NEW YORK — As the Red Sox players were celebrating the American League East championship on Wednesday night, manager John Farrell hosted a champagne toast in his office for the coaches and other staff members.

“It’s a great feeling,’’ said Farrell, who missed the final 48 games of last season recovering from lymphoma. “I don’t look at myself in this situation. This is about our players. Yeah, there have been some personal challenges that have been met.

“I just know that tomorrow we’ll continue our path. Like I told them, we have three more stops along the way. That’s exactly where my mind-set is.’’

Red Sox principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner, and other executives joined the celebration, although mostly from the dry outskirts. The Sox have made the postseason eight times in the 15 years Henry and Werner have owned the club.

“This never gets old,’’ Henry said. “We’ve got to stop doing this worst-to-first thing. It’s a roller coaster.’’

That the Sox clinched after a 5-3 walkoff loss didn’t matter to Henry, who also owns the Globe.

“It doesn’t detract at all from what these guys accomplished in the last six months. The baseball season is an endurance test, and so, it takes six months to determine a champion,’’ he said. “And that championship was determined before this game ended.’’

Can the Sox win a fourth World Series on Henry’s watch?

“I feel pretty good,’’ he said. “Let’s put it this way: Where we are now, I wouldn’t want to play us going into the playoffs because this is a really talented team and really tough.’’

Pomeranz to pen?

The addition of Drew Pomeranz to the bullpen could be significant for the Red Sox come the postseason — assuming he’s healthy enough to take the mound.

Lefthanded batters have hit .200 against Pomeranz in his career. He also has made 58 career relief appearances.

In 2013, lefthander Felix Doubront appeared in four postseason games for the Sox and allowed one run over seven innings after being dropped from the rotation. He went 2⅔ innings in Game 4 of the World Series and picked up the win.

Pomeranz is dealing with forearm soreness and will skip his start against the Yankees on Thursday. He instead will throw 30-35 pitches in the bullpen before the game. That will determine if Pomeranz can pitch out of the bullpen during the weekend series against Toronto.

“We’ve got to get through that next step,’’ Farrell said on Wednesday.

The lefthander doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about his chances.

“We kind of sat down and talked about the best course of action the rest of the way out,’’ Pomeranz said. “Talked about maybe trying to get ready for a spot in the bullpen. I don’t know if that will play out but that’s what we decided on.’’

Pomeranz is 11-12 with a 3.35 ERA in 30 starts this season, 13 of them for the Sox after coming over from San Diego in July. His 169⅓ innings are a career high. His sore arm is likely a result of that.

“Probably from not recovering this time of year in a spot I’ve never been in before,’’ Pomeranz said.

If he’s capable, Pomeranz should be able to settle into the bullpen.

“I’ve had the benefit of doing pretty much anything, so I’m pretty much comfortable in any situation,’’ he said. “If that’s where they see me going, if they see me helping there, obviously that’s where I want to be. But I don’t know if it’s a for-sure thing.’’

If Pomeranz is left off the roster, the Sox could still carry Fernando Abad, Robbie Ross Jr., and Robby Scott as lefthanded options.

That Pomeranz could end the season unable to pitch has directed more focus onto the apparently unscrupulous actions of Padres general manager A.J. Preller at the time of the trade.

Major League Baseball suspended Preller for 30 days without pay for not providing the required information about Pomeranz’s medical history.

That information regarded the use of anti-inflammatory treatments for Pomeranz’s elbow.

Pomeranz claimed ignorance.

“I had nothing to do with any of that stuff that happened. I don’t know what the two teams talked about,’’ he said. “I don’t know who got mad over what. I’m just the guy who got traded from one place to another.’’

Owens gets a shot

With Pomeranz out, Henry Owens will get the start on Thursday. The lefthander has a 7.79 ERA this season with 18 walks in 17⅓ innings.

Farrell said the Sox are hopeful of Owens being able to throw 80 pitches. He hit that mark in an Instructional League game last week.

The Sox have Heath Hembree and Joe Kelly available as long relievers.

Taking no chances

Keen-eyed Red Sox fans know that superstitious righthander Rick Porcello has worn the same cap all season. You can tell by the sweat stains.

When Porcello pitched at Tampa Bay last Saturday, it was with a stain-free cap. Is Porcello messing with his good karma?

“It’s the same hat,’’ Porcello said. “If you smell it, you’ll know.’’

Turns out that Porcello had a bucket of water dumped over his head after a start earlier this season and that washed out some of the stains. But it’s the same hat he has worn for 21 wins.

“It’s going the distance,’’ Porcello said.

Third base tryouts

Brock Holt started at third base Wednesday night for the second consecutive game. That hadn’t happened since Aug. 16-17. The position remains unsettled as the postseason approaches.

Aaron Hill is the starter against lefthanders and Travis Shaw is still in the mix.

“At this point, we’d still love to take advantage of any kind of platoon splits that might exist,’’ Farrell said. “We’re fortunate we have three options available to us . . . Individually they’ve done a very good job in certain spots.

“The ability to take advantage of certain situations that might be advantageous to us will be the case moving forward. We’re fortunate we have the options that we do.’’

Still waiting

Farrell claimed he has not had any conversations about a playoff roster with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Mike Hazen. “We’ve purposely stated that we’ve got business to take care of first,’’ Farrell said. “There will be a time when we address all that.’’ The Sox clinched at least a wild-card berth last weekend . . . Steven Wright remains scheduled to rejoin the team on Friday in Boston and pitch in the bullpen. The All-Star righthander is trying to come back from a shoulder injury.