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Games 68 & 69: Let’s Play One and a Half

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Back in Washington. (Greg Fiume/Getty)

Rather than enjoy an off-day, the Yankees are in Washington today to play a doubleheader against the Nationals. Except it’s not really a doubleheader. It’s a one-and-a-half-header. The Yankees and Nationals are completing their May 15th suspended game tonight, then, a half-hour after that, they’ll make up their May 16th rainout.

The suspended game is currently tied 3-3 in the middle of the sixth inning. The top of the sixth just ended, and, when they begin tonight, Bryce Harper will lead off the bottom of the sixth. Also, the Yankees technically don’t have a pitcher in the game! Brett Gardner pinch-hit for Masahiro Tanaka in the top of the sixth. Aaron Boone said this afternoon Chad Green will “start” the suspended game. Sixth inning of a tie game with the middle of the order due up? That’s a Chad Green situation all the way.

How did they get here? Tanaka allowed a solo homer to Anthony Rendon in the first inning and run-scoring hits to Andrew Stevenson and Pedro Severino in the second to put the Yankees in an early 3-0 hole. The Yankees stormed back thanks to Tyler Austin, who hit a two-run opposite field homer against Gio Gonzalez in the fourth, and a sac fly in the fifth to tie the game 3-3. Here are the current lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton (due to lead off the 7th)
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. 1B Tyler Austin 1B Neil Walker
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. PH Brett Gardner (will be replaced by Green)
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

Washington Nationals
1. SS Trea Turner
2. RF Bryce Harper (due to lead off the 6th)
3. 3B Anthony Rendon
4. LF Matt Adams
5. 2B Howie Kendrick ???
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. CF Andrew Stevenson ???
8. C Pedro Severino
9. RHP Wander Suero

Austin is in Triple-A and has been replaced in the lineup by Walker. Boone could’ve replaced him with Greg Bird, but chose not to. Kendrick is injured and Stevenson is in Triple-A, and I have no idea who is replacing them. Everyone on each team’s 25-man roster is eligible to play in the suspended game provided they were not removed from game already. Example: Gio Gonzalez started for the Nationals, was pinch-hit for by Moises Sierra, who was then replaced by Suero. Gonzalez and Sierra are no longer eligible to play in the suspended game. Also, there is no 26th man for the suspended game. Only tonight’s makeup game.

It is disgustingly hot and humid in Washington today. Real feel temperature is over 100° right now, and by the end of the night, it’s expected to get down into the low-90s. Gross. At least there’s no rain in the forecast. The suspended game will resume at 5:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. The second game will begin 30 minutes after the suspended game ends, and that will also be on YES locally and MLB Network out-of-market. Enjoy the game and a half.

Injury Updates: Gardner is dealing with inflammation in his right knee and is day-to-day. He went for an MRI yesterday that came back clean, and he is expected to be available to pinch-hit in tonight’s game … Jacoby Ellsbury saw a back specialist last week and is getting ready to “ramp up” baseball activity. We’ll see.

Roster Move: Welcome back, Clint Frazier. Frazier has been called up and Ronald Torreyes has been sent down, the Yankees announced. Didn’t see that coming. I thought Clint would be the 26th man tonight, but he’ll be available for the suspended game as well. (He was on the original roster for the suspended game anyway.) With Gardner banged up, it makes sense to carry another outfielder for the time being … Gio Gallegos will be the 26th man tonight.

Update (6:42pm ET): The Yankees dropped the completion of the suspended game earlier this afternoon. Now here are the lineups for the makeup game tonight:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Austin Romine
9. RHP Sonny Gray

Washington Nationals
1. RF Adam Eaton
2. SS Trea Turner
3. CF Bryce Harper
4. 3B Anthony Rendon
5. LF Juan Soto
6. 1B Mark Reynolds
7. 2B Wilmer Difo
8. C Pedro Severino
9. RHP Erick Fedde

First pitch is scheduled for 6:45pm ET and Gallegos has been activated as the 26th man.

Saturday Links: Trade Deadline, Mets, Seigler, Ellsbury

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You can still play on my team any day, Jake. (Presswire)

The Yankees and Mets continue their three-game series with the middle game later tonight. It’s a 7pm ET contest. Until then, here are some links and notes to check out.

Mets may or may not consider fire sale

Depending who you ask, the Mets either will (Kristie Ackert) or will not (Bob Nightengale) consider trading Jacob deGrom and/or Noah Syndergaard if they don’t climb back into the postseason race. “Can circumstances change that? Yes. But I think that would be very, very remote. It’s not something we’re even considering or talking about,” said GM Sandy Alderson with regards to a potential fire sale.

The Yankees could use another starter in the wake of Jordan Montgomery’s Tommy John surgery, and gosh, either deGrom or Syndergaard sure would be a wonderful fit. Both this year and going forward. The thing is, even if the Mets do become open to trading them, the Yankees-Mets hurdle has to be cleared. Trade talks about Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce were reportedly contentious last August. Imagine talks about deGrom or Syndergaard?

I think Alderson and Brian Cashman would be willing to do a deal with each other. They’re two veteran executives who’ve won and lost their share of trades. They have the stomachs for it. Would ownership do it, specifically the Wilpons? Watching deGrom or Syndergaard potentially carry the Yankees to glory might not sit easy with them.

Seigler will catch, not pitch

Not surprisingly, scouting director Damon Oppenheimer confirmed to Brendan Kuty that the Yankees will use 2018 first round pick Anthony Seigler as a catcher in pro ball, not as a pitcher. Seigler is a switch-hitter with good all-around skills behind the plate. He’s also a switch-thrower who pitched with both arms in high school. From Kuty:

“Not at this point (do we see him pitching),” Oppenheimer said. “At this point, we’re seeing him as a switch-hitting catcher. The versatility he has and he’s shown throughout his high school career is something that’s attractive to us but the development as a catcher is the key here and that’s what we’re working on.”

Baseball America (subs. req’d) says Seigler “throws a changeup from the left side and changes his arm slot, while he can reach 92 mph from the right side to go along with a slider.” With Shohei Ohtani (and Brendan McKay in the minors) doing the two-way thing, I guess the Yankees could’ve considered it with Seigler, but nah. Catching is hard enough as it is. Imagine pitching as well?

As far as I know Seigler has never been considered a serious pro prospect on the mound. It’s always been catcher all the way. I guess Ohtani and the switch-pitching thing generated some buzz and led to the question being asked. No surprise the Yankees are sticking with Seigler behind the plate though. That’s where he’s best.

Yankees have insurance on Ellsbury’s contract

Jacoby Ellsbury has yet to play a game this season and, based on the way things are going, it seems unlikely he will play a game anytime soon. He’s dealing with oblique, hip, and back problems in addition to plantar fasciitis. According to Wally Matthews, the Yankees do have insurance on Ellsbury’s contract, and it will reimburse them 75% of his salary while he is on the disabled list. From Matthews:

A Yankees source told me the club has a similar policy (to David Wright’s) on Ellsbury, which has already begun to defray the bulk of his salary for the first two months of 2018. In an ideal world, Ellsbury would sit out the remainder of the season, the Yankees would muddle through with a rotation of Gardner, Hicks and Frazier in centerfield – and be reimbursed to the tune of $15,857,142.86.

It’s important to note the insurance does not change anything with regards to the luxury tax. Ellsbury still counts as $21.85M against the luxury tax. Nothing changes there. The insurance policy just means the Yankees get some cold hard cash back for Ellsbury’s injuries. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think Ellsbury and the Yankees have a secret agreement to stay on the disabled list — that’s insurance fraud! — but the insurance sure is convenient, isn’t it?

Game 53: Rainy Baltimore

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(Presswire)

For the first time in 2018, the Yankees are in Baltimore. We’re just about a third of the way through the season and this is the first time the Yankees are visiting one of their division rivals. Crazy. They haven’t gone to Tampa Bay yet either. They won’t do that for another few weeks.

Anyway, the Yankees are in Baltimore and of course there’s rain in the forecast. They can’t escape the bad weather this year. The forecast calls for showers from 7pm ET until 11pm ET, so basically game time. Know how they say there’s a window to get the game in? Today’s forecast is the opposite of that. It’ll rain exactly when the game would normally be played. Go figure. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. 1B Greg Bird
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. SS Didi Gregorius
6. CF Aaron Hicks
7. 3B Neil Walker
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Sonny Gray

Baltimore Orioles
1. 3B Jace Peterson
2. CF Adam Jones
3. SS Manny Machado
4. DH Mark Trumbo
5. 2B Jonathan Schoop
6. 1B Chris Davis
7. LF Trey Mancini
8. C Chance Sisco
9. RF Joey Rickard

RHP Andrew Cashner

Like I said, there’s rain in the forecast tonight. Hopefully they can get the game in in a timely fashion. Not really in the mood to wait out a long delay. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES. Enjoy the rain delay game.

Injury Updates: Miguel Andujar is fine after that collision with Yuli Gurriel yesterday. Just a day off for him … Adam Warren (lat) has joined the Yankees in Baltimore but won’t be activated for a few days. He threw three innings in a rehab game last night and won’t be available for a bit anyway … Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip, foot, back) should start baseball activities soon. We’ll see.

Update (6:46pm ET): The game will indeed start in a delay, it has been announced. No word on a start time yet, but, looking at the radar, it could be a while.

Game 48: The Return of Greg Bird

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(Presswire)

At long last, the Yankees are whole on offense*. Greg Bird rejoined the Yankees today and he’ll make his season debut tonight. He had ankle surgery at the end of Spring Training and the recovery timetable put him on track to return in late May, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s actually back in late May. Hooray for that.

The Yankees have been woefully short on left-handed power this season — their lefty bats have 18 homers and a .386 SLG, which is pretty terrible — and Bird can help fix that. Even with all the injury problems, he’s hit 23 homers with a .480 SLG in 108 career big league games, postseason included. That’ll play. A blowout win would be nice today. Sock some dingers, let Tommy Kahnle shake off the rust in a low-leverage appearance, and get after it tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. LF Giancarlo Stanton
5. DH Gary Sanchez
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. C Austin Romine
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Sonny Gray

Los Angeles Angels
1. 2B Zack Cozart
2. CF Mike Trout
3. LF Justin Upton
4. 1B Albert Pujols
5. DH Shohei Ohtani
6. SS Andrelton Simmons
7. 3B Luis Valbuena
8. RF Kole Calhoun
9. C Jose Briceno

RHP Jaime Barria

It is warm, cloudy, and humid in New York today, and that usually means rain. Fortunately it’s not supposed to arrive until much later tonight. Shouldn’t interrupt the game at all. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:15pm ET and you can watch on FOX and FOX only. No YES broadcast tonight. Enjoy.

Roster Move: In case you missed it earlier, Ronald Torreyes was sent to Triple-A Scranton to clear a roster spot for Bird. That surprised me. Thought it would be Tyler Austin.

Injury Update: Jacoby Ellsbury remains shut down with his recent back issue. “Everything he’s had has been diagnosed legitimately by a doctor,” said Brian Cashman, which is a line he once used to defend Carl Pavano. Cashman said the Yankees expect Ellsbury back at this point this season.

* Just ignore that Ellsbury guy.

Game 42: Rain, Rain, Stay Away

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(Presswire)

After four days of off-days and rainouts, the Yankees returned to action last night, and promptly lost the series opener to the Royals. Sucks. And because those four days off earlier this week weren’t enough, there is more rain in the forecast tonight, and it’s possible this game will be delayed or even postponed. Getting real sick of the rain, you guys.

If the Yankees do play tonight, it sure would be nice to see them beat up on a bad Royals team after last night’s loss. Danny Duffy has been a good pitcher throughout his career, but he currently owns a 6.51 ERA (6.19 FIP) with ugly peripherals (18.7 K%, 10.1 BB%, 2.30 HR/9), and righties are hitting .306/.385/.597 (.417 wOBA) against him. The number of righties in Aaron Boone’s lineup: Nine. Well, eight plus one switch-hitter. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. 1B Tyler Austin
6. 3B Miguel Andujar
7. DH Clint Frazier
8. SS Ronald Torreyes
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Luis Severino

Kansas City Royals
1. CF Jon Jay
2. RF Jorge Soler
3. DH Mike Moustakas
4. C Salvador Perez
5. 2B Whit Merrifield
6. LF Alex Gordon
7. 1B Hunter Dozier
8. SS Alcides Escobar
9. 3B Ryan Goins

LHP Danny Duffy

Like I said, there is rain the forecast tonight, enough to put the game in jeopardy. Tomorrow’s forecast isn’t looking so hot either, but one day at a time. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:15pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network out of market. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Greg Bird’s return from ankle surgery is “around the corner,” according to Boone. What does that mean, exactly? I’m not sure. Bird has played seven rehab games so far. Maybe he rejoins the Yankees for the start of the homestand Friday? We’ll see … Jacoby Ellsbury is dealing with a back issue now. So he’s gone from an oblique injury to a hip injury to plantar fasciitis to an illness to a back injury since Spring Training.

Roster Update: So long, David Hale. Again. He cleared waivers and elected free agency yesterday, the Yankees announced. He was designated for assignment a few days ago, when the Yankees called up Frazier. Maybe Hale will come back on another minor league deal if he can’t find a team willing to put him on their MLB roster.

Game 35: Rivalry Renewed

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(Presswire)

A well-earned off-day is in the books and the Yankees are back at it tonight with the first of three against the Red Sox. First place is on the line with week, though it is only May 8th, and there are 120-something games to play after this series, so let’s not go overboard with the importance of this three-game set. Still, every head-to-head win the Yankees can bank now is a win they don’t need later.

Coming into tonight the Red Sox (25-9) and Yankees (24-10) have the two best records in baseball, and this is the first time these two teams are meeting with the two best records in baseball since June 2002. Been a while, eh? Pretty cool. It’s good for baseball when the Yankees and Red Sox are both good at the same time. The rivalry had gone stale in recent years. How about a move into first place tonight? Sounds good. Here are the lineups:

New York Yankees
1. LF Brett Gardner
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. SS Didi Gregorius
4. DH Giancarlo Stanton
5. C Gary Sanchez
6. CF Aaron Hicks
7. 3B Miguel Andujar
8. 1B Tyler Austin
9. 2B Gleyber Torres

RHP Luis Severino

Boston Red Sox
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. LF Andrew Benintendi
3. 1B Hanley Ramirez
4. DH J.D. Martinez
5. SS Xander Bogaerts
6. 3B Rafael Devers
7. 2B Eduardo Nunez
8. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
9. C Christian Vazquez

LHP Drew Pomeranz

It is a wonderful May night for baseball. A little chilly but the sky is clear. Tonight’s series opener will begin at 7:05pm ET and you can watch on YES locally and MLB Network nationally. Enjoy the game.

Injury Updates: Greg Bird (ankle) played in an Extended Spring Training game yesterday and everything is going well. Aaron Boone said the Yankees expect to assign Bird to an affiliate for an official minor league rehab assignment “any day now” … Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique, hip, foot) has been sick the last few days and is doing light baseball activities. Playing in rehab games is still “a little ways off,” according to Boone.

Red Sox Rotation Update: David Price (scared of the Yankees) will not make his scheduled start tomorrow, the Red Sox announced. In all seriousness, Price is experiencing numbness in his fingers and is going back to Boston for tests. He exited his start against the Yankees last month with the same issue. Rick Porcello will start tomorrow and Eduardo Rodriguez will start Thursday.

Montgomery placed on the 10-day DL with elbow strain, Hale called up

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(Bob Levey/Getty)

5:12pm ET: During a radio interview this afternoon, Aaron Boone said Montgomery is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a flexor tendon strain. He won’t throw at all the next 2-3 weeks. Montgomery is not out of the woods yet, but all things considered, the initial news could’ve been worse.

3:26pm ET: As expected, the Yankees placed left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the 10-day DL today. He has been diagnosed with a left elbow strain, the team announced, though they did not say anything about the severity of the strain. I imagine we’ll hear more later today.

Montgomery left last night’s start with elbow tightness and went for tests today. A strain may indicate the ulnar collateral ligament has been compromised to some degree. Minor strains can be rehabbed fairly quickly, even in as little as two or three weeks, whereas a severe strain requires Tommy John surgery. The severity of a strain is the big unknown here.

Update: I’m a dolt. The Yankees announced an elbow strain, not a sprain. That one letter makes a big difference! A sprain would apply to the elbow ligament. A strain, which is what Montgomery has, indicates an injury to the muscle or tendon. Pretty big difference. We’ll see what the Yankees say later today. Sprains can be bad, but at least it appears Montgomery’s ligament is sound.

With Montgomery out for at least ten days, the Yankees are expected to use Domingo German in his rotation spot. German tossed four gutsy and scoreless innings in long relief last night. Thanks to off-days, the Yankees will only need their fifth starter twice in the next 22 days. That’s convenient.

In corresponding moves, David Hale has been called up and Jacoby Ellsbury has been transferred to the 60-day DL to clear a 40-man roster spot. Hale was re-signed to a new minor league contract yesterday and he was set to rejoin Triple-A Scranton. Now he’ll replace German as a long reliever.