Yankees insider's playoff roster projection has a couple of bombshell omissions

Though a few upgrades were made at the trade deadline, the New York Yankees' roster still feels a bit incomplete, even with the team's recent surge back to relevancy to follow up a horrific 11-24 stretch. There are still a number of roster questions that remain, too.

For starters, there's the case of Anthony Rizzo, who suffered a fractured forearm back in June and still isn't really close to returning. Aaron Boone said the veteran is still has "ways to go" in his rehab process, so fans were a bit skeptical about the team welcoming him back with open arms with barely a month left in the season.

Then there's DJ LeMahieu, who has caught on a bit lately after his demotion to part-time duty against left-handed pitchers, but the same concerns remain. He's an aging player lacking athleticism whose performance is deteriorating on both sides of the ball.

Employing both Rizzo and LeMahieu as everyday starters isn't a formula for success if you want to win a World Series. That's not taking a shot at them, either. They're decorated veterans whose resumes are wildly impressive, but they've reached a point in their careers where they probably can't contribute at a high level on a daily basis anymore.

And if you ask Max Goodman of NJ.com, neither will have a spot on the postseason roster if the Yankees make it to October.

Yankees insider's playoff roster projection has a couple of bombshell omissions

Instead, Goodman has Jasson Dominguez and one of Oswaldo Cabrera/Jon Berti (pending Berti's injury) as the two bench players. Ben Rice remains the starter at first base and newcomer Jazz Chisholm is your third baseman. Hard to disagree with that.

The versatility and athleticism of both Cabrera and Berti will be important for October baseball. Dominguez's game-changing impact will be a major factor as well. Even Trent Grisham's lefty bat and ability to play an elite center field is of more importance.

There's a world in which Rizzo and LeMahieu would be excellent influences in the dugout for a postseason run, but how might that affect team morale? Our future playoff roster projection more than likely won't include them, either, but we must say it's a bit jarring to see two months before we're set to prepare for a potential Wild Card series or ALDS.

Nobody's going to rule out a massive shift in play from LeMahieu or a surprising surge after Rizzo's return, but based on what we've seen the last few years, we're just not betting on that. It'll be a tough issue for Aaron Boone to navigate, but he's already gotten things started by putting his foot down with Gleyber Torres, so perhaps he'll be better prepared when the time comes.