A night after celebrating a division title with champagne and beer, the Yankees rolled with a so-called hangover lineup for their series opener against the Pirates on Friday. Aaron Judge was the most notable absence. However, Aaron Boone said that the slugger will play over the Yankees’ last two regular season games on Saturday and Sunday before the team enjoys a first-round bye prior to the American League Division Series. “He’ll play,” Boone said. “I’ve been wanting to get him a day off for about a month now. So, finally got him one here.” Friday Night Lights. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/xVw7Pr9c20 — New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 27, 2024 Judge is two dingers away from his second 60-homer season — only Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have accomplished the feat twice — and has gone deep in five straight games. However, Boone said that didn’t factor into his decision to rest Judge, who has played in 157 games this season. That ties a career-high. “He’s not playing for any of that,” Boone said. Boone said it was also a priority to get Austin Wells some rest. The catcher will likely sit out one of the last two games as well. Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo were also absent from the Yankees’ lineup on Friday. Meanwhile, Boone had Juan Soto DH’ing. “I plan on these guys playing this weekend,” Boone said,” but a few of them will get at least a day and go from there.” The Yankees’ full lineup looked like this: Gleyber Torres-2B, Juan Soto-DH, Jazz Chisholm Jr.-3B, Jasson Domínguez-LF, Alex Verdugo-RF, Anthony Volpe-SS, Trent Grisham-CF, Jose Trevino-C and Oswaldo Cabrera-1B. LeMahieu Hopes to Be an Option DJ LeMahieu (hip) is feeling better following a cortisone shot. He plans to start baseball activities in the next few days. With the Yankees getting a first-round bye, he will work to make himself an option for the ALDS roster. “I don’t know if they’ll use me or not,” he said, “but I’m definitely gonna try to be available.” LeMahieu is coming off the worst season of his career, as he slashed .204/.269/.259 with a 52 wRC+. It seems unlikely that the Yankees would call on him if ready, though Boone said, “We’ll see.” “The encouraging thing is how he’s feeling, how he’s doing, and his willingness to kind of grind and do everything he can to be an option,” the skipper continued. “So I’m really excited about that and the fact that I feel like he’s turned the corner a little bit.” LeMahieu said he hasn’t talked to the Yankees about possibly being an option. And if he’s not, he understands. “Our team’s playing great right now, so I just want to do everything I can to make sure I am an option,” he said. “It’s been good being around the guys, for sure. It’s definitely what keeps me coming to the park every day, and we got a great group.” Layoff Schedule The ALDS doesn’t start until Saturday, Oct. 5, so the Yankees will have a long layoff after Sunday’s regular season finale. Boone said Monday will be an off day, though some pitchers may need to play catch. The Yankees will start ramping up on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Those days could include live batting practice and simulated games, though Tuesday will be a lighter day. Friday will be a traditional workout before the Yankees begin their postseason. Rodón and The Rotation With Gerrit Cole set to start Game 1 of the ALDS, the Yankees haven’t decided if Carlos Rodón will start Game 2 or 3. That will depend on who the Bombers play and who their third starter will be; that’s all they need in the best-of-five ALDS. That also remains a conversation, though the choices are down to Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. “We feel like we have a tough decision,” Boone said, “but a good decision because we have a lot of confidence in whoever pitches.” Berti and the Bench Because of his speed, Jon Berti’s name came up during Boone’s pregame press conference. The manager said that the utilityman will likely play twice over the weekend. Boone then added a comment that hinted at how many bench players and pitchers the team may roster for the short ALDS. “You have off days,” Boone said. “You don’t necessarily need to use four starters. That could all factor into maybe an extra position player or something on the bench. So we’ll see.” An “extra” position player would mean a five-man bench and a 12-man pitching staff. Cousins Starts Throwing Jake Cousins (pec) threw for the first time since going on the injured list on Friday. He did so off of flat ground, paying light catch. The reliever still hopes to be ready for the start of the ALDS.