UPDATE: Commenter George found the DeWayne Wise bunt that turned the season around. Here's the video.
ORIGINAL POST: Thursday was the one-year anniversary of Cam Schlittler’s MLB debut. In his first 365 days as a big leaguer, Schlittler ranked second among qualified pitchers with a 2.38 ERA, just behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.34 ERA). He also ranked seventh with a 3.04 FIP, eighth with a 3.39 xERA, eighth with a 28.8 K%, eight with a 21.8 K-BB%, and sixth with +4.9 WAR. An instant ace, Schlittler has been.
“A lot of that’s dependent on if Cam can start. I feel like he’s probably earned that,” Dylan Cease told Keegan Matheson after his near no-hitter Wednesday when asked about starting the All-Star Game. “If he’s not throwing, then I would love to throw my name in the hat.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider is the AL manager, so he’s free to pick his guy. As cool as it would be to see Schlittler start the All-Star Game, I won’t be too upset if he doesn’t get into the game. He’s already had a huge workload, you know? Anyway, the All-Star break is coming and the Yankees, Thursday's win aside, really need it. They're limping to end of the first half here. With the All-Star break comes more content. Here is my tentative plan for next week:
Monday: Tuesday’s post a day early to recap the weekend
Tuesday or Wednesday: Midseason Grades (here are last year’s)
Wednesday or Thursday: 2026 draft recap (here is last year’s)
Friday: Regular Friday post with mailbag questions
I will do my best to get the Midseason Grades and draft recap out Tuesday and Wednesday, but if it’s Wednesday and Thursday, then that’s what it has to be. The Monday and Friday posts will (probably) be shorter than usual because, well, look at all that. There are only so many hours in the day, plus I have my CBS workload on top of that. That’s the plan though. Here now is today’s post as Dellin Betances advances to Day 3 of the World Series of Poker.
1. Weekday thoughts. The Ryan McMahon at-bat that turned the season around? I’ve been making that joke since May 22nd, 2012. The Yankees were struggling at the time, especially offensively, then a DeWayne Wise sac bunt attempt turned into a hit that loaded the bases, and the Yankees scored two runs to flip a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win. They’d lost six of seven going into that game, then won 20 of the next 24. I wish I could find the video. Too bad.
Anyway, what a terrific at-bat for McMahon against Drew Rasmussen in the third inning Thursday. Fell behind in the count 1-2, worked it back to 3-2, fouled away six two-strike pitches, then roped a game-tying double. Rasmussen was living in the shadows of the zone. ABS would have turned a few of these foul balls into a strike had McMahon taken them.
“We needed a good one like that where we stacked good at-bats and had good energy against a really good baseball team,” McMahon told Gary Phillips. “That team over there, they’re definitely a tough squad, and to do it against them definitely feels good.”
Five of the next six Yankees reached base and the seventh hit a sacrifice fly. McMahon’s at-bat changed the entire inning. He made Rasmussen work, got the run home, and eased the tension. I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I'm sure the Yankees did. Rasmussen went into Thursday’s game having allowed five runs in 50.2 career innings against the Yankees (that’s a 0.89 ERA), then they got him for six runs in one inning (video).
“That’s baseball, Suzyn,” Aaron Boone said after the game.
All things considered, not a bad series in Tampa. A split was the minimum to keep pace in the AL East, and the Yankees did that. The offense broke out Thursday after going 20 (!) games without scoring more than five runs. It was their longest such streak since a 20-gamer in 1991. The Yankees are a manageable five back in the loss column with 69 games to play. Here are a few thoughts on the last few games.
So you’ve decided to use a bullpen game
Rather than call up Elmer Rodríguez, the Yankees went with a bullpen game Thursday. ER(C) lined up to start Wednesday for Scranton and the Yankees held him back just in case, but after they got through Wednesday in good shape, they committed to the bullpen game. I guess they felt better about matching up with their nine available relievers than Rodríguez giving them even four innings. Shrug.
Bullpen games are always a bit scary, especially since the Yankees have some gas cans in middle relief, but you know what? It worked okay. Not great, but okay.
“Blackburn being able to give us two there to start kinda set us up so we could be a little more aggressive,” Boone said (video). “… That kinda put us in position to set the other guys up for success and still get to the finish line. That added bonus, you don’t use Cruz, you don’t use Bednar in a game you’re bullpening. That’s pretty cool.”
It broke down into eight batters and five baserunners (.625 OBP) for Bird and Doval, and 31 batters and eight baserunners (.258 OBP) for everyone else. Yeah, sounds about right. Chivilli went six up, six down on 22 pitches, and I thought the Yankees would try to steal a third inning out of him, though he threw an inning Wednesday. It was best to go to Tim Hill. Don’t push it, don’t get greedy.
Other than Blackburn and maybe Headrick, no one was overextended. Bird, Doval, Hill, and Yarbrough should all be available today, plus Bednar and Cruz. The Yankees may send Chivilli down for a fresh arm today* just in case, which stinks. I hate that part of the game. “You pitched well and you did your job. Now you’re going to Scranton.” I get it, but it sucks.
* Rodríguez was scheduled to start Thursday but Scranton got rained out. He could come up today, if the Yankees want. Yovanny Cruz and Yerry De Los Santos (and Brendan Beck) are still in their 15-day waiting periods, so Rodríguez and Kervin Castro are the only 40-man roster pitchers eligible to be recalled today.
I would’ve started Rodríguez. I know he’s been shaky at best during his brief big league stints, but the middle of the bullpen is too sketchy for me to feel comfortable asking them to get through a few innings clean. I mean, the Yankees had a six-run second inning and Bird and Doval still made them sweat until about the sixth. I’m glad I was wrong and it worked out. Just felt like a lot to ask, is all.
Pride, Power, Punchouts
52 strikeouts in four games in Tampa. Monday and Tuesday the Yankees became the first AL team with 17 strikeouts in back-to-back nine-inning games, and the 34 strikeouts are a franchise record for a two-game span. (The previous record was 30 by largely these same hitters last Sept. 14-15.) Tuesday and Wednesday were the first time in Yankees history they had 11 strikeouts and zero walks in back-to-back games.
“Controlling the strike zone, we’re not winning in that regard,” Boone told Bryan Hoch after Wednesday’s game. “We’ve got to turn that around.”
The Yankees are 5-14 in their last 19 games, and even with Thursday’s breakout, some of the numbers during these last 19 games are ghastly. This isn’t normal “we’re in a slump” stuff. I’ve watched an embarrassing amount of baseball in my life and this 19-game stretch is as bad as I’ve ever seen:
Thursday’s three-double, three-homer barrage inched the Yankees ahead of the Mariners and Athletics in SLG (.320 vs. .324 vs. .335), but they were last in that too before the game. The Yankees drew two walks immediately prior to José Caballero’s three-run homer in the fifth inning Monday, then didn’t draw another walk until the fifth inning Thursday. 106 plate appearances between walks. Yuck. Yuck yuck yuck.
This is not simply an “Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are injured” thing. There’s plenty of talent in the lineup without them. They’re just not performing. Ben Rice has six home runs in his last nine games, so he’s waking up. Cody Bellinger had two hits Thursday. McMahon’s had some good at-bats against righties. Jasson Domínguez quietly went 5-for-13 in Tampa. Positive momentum is building. I hope it is, anyway.
Good gravy though, the Yankees have to do better controlling the strike zone. Way too many strikeouts and way too few walks lately. That’s a good indication everyone’s – everyone’s! – approaching is out of whack. It’s remarkable, isn’t it? You can’t blame the slide on two or three players. The whole damn team has stunk it up. Thursday has to be the start of a turnaround and not a one-off. There's not much margin in the division race.
Miscellany
Will Warren had such a great start to the season and now he’s letting the Yankees down like everyone else. He went 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 3 HR on 75 pitches Tuesday. Tampa’s 7-8-9 hitters went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer, and a walk against him. Their lefties went 5-for-13 with a double, two homers, and two walks against him. Warren’s numbers against lefties:
First 7 starts: .208/.260/.347 (.269 wOBA) with 32.5 K% and 6.5 BB%
Last 11 starts: .297/.361/.500 (.371 wOBA) with 12.3 K% and 8.9 BB%
Pretty terrible, Will. This year’s numbers (4.15 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 4.26 xERA) are beginning to look a lot like last year’s (4.44 ERA, 4.07 FIP, 4.57 xERA) … Gerrit Cole looked dominant for a few stretches and was overall pretty good Wednesday, at least until he walked the punchless Taylor Walls to lead off the seventh inning: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K on a season high 97 pitches. Cole’s four-seamer whiff rate is 17.9%. That is well below the 21.8% league average and his lowest since his Pirates days. I don’t know whether this is a Tommy John surgery thing or an age thing (or both), but there have definitely been a few times this year when Cole needed a swing and miss, and just couldn’t get it. Jonathan Aranda’s nine-pitch at-bat turned RBI single in the third inning was one of those times … A tale of two outfielders:
Player A: .247/.340/.414 (113 wRC+) with 15.2 K% and 12.8 BB%
Player B: .234/.334/.413 (112 wRC+) with 16.0 K% and 13.4 BB%
One is Cody Bellinger, one is Trent Grisham. I’m not gonna bother to tell you which is which because the season numbers are almost indistinguishable. I’m not sure I have a point here. I was just shocked to see how close their slash lines are when I looked at Thursday’s box score … Austin Wells hit a homer Thursday (video)! Three of his five homers this year have come against the Rays. That would annoy me to no end if I were on the other side. The worst hitter in baseball doing most of his damage against my team? lol. Please let this be the start of something, Austin … And finally, I like Max Schuemann, he was part of the Offseason Plan long before the Yankees got him, but he’s gotta chill with the eyewash dives in the outfield. We’re talking balls he has no chance to catch. He did it twice in Tampa and got away with it both times, but at some point he’s gonna take himself way out of position and make things worse, or even hurt himself. I appreciate the hustle, Max, but chill a bit.
Injury updates and roster news
Aaron Judge (rib) will go for imaging next week. The Yankees said 4-6 weeks until new tests when he got hurt and next week is Week 6. Brian Cashman said they don’t expect the tests to show full healing. The hope is it shows enough healing that Judge can begin to add to his workouts, which right now are pretty limited … Giancarlo Stanton (calf) has started running. He’s been hitting for a while now, but the running progression will dictate when he returns. Also, Cashman clarified that Stanton didn’t suffer a setback, technically. It was a new injury in a similar spot, not that it really matters … Max Fried (elbow) will throw live BP with Somerset on Saturday. He threw two innings and 36 pitches last time, so figure three innings and 45 pitches or so this time. If that goes well, Fried could start a rehab assignment next week. Friday would be my guess, but we’ll see … Carlos Rodón (elbow) played catch for the first time Thursday. No word on when he’ll get back up on a mound, but hopefully it’s soon and this is a relatively short absence. Rodón received a PRP injection at some point to help with the healing … And finally, George Lombard Jr. (fingers) has resumed full baseball activities and should get back into games soon. He’s in Tampa. He’ll probably play a few” rehab” games with the Tarpons before rejoining Scranton. Lombard was replaced on the Futures Game roster though. He won’t play in that.
Up next
Three more games until the much needed All-Star break. The Yankees are in Washington this weekend to play a Nationals team that, going into Thursday, led baseball in runs scored per game (5.40) and allowed the third most runs per game (5.27). Their games are high-scoring and chaotic. They’re a lot of fun for an unbiased observer. Here’s the weekend ahead:
Friday at Nats: LHP Ryan Weathers vs. LHP Carson Palmquist (6:45pm ET on YES)
Saturday at Nats: RHP Cam Schlittler vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (4pm ET on YES)
Sunday at Nats: RHP Will Warren vs. TBA (1:30pm ET on YES)
If the Yankees can’t win a Schlittler vs. Mikolas matchup, stick a fork in ‘em. Mikolas has a 5.78 ERA (5.52 FIP) with 20 homers allowed in 90.1 innings. That’s a pitcher a good offense hammers and a pitching matchup a good team wins. Palmquist will be an opener for Zack Littell on Friday. I’m pretty sure Sunday’s TBA will be Cade Cavalli. His suspension stemming from the thing with Willson Contreras expires Saturday.
2. Rice to the Home Run Derby. Ben Rice will indeed participate in the Home Run Derby next week. He announced it himself on social media. His father, Dan, will pitch to him, and Cam Schlittler said he’ll be his Gatorade guy. Rice said he wanted to do the Home Run Derby last month and MLB obliged. (Hopefully he does better than Jazz Chisholm Jr. did last year.) Here’s the Home Run Derby field so far.
“I just want to enjoy it. Having fun taking BP with my dad at a big league field in front of a bunch of people,” Rice told Bryan Hoch. “… My dad has always been there for me. Every offseason, I’m going back and making sure I get my BP in with my dad. He always went the extra mile. He’d drive an hour-plus or two hours from Cohasset, and we’d go hit at a local field to get our swings in for the day.”
Rice is waking up thankfully, though he slumped so long that I don’t think the usual “the Home Run Derby will ruin his swing!” fearmongering applies. He’s starting to get the ball airborne again after rolling over on too many ground balls for a few weeks.
The Home Run Derby could be a good thing for Rice. I’m not kidding. He’s gotta continue to lock in that launch angle, and the Home Run Derby can help. Juan Soto said he hoped the Home Run Derby would get him out of his slump in 2021, and it did exactly that. Giancarlo Stanton hit 11 homers in the 34 games before the 2017 Home Run Derby, then hit 23 homers in 39 games after. Sign me up for Rice going on a 2017 Stanton post-Derby heater.
I’m not concerned about Rice’s swing. The Home Run Derby hangover is a myth anyway. My only worry is health, and the new swing-based format should help with that. No more racing against the clock to hit as many homers as you can. I’m worried the new format will make for a slog and a tough watch, but players can simply take pitches and give themselves a breather. That lessens the injury risk and my concern.
The All-Star Game is in Philadelphia this year, so it’ll be easy travel up from Washington this weekend for Rice, Schlittler, Cody Bellinger, and Aaron Judge. Four Yankees have won the Home Run Derby: Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002), Robinson Canó (2011), and Judge (2017). Hopefully Rice joins them, though Bryce Harper in front of his home crowd might be unbeatable.
“I’m just hoping to soak it all in,” Rice told Hoch. “That’s the advice that the guys who have been there have been telling me. Just really enjoy it. Try to talk to as many guys as you can, enjoy the whole experience and cherish every moment.”
3. Final thoughts before 2026 draft. The two-day amateur draft will take place this weekend. It will begin Saturday afternoon and wrap up Sunday. Rounds 1-4 are Saturday (1pm ET on NBC, Peacock, MLBN) and then rounds 5-20 are Sunday (11:30am ET on MLB.com). Why MLB is running the draft up against actual games, I do not know, but that’s what they’re doing.
The Yankees neither gained nor lost any draft picks to free agent compensation this year. There’s still time to trade for a Competitive Balance pick, but if they haven’t traded for one yet, they probably won’t. Here are the Yankees picks and the bonus pool money:
1st round (No. 35): $2,826,7002nd round (No. 63): $1,451,7003rd round (No. 99): $792,3004th round (No. 127): $603,5005th round (No. 160): $437,2006th round (No. 189): $341,8007th round (No. 218): $270,0008th round (No. 248): $223,1009th round (No. 278): $203,50010th round (No. 308): $193,000
The Yankees received the No. 25 pick for having the best record among last year’s Division Series losers, then luxury tax penalties pushed that back 10 spots. That No. 35 pick falls in Competitive Balance Round A even though it is technically a first round pick. The rest are in their “normal” rounds. Every pick in rounds 11-20 has a $150,000 slot value, and every dollar over $150,000 counts against the bonus pool.
I haven’t the slightest idea who the Yankees will take or are targeting with the No. 35 pick. It’s hard to pin down who teams with top five picks will take. No. 35? Forget it. Most rumors the last few weeks say the Yankees are looking at a position player, which aligns with their recent history. Ben Hess in 2024 is the only pitcher the Yankees have taken with their top selection since Clarke Schmidt back in 2017.
I wrote up 21 draft prospects the Yankees could target and I have little confidence I covered the player they’ll actually take at No. 35. We’ll find out tomorrow. Here are MLB Pipeline’s top 250 draft prospects. The scouting reports are free, so it’s the best resource for quick info. Here are a few last-minute prospects I had on my list to cover, but didn’t get to for whatever reason, plus some other notes.
Massachusetts LHP Brody Bumila: I wrote up Bumila last month because it was reported the Yankees had “apparently been all over” him this spring. Earlier this week Keith Law reported Bumila re-injured his UCL. He had the internal brace procedure last year, returned to pitch well this spring, and now he might be looking at full Tommy John surgery. The Yankees have rolled the dice on draft prospects rehabbing from Tommy John (Schmidt in 2017, also Xavier Rivas 2024), but boy, two UCL blowouts in high school? That’s pretty red flaggy and probably a bridge too far for the No. 35 pick. (A later round pick is a different matter, but then money becomes the question.)
British Columbia HS LHP Sean Duncan: The Yankees and Vanderbilt tend to overlap in the prospect pool because they value similar traits (Spencer Jones played at Vanderbilt, and George Lombard Jr. and Anthony Volpe were Vanderbilt commits), and Duncan is committed to Vandy. He’s got size (6-foot-3 and 184 lbs.), very strong command, and two great secondary pitches (changeup and slider). The fastball is only 89-92 mph right now, but you needn’t try hard to see that ticking up once he gets older and under a pro training program. Duncan blew out in May and had Tommy John surgery. He was viewed as a potential first rounder before that. As noted in the Bumila blurb, the Yankees are willing to draft UCL surgery guys. I don’t think they would take Duncan with the No. 35 pick. No. 63 or even No. 99 though? That might be the sweet spot.
USC LHP Mason Edwards: Edwards put up silly numbers this season. He threw 95.2 innings with a 2.07 ERA (2.26 FIP), and led Division I in strikeouts (169, the runner-up had 137) and strikeout rate (42.7%, no one else with at least 80 innings was over 38.0%). Despite the numbers, Edwards is more likely to be a second rounder than a first rounder because his fastball sits 90-91 mph most days, albeit with tremendous ride at the top of the zone, and his third pitch changeup is just okay. His mid-80s curveball is a knockout pitch. One of the best in the draft. You’ll have to help Edwards add velocity and/or improve the changeup for him to have a chance to start long-term, and hey, maybe the Yankees think they can do that. Falling back on a career as a curveball heavy lefty reliever isn’t a bad outcome.
South Carolina HS SS Taj Marchand: I thought I wrote up Marchand at some point, but apparently not. These guys all start to blend together after a while. Anyway, Marchand is a righty hitter who has put up big exit velocities for his age (he’s only 17), and he has one of the stronger arms in the draft class. He has an unorthodox swing that Baseball America (subs. req’d) describes as a “pronounced hand hitch and arm bar, with a tendency to leak out heavily on his front side.” That is pretty much the only thing keeping Marchand out of slam-dunk first round consideration. He’s been in the 30-ish range in recent mock drafts, which puts him in the Yankees’ range.
Dallas Baptist RHP Luke Pettitte: Andy’s son. Luke hit .337/.403/.693 (144 wRC+) with 16 home runs this spring, but he’s a pitcher long-term. He had Tommy John surgery in September and pulled an Ohtani this year, and DHed while rehabbing. As a pitcher, Pettitte spams a mid-80s slider and also has a low-90s fastball, plus a curveball and a changeup in the low-80s. The days of nepotism picks are over. You can’t draft the star player’s kid in the 35th round or the scouting director’s nephew in the 47th round because those rounds don’t exist anymore. You get 20 draft picks and 165 minor league roster spots (they used to be unlimited), and that’s it. You have to use them on players you think have a chance to make it. Baseball America (subs. req’d) ranked Pettitte as the 307th best prospect in the draft, suggesting he’s a tenth-ish round talent. If the Yankees take him, it will be because they like his arm, not as a favor or as a nod to Andy.
UCLA RHP Logan Reddemann: I wrote about Reddemann in May and noted he hadn’t pitched since April 17th because of what was vaguely described as “arm fatigue.” He was expected to come out of the bullpen in the postseason, but the Bruins were eliminated quickly, and that didn’t happen. Reddemann did attend the Draft Combine last month though. He took a physical and threw. Teams have updated medicals and saw him on the mound. Reddemann was a top 10-ish prospect for the draft before the arm fatigue popped up. I’m not sure if he’s back in that top of the first round range now, but it seems like he’s healthy, and the arm talent is way ahead of what is usually available at No. 35.
California HS LHP Logan Schmidt: Schmidt reclassified out of the 2027 draft and into 2026, so he’s one of the youngest players available this year. He’s a 6-foot-4, 210 lb. lefty with a clean delivery. He reached 98 mph this spring and has a very good changeup, but his breaking ball is stuck between a curveball and a slider right now. That can be ironed out pretty easily (relatively speaking) these days. Schmidt is one of the draft’s biggest arrow-up players and could come off the board before the Yankees pick after being considered more of a second rounder just a few weeks ago.
TCU OF Sawyer Strosnider: Strosnider is one of the draft’s most tooled up players. It’s elite athleticism, elite speed, and elite raw power. He is too aggressive at the plate though, which leads to too many whiffs and too much weak contact. His .273/.415/.590 (118 wRC+) line this spring is both very good and well south of what you usually see from a first round college bat. Strosnider has top 10 tools and later round everything else. Whichever team drafts him will do so believing they can refine his approach, and tap into the immense upside.
* * *
Illinois HS SS Landon Thome (Jim’s son) was the first prospect I wrote up this draft cycle and he’s a personal favorite just based on everything I’ve read. If the Yankees draft him, I think that would be neat, but in no way is this a “you’re idiots if you don’t take this kid” situation. I don’t really have a preference as far as who the Yankees take. My preference is they draft someone I wrote about so I’m already familiar with him. That’s really it. The draft begins Saturday. Full recap coming next week.
4. Quick prospect notes. RHP Ben Grable was added to the Futures Game roster to replace RHP Carlos Lagrange (shoulder), which is pretty cool. Grable, last year’s 11th rounder and one of my Not Top 30 Prospects, has a 2.61 ERA (2.00 FIP) with 40.2 K% and 8.2 BB% in 31 innings between Hudson Valley and Somerset this year. SS George Lombard Jr. (fingers) was replaced on the roster by Tigers IF Max Anderson, so Grable will be the only Yankee in the Futures Game … And finally, LHP Henry Lalane was promoted to Hudson Valley earlier this week. He’ll make his High-A debut tonight. I wrote about his resurgence last week, then he went 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K (video) in his final start with Tampa. Lalane is up to 62.1 innings this year, well above his previous career high (48.1 in 2022), plus he has a shoulder injury history that includes surgery. The Yankees won’t shut him down completely, at least not anytime soon, but we might see him capped at 75 pitches and five innings before long.
Mailbag Questions of the Week
Ray asks: the Yankees don’t “sell” but what’s the chance they try to “retool” like in 2016? In the unlikely event they do who would most likely go?
I can’t see it. The AL is so bad and the third Wild Card spot is so forgiving. When the Yankees decided to sell at the 2016 deadline, they were 52-52 and six games out of a postseason spot with five teams ahead of them. There are 19 games between now and the trade deadline and going 5-14 (same record as the last 19 games) would put the Yankees at 56-56 on deadline day. That’s a .500 winning percentage and, depending what the Rangers did in their game after I scheduled this post Thursday evening, a .500 record is good enough to get the third Wild Card spot based on the current standings. I just can’t see them selling or retooling or whatever we want to call. If they do go that route, then you sell off the rentals as quick as you can (David Bednar, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham), gauge the market for your controllable relievers (Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick), and see what kinda change of scenery/challenge trades are available for your underwhelming young players (Jasson Domínguez, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells). As bad as the Yankees have played the last three weeks, they’re not actually this bad, and they can fall only so much further between now and the trade deadline.
Mike asks: Should the Yanks trade for Arraez and then trade Jazz (for RP?)
The Yankees don’t have to trade Jazz Chisholm Jr. to fit Luis Arraez, right? Paul Goldschmidt is sinking like a stone and who knows when Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton will return. The DH spot is wide open. I’d dump Ryan McMahon and put Jazz at third before trading Jazz too. I have a much easier time seeing Chisholm going on an August/September heater than I do McMahon, plus he’s miles better on the bases. You’d take a hit defensively with Chisholm at third, but I don’t think it would be nearly as big as the offensive/baserunning hit.
As for Arraez, I half-expect the Giants to give him an extension rather than trade him at the deadline, but he’s a rental having a great year for a bad team, so he’s a trade candidate. Going into Thursday, Arraez was hitting .324/.350/.457 (123 wRC+) with the best defensive numbers of his career at second base (+10 OAA!). Thank Ron Washington for that. Washington helped Arraez improve his defense the same way he helped Marcus Semien, Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley, and others improve their defense.
There are two questions with Arraez. Well, three, though the “what’s it cost?” question is baked into things. First, is the defensive improvement for real? Semien, Swanson, et al sustained the defensive gains they made under Washington. They didn’t fade once he or they changed teams. In the few Giants games I’ve watched this year, Arraez looks legitimately good at second. It’s mostly improved technique, not improved range, which I guess explains why Washington's defensive gains tend to be sticky.
And second, what do you expect from Arraez? He’s having his best-half season in some time (since the first half of 2023) and his home ballpark is perfect for him with its spacious outfield. Yankee Stadium is a terrible ballpark for non-homer hits because it’s small everywhere other than left-center. The outfielders can play shallower than they do elsewhere (especially in San Francisco) and take away hits. Arraez and Yankee Stadium may be a poor match (for what's it worth, he’s a career .173/.246/.231 hitter in the Bronx).
Arraez is such a special bat-to-ball hitter that it may not matter, but this definitely feels a little like Eugenio Suárez at last year’s deadline, where you’re buying high and it’s a near lock he’ll perform worse after the deadline. The Yankees have to get the strikeouts under control. It’s untenable and Arraez would definitely help. I’d bring him in to DH, not to replace Chisholm, and hope at some point I have to figure out how to fit everyone in the lineup once healthy. That doesn’t seem like something we’ll have to worry about anytime soon.
Rich asks: Trying to think outside of the box for a catching target that isn't named Jeffers. What about Gabriel Moreno? The Yankees got Jazz Chisholm with 2 1/2 years of control remaining, so maybe it's not a far-fetched as it seems? Arizona is well behind the Dodgers and with Corbin Carroll signed long term. they might not feel completely under the gun. Moreno isn't power guy, but he does a decent job hitting for average, something they always seem to need.
Moreno would be a great get. Good young catchers typically get locked up, not traded, so I don’t expect him to be available. (The Diamondbacks have a history of extending their guys too.) Moreno, 26, took a .294/.377/.434 (125 wRC+) line with 15.2 K% and 11.3 BB% into Thursday. He’s gone from a 102 wRC+ in 2023 to a 107 wRC+ in 2024 to a 117 wRC+ in 2025 to a 125 wRC+ in 2026. That looks like a young hitter coming into his own to me. Above-average offense and excellent defense equals one of the best catchers in baseball.
The biggest red flag is the injury history. Moreno had shoulder inflammation in 2023, a thumb sprain and a groin strain in 2024, a fractured finger in 2025 (from blocking a pitch), and an oblique strain earlier this year. He misses time every season. That said, 80-ish games of Moreno are better than 120 games of most catchers. Good player, this kid is.
Arizona could ask for George Lombard Jr. in a Moreno trade and I don’t think it would be unreasonable. In a vacuum, I’d do it, though the Yankees are at a point now where Lombard is their best (only?) hope for an above-average shortstop in the next what, five years? The upcoming free agent classes are so bad and good shortstops don’t hit the trade market often. I like the idea and like Moreno as a player. I just don’t think the D’Backs will trade him.
Anonymous asks: Is there any truth to Volpe refusing to play 2B in AAA?
I didn’t hear it myself, but apparently Joel Sherman (on his podcast) and Michael Kay (on his radio show) alluded to Anthony Volpe refusing to play second base in Scranton. Kay walked that back the other day and I certainly don’t have any inside info here. (This isn’t the kinda thing anyone would talk to me about.) I saw Volpe take ground balls at second base with my own eyes a few weeks ago. That may not mean anything (guys take ground balls at other positions all the time, I’ve seen Gary Sánchez take grounders at short), but he did do it.
On one hand, I have a hard time believing Volpe would refuse to play second base. On the other hand, Kay and Sherman have been doing this forever and are responsible enough to know you can’t put something like this out there without there being some truth to it (especially Kay, who has such a big reach). My guess is Volpe told the Yankees he sees himself as a shortstop, and the game of telephone turned that into “Volpe refused to play second.” It’s fine if he sees himself as a shortstop. Aaron Judge still says he sees himself as a center fielder. I have a really, really hard time believing Volpe flat out refused to play second base.
“It’s confusing, because it couldn’t be further from the truth," Volpe told Bryan Hoch earlier this week. "From my end, from our perspective, that’s been very clearly communicated to Boonie and the team. I think it’s just kind of BS. I’d hope my teammates in here, who I’ve played with for 3+ years, I’d hope they know my character and that I’d literally do anything to help the team win. Literally anything. The narrative and what it tries to say about me, I feel like I’m defending myself over something that literally didn’t happen.”
Brian asks: Maybe this is more of an offseason question, but I thought it’d be relevant with the trade deadline approaching. Being that Aaron Judge has suffered significant injuries while playing the field in two of the last four seasons, is it time to make him an everyday or most of the time DH next season? Obviously this impacts Stanton but maybe he’s a release candidate after this season?
I think Judge at DH is the plan as soon as Giancarlo Stanton is gone, either because the Yankees release him or his contract expires. The Yankees don’t owe Stanton much money at this point, relatively speaking. They owe him $19M in real money this year and $15M next year. The Marlins are on the hook for the rest. If they stick to the “$27M in dead money is our limit” thing, Stanton will get there in about three weeks. Financially, releasing Big G wouldn’t hurt that much. He is a clubhouse leader though. It might not go over well. As for Judge, yeah, I bet he’s a full-time DH pretty soon, possibly as soon as next year. He’s 34, he’s a big dude lugging around a lot of weight, and he’s hurt himself several times playing the field. There’s the rib this year and the toe in 2019, plus the rib and partially collapsed lung on a dive in 2019, and the shoulder crashing into the wall in 2017. The Yankees knew Judge would spend his last few years as at least a majority-of-the-time DH, and that time is approaching.
Kevin asks: Has MLB ever explained why they don't do full day games on holidays anymore?
It was so damn hot last weekend that my plan was to stay home in the afternoon and watch baseball on the Fourth of July, then I saw there were only two games before 4pm ET (one being the Yankees) and four before 7pm ET. On a Saturday too! It’s un-American. MLB hasn’t explained this, but I assume it’s a money thing. Night games do better ratings and better attendance, so games keep getting pushed later and later, even on holidays.
(Send your questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for if/when it returns.)