In the American League playoff picture, the Red Sox have already clinched their postseason spot and the Cleveland Indians, leaders of the AL Central, are about to do the same. Soon after, the New York Yankees will join them.
And yet, with two weeks remaining in the regular season, all three of those teams have questions surrounding players coming back from injuries. How well those players rebound in the final two weeks of play will go a long way in determining how their respective clubs fare in October.
A look at the players, currently returning from injuries, and how they'll impact their teams' chances:
RED SOX: Chris Sale
Sale's comeback from mild shoulder inflammation is the No. 1 story remaining with the Red Sox. His return, last Tuesday, did little to ease everyone's anxiety when he was limited to one, 26-pitch inning and looked very much like a guy who had appeared in one major league game over the previous six weeks.
It would be difficult to identify a player who is more central to his team's playoff fortunes than Sale. When he's healthy, he's arguably the most dominant starter in the American League. He appeared headed for his Cy Young Award until July 31, when the Sox first announced he was being sidelined.
Boston has two other strong starters in David Price and Rick Porcello and the game's top offense. But neither Price nor Porcello own much of a comforting resume when it comes to the post-season and losing Sale -- or not having him in peak form --would represent a big blow to the Red Sox' pennant chances.
Simply put: With Sale, the Red Sox will be regarded as the team to beat; without him, they're just another good team hoping to get hot in October.
YANKEES: Aaron Judge, Aroldis Chapman
Judge returned for an inning in the outfield Friday night, having been sidelined since July 26 with an injured right wrist. His return took longer than expected and he's still not ready to contribute with the bat. The Yankees need his run production in the middle of the lineup to be themselves offensively.
Wrists can be notoriously tricky injuries and can impact a player's swing for some time. Judge will need at-bats to re-discover his timing over the next two weeks. Whether he can be anywhere near 100 percent for the Yankees' wild-card game remains an open question.
Chapman, meanwhile, has been on the DL since Aug. 22 with left knee tendinitis and told reporters Friday he's "very optimistic'' he'll pitch again before the end of the season. That's good news for the Yankees, who, as recently as a week ago, weren't convinced of that likelihood.
Again, though, what will Chapman look like when he comes back? Will a couple of appearances in otherwise meaningless games in the final days of September provide him with the time needed to build up his arm strength and timing?
Luckily for the Yankees, they have other back-end options in their bullpen. Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and David Robertson all have closing experience. though none is as fearsome to hitters as a healthy Chapman.
INDIANS: Trevor Bauer, Josh Donaldson
Bauer -- and not Corey Kluber -- was the Indians' best starter for much of the season, before he suffered a stress fracture in his right leg. He threw a bullpen earlier in the week and is scheduled to throw another on Saturday, but he's yet to be cleared to run on flat ground.
It would seem to be a lot to expect that Bauer will be anywhere near himself in the Division Series. It could be that having him for multiple innings out of the bullpen will be the best they can hope for -- at least in the first round.
The Cleveland rotation is a good one, led by Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. But giving the Indians three top-flight starters makes them a dangerous entrant in the playoff picture. And the Indians only have to look back to last year's Division Series -- when they were upset by the Yankees -- to recall just how vital it is to have a healthy ace in the playoffs: the Tribe got two ineffective outings from Kluber and were quickly dethroned as defending AL champions.
Donaldson is an intriguing case. Thanks to a calf muscle -- to say nothing of lingering concerns about his right shoulder -- he hasn't been healthy since May. He returned to the lineup this week and homered on Friday night, but will need to find his timing at the plate quickly.
His reputation as a gritty competitor who responds well on the big stage could make him an impact guy in the Indians offense. Add him to the likes of Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Brantley and he lengthens the batting order and makes their lineup nearly as formidable as Boston's, New York's and Houston's.
More than one observer has made a comparison between Donaldson and Kirk Gibson, who limped his way into baseball history in the 1988 World Series. Could Donaldson, at far less than 100 percent, provide one of those moments for the Indians?
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