MLB.com | Thomas Harrigan: The first phase of All-Star voting is underway officially, and while some Yankees should be locks (like Aaron Judge and Max Fried), there’s a chance for other Bombers to join them as well. While there’s almost no chance Judge isn’t a starter, the big question surrounding him is if he can repeat as the leading vote-getter. This piece also takes a larger look at questions or interesting storylines to watch as All-Star voting opens and takes shape.
Aside from Judge, you can vote for Austin Wells at catcher, Paul Goldschmidt at first base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, Anthony Volpe at shortstop, DJ LeMahieu at third, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham in the other outfield spots, and Ben Rice at DH. Voting began yesterday at noon and this current phase will continue until June 26th.
New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: When Luke Weaver hit the injured list after Sunday, it was certainly a blow to the Yankees’ bullpen. It was reported that his timeline to return would be four-to-six weeks, but Weaver and the Yankees are stopping short of committing to any return. He’s on the 15-day IL is all we know, and it’ll likely be a few weeks before we hear anything. They’re also uncertain as to what exactly led to his injury, but obviously will be careful with his return. Let’s just hope Devin Williams can stop scaring us in the meantime.
The Athletic | Evan Drellich: Fans have long been calling for a solution to the issue of missed strikes and balls. MLB has been testing out the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system in the minors for a couple years now and even brought it to spring training earlier this year. Now MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says he’s going to propose bringing it to MLB as early as next season. The system wouldn’t replace human umpires, but give teams a set number of challenges for certain calls. Below is one example from the spring; it works faster than one might think.
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: The Yankees officially outrighted Carlos Carrasco to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday. Though news of him being designated for assignment just broke on Monday, he was supposedly designated for assignment earlier than that so it still satisfied the 48-hour timing the waiver process generally takes.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: Ryan Yarbrough has been a breath of fresh air since joining the Yankees rotation. Most recently, he helped the Yankees avoid a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers with a six-inning, one-run performance on Sunday. If you’ve watched him pitch, you might have noticed he has a bit of an odd delivery, but if you asked him, he’d say he pitches just like everyone else. Apparently, he doesn’t notice his delivery or doesn’t think about it, but hey if it works then who are we to judge?
NJ.com | Max Goodman: While Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s Yankees tenure has been a bit of a roller coaster, there’s no doubting where his heart his. He absolutely loves being a Yankee, and his willingness to put the team first always just shows why he’s as loved by the clubhouse and fans as he is. While he prefers playing second base, moving over to third to accommodate DJ LeMahieu wasn’t even a concern for him.