WONDER WAY

Boone faces lingering questions as Yanks’ training camp begins

TAMPA — Aaron Boone will hold his first press conference of spring training on Wednesday as Yankees pitchers and catchers report to George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Entering Boone’s sixth camp as manager, there is no shortage of topics for him to discuss as the Yankees begin preparations to chase their first championship since 2009. The Yankees took care of their biggest task of the offseason by re-signing Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million contract, but Boone will be tasked with answering — and managing throughout the spring — a few key unanswered questions.

Here are five of the queries that will likely be coming Boone’s way on Wednesday:

How do you plan to handle the shortstop competition?

One of the biggest storylines that will hang over camp is which among Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe will emerge as the Yankees’ starting shortstop for Opening Day? Kiner-Falefa is the incumbent, Peraza might be the slight favorite heading in and Volpe could have the highest ceiling of the three. The Yankees haven’t exactly had an open competition at such an important position during Boone’s tenure as this one, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it and how the trio’s workload will be split up once Grapefruit League play begins.

Is left field as much of a competition as shortstop?

The Yankees did not address their hole in left field during the offseason, meaning Aaron Hicks will have a chance to be the starter. But is it Hicks’ job to lose or does Oswaldo Cabrera also have a chance to win it? The Yankees might feel that Cabrera is more valuable as a utility type that can move around the field on a daily basis — he played every position except for pitcher, catcher and center field last season after an August call-up. Hicks still has three years and $30.5 million left on his contract, but if he struggles in camp, would Cabrera have a shot to be the everyday left fielder?

How is DJ LeMahieu looking and will he have any restrictions?

The veteran infielder missed most of September and all of the playoffs because of a broken bone in his foot that badly compromised his swing. He then opted for rest and treatment instead of surgery during the offseason, though it remains to be seen whether that will fully fix his problems. LeMahieu has been one of a few position players working out this week at the Yankees’ player development complex and, from a distance, has not appeared hobbled. But does that line up with what the Yankees have seen so far, and either way, will he be eased into action to make sure he does not have any flare-ups?

Has the team done enough to close the gap with the Astros?

This ultimately can’t be answered in full until October, when the Yankees might run into the Astros in the playoffs once again. But aside from Carlos Rodon joining the rotation, the Yankees are largely set to run back the same group this year and hope for a different result. Of course, having a healthy LeMahieu would help and they might have a better answer at shortstop. But is that enough to allow them to finally, in Boone’s words from last season, slay the dragon?

Any concern with your starting pitching depth?

On paper, the Yankees are in position to have one of the better rotations in the league this season. But Frankie Montas is already set to miss at least the first month of the season with the same shoulder inflammation that gave him trouble last season and then, on Monday, Nestor Cortes revealed that he has a low-Grade 2 hamstring strain. Cortes said he would be down a couple weeks but still hoped to be ready for the start of the regular season — though he may not have much wiggle room for any kind of setback. Domingo German is expected to be the first option to fill in for Montas and Clarke Schmidt could do the same for Cortes if it comes to that. But after that, who can the Yankees actually count on if needed?