of the Yankees’ late-inning bullpen mix.
With a plan of mixing and matching without a set closer (despite Luke Weaver largely taking over that role, even without the official title), Cousins has the ability to generate swings and misses in high-leverage spots.
With Aaron Judge missing out on a chance to add to his monster year Sunday — he was scratched from the lineup because of the wet conditions — the likely AL MVP finished the regular season batting .322 with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.
He did not miss the Triple Crown by much, trailing only Bobby Witt Jr. (.332) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.323) in batting average.
Judge’s 1.159 OPS and .701 slugging percentage are the highest by any major league player for a 162-game season since Barry Bonds (1.422 and .812) in 2004.
Making only his third start of the season — as a late addition to the lineup in place of Judge — Trent Grisham went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI single.
Grisham finished the regular season with 34 hits, nine of them home runs.
Having not pitched since last Sunday, Weaver got into the regular-season finale and threw a scoreless eighth inning.
Clay Holmes then tossed a perfect ninth inning for his 30th save of the season — his first since Aug. 30, a few days before he lost the closer’s job.
Mark Leiter Jr. was reinstated from the paternity list.
The Yankees optioned Scott Effross to Triple-A to make room for Ben Rice on the active roster.
That means Effross will not be an option for the ALDS roster unless he is replacing an injured player.
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