Yankees taking precautions as team prepares for London series

NEW YORK — The Yankees are in the midst of their final homestand before the All-Star break. Before shifting focus to the Midsummer Classic, the Yankees have a series later this week nearly 3,500 away from their home in the Bronx that requires a great deal of attention.

The Yankees will play two games against the Boston Red Sox in at London Stadium in London, England on Saturday and Sunday. The short series will be the first two Major League games ever played in the continent of Europe and the first time New York will play a regular season game outside of North America since 2004.

Despite having three games at home before the trip to England, the Yankees are still taking precautions this week with a team recovering from ailing injuries. Edwin Encarnacion and Aaron Judge, two of the most powerful bats in the American League, were both left out of Monday night's lineup. Encarnacion's rest is just a scheduled day off, while Judge's day off is connected to his recent return to the team. Judge went 0-for-10 over the weekend in his first games since April 20.

"Aaron, we are just building him up," said Boone on Monday afternoon. "We're going to go three days with him. He will play in London and start building him up from there."

The team will use trainer Steve Donahue to help avoid affects of jet lag both going to and coming back from London so players are not impacted during the two games against the Red Sox or their two games at Citi Field against the Mets when they return.

"We will try and be proactive about it," said Boone. "Making sure we are hydrated, taking about sleep and what's the best thing to do when we get there for the guys. Maybe not going to bed right away or trying to get some sleep on the flight, if possible. We'll try to be vigilant and understand what everyone's going through and try to be on top of it as best as we can."  

The makeup of that team traveling to England has not yet taken shape as the results of this week will have an impact. Both teams will have a 26-man roster for the two games, along with two additional players on what's being referred to as a taxi squad, who will travel with the team and be available just in case a transaction needs to be made.

The Yankees have not yet named a starter for Tuesday night's game against Toronto and will likely use an opener along with the rest of the bullpen. It is a tactic that the Yankees have used a few times already this season, electing for reliever Chad Green to start a game six different times this season. 

"We will probably try to stay away from some guys tonight," Boone said. Who we use [Monday night] and how much we use them could factor in tomorrow."

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Tanaka to start first game in London

The Yankees rotation is expected to shuffle a bit due to the series in London, but there is one piece of the puzzle already known. Starter Masahiro Tanaka will start Saturday's series opener in England against the Red Sox, the first of a two-game international series.

Tanaka has been a reliable starter for the Yankees, especially in his three starts since being activated from the paternity list on June 10. Tanaka's 3.21 earned run average is the lowest among Yankees starters this season. In his past three starts, all Yankees wins, Tanaka's ERA has dipped to 2.49 in that span.

No official decision has been made by the Yankees regarding Sunday's starter in the second game of the series.