What are the chances that the Yankees will use an opener in the postseason?

-- Stanley F., Tampa, Fla.

Despite the fact that Chad Green's most recent opening assignment was a disaster, the opener strategy is very much on the table for the Yankees as they prepare for the postseason.

General manager Brian Cashman recently said that the team’s decision-makers believe an opener would be effective in a playoff setting because of how frequently it has worked for them, and against them, in the regular season. To the delight of manager Aaron Boone, New York is 12-2 when using an opener this year -- 10-2 with Green; Jonathan Holder and Stephen Tarpley have also handled the role, one time each.

"Greeny has done very well in that role," Boone said. "The guys that have followed suit have held their own in the middle innings. I think if you go back and look, most of those games our offense has really delivered as well. A perfect storm of all those events have made it effective for us."

The opener was used twice last postseason, and once it was against the Yankees, when the A's started Liam Hendriks in the American League Wild Card Game. The Brewers also tried it in the National League Championship Series, handing the ball to Wade Miley in Game 5 against the Dodgers.

"When Oakland was deploying it against us in the postseason last year, I was like, 'Oh boy,'" Cashman said. "Especially in a one-game situation, it can be really strategic and beneficial to whoever is doing so."

It should be noted that both the A's and Brewers lost those games. Cashman said that the determination of whether or not to use an opener will ride upon several factors, one of which will be the health and availability of Luis Severino. Others include the state of the bullpen, the schedule and where off-days are situated throughout the series.

"We haven't had those discussions yet," Cashman said. "It's certainly something that is going to be a possibility if we're in that position. We've got to put ourselves there first."

DJ LeMahieu is a legitimate contender for the American League batting title. What about Gio Urshela?

-- Rosie S., via e-mail

Urshela has certainly put himself in position to give Yankees fans a fun September storyline, where they could once again have two teammates battling for the batting title, as Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield did in 1984. The holdup is that, as of this moment, Urshela does not have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

A qualified player must average 3.1 plate appearances per team game, which works out to 502 for the regular season. The Yankees have played 126 games so far, which is 390.6 plate appearances to qualify. Urshela has 377, so as long as he continues to play regularly, he should get within qualification range.

Do you think the Yankees will extend Didi Gregorius or will they let him walk via free agency?

-- Marty A., via e-mail

So far, neither side is tipping their hand. Gregorius had expressed willingness to discuss an extension with the Yankees a year ago, but he has been more quiet about it this season, in part because he was focused on recovering from Tommy John surgery and then playing well.

In theory, the Yankees would be covered if they allowed Gregorius to test the free agent market; Gleyber Torres could slide over to his natural position of shortstop and LeMahieu is a Gold Glover at second base. Then again, Gregorius' presence both on and off the field would be difficult to replace. If I had to wager on anything, I'd say the Yankees will allow Gregorius to reach free agency while telling him that they are open to continuing negotiations.

Can Severino be stretched out in time to give the Yankees proper starts in the postseason?

-- Jared D., Pennsylvania

It depends on what your definition of “proper” is. Severino said he expects to be in the ballpark of 50 to 60 pitches when he returns to the big league level, and then typically the Yankees would aim to add 10 to 15 pitches to his workload each start if he's on a regular rotation. The X factor is, when will Severino be ready to make his first big league start? The ideal scenario would have him return as a starter, but they're willing to take him back as a reliever if they run out of time.

When Severino is ready to come back, what will they do with the rotation? Which starter will they drop?

-- Dovid K., via Twitter

For regular-season purposes, it's easy to imagine that Severino's return would provide an easy excuse to skip Domingo Germán, since they are looking for ways to manage his innings total. As for a postseason series, if Severino is healthy, my best guess would be that the Yankees hand the ball to -- in some order -- Masahiro Tanaka, German, James Paxton and perhaps Severino, though they could also plot to use Green as an opener if and when it makes sense. A Green-Severino tandem could be dynamic.

That would leave J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia on the bubble, potentially in the bullpen or not on the roster for a given round altogether. It's worth noting here that this arrangement is part of why Cashman said he refused to part with a rich package for someone like the D-backs' Robbie Ray at the Trade Deadline, since Cashman's evaluators couldn't guarantee he'd even be starting for them in the postseason.

What will Giancarlo Stanton's role be when he returns? And how can the Yankees expect him not to be rusty?

-- Jeff D., Long Beach, Calif.

At this late date in the season, and given the severity of his right knee injury (a PCL sprain is typically seen in car crash victims, not as the result of a headfirst slide into third base), it's difficult to imagine that Stanton will be patrolling the outfield again in 2019. If he can get his timing back and run the bases without a problem, the Yankees would welcome him back as a designated hitter, though I'm not sure how he intends to log two weeks of at-bats before the playoffs. They could do so under simulated conditions, but it's difficult to pinpoint a date until he starts playing in games again.

Do you think Clint Frazier will get called up in September?

-- Andrew G., Wanaque, N.J.

Frazier's most recent big league game was on June 14, and even though Mike Tauchman has been terrific, it's a surprise that Frazier has been down in Triple-A this long. Frazier said recently that he had a frank discussion with Cashman about what it would take to get back to the Majors, and he is said to have been working to improve his defense. Put it this way: I can't think of any strategic reason why the Yankees would not stash Frazier on their bench in September, so if the Minor League season ends and Frazier is sent home, it will speak volumes about how the organization views him.

Any news on David Hale? He was quietly huge for them this season before going out.

-- Jon A., Jersey City, N.J.

Hale threw 30 pitches in the bullpen on Aug. 8 at Toronto, but he experienced another setback with his lumbar strain, at which point the Yankees shut his rehab down. Hale said over the weekend that he is about to resume playing catch, though he acknowledged that he is becoming frustrated with how long the recovery process is taking.