NEW YORK — What does it say about the state of the Yankees that a) their best player will be sidelined tor 10-14 days b) Giancarlo Stanton might return to the outfield and c) they’re 6.5 games out … and they still say it could’ve been worse.

Tell me this doesn’t feel 2023. Little by little, one setback after another, the walls are closing in on the Yankees. They lost another game in the standings and one more day off the calendar. At this rate, not even the wild card is bankable.