NJ.com | Max Goodman: By now you’ve probably heard that the Yankees designated veteran DJ LeMahieu for assignment yesterday; he is still owed $22 million through the end of 2026. The former All Star wanted to keep playing, but he had been fairly bumped from second base by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and was physically unable to appear at third anymore. Simply put, he was clearly no longer capable of playing to the level the club needed (see more from PSA’s post yesterday). Oswald Peraza, the just-recalled Jorbit Vivas, and JC Escarra will all get time at third base in the short-term, but a trade seems increasingly likely.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: Also, in less-heralded DFA news, reliever Geoff Hartlieb was the roster casualty for rookie Cam Schlittler, who started and won his MLB debut against the Mariners. This marked the second time this month that Hartlieb appeared in relief for New York, pitched poorly, and got designated for assignment shortly thereafter.
ESPN | Jesse Rogers: In the latest test of the automatic ball-strike challenge system, MLB announced the technology will be used in the All-Star Game next week. We saw the ABS in real time in spring training, and now some of the game’s best will get to revisit the system that could be used across MLB as early as next year.
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Austin Wells has had an up-and-down year at the plate, but hitting his 14th home run on Tuesday gave him a new career high for a single season. Additionally, it was the third straight game the Yankee catcher went deep. Wells is just barely over a league-average hitter, but if he’s hitting his stride now, we could see the breakout year many predicted back in the spring.
FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: While this isn’t entirely Yankee-centric, the organization’s interest in Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara has been reported on, and the onetime Cy Young winner is one of the biggest possible fish in the trade deadline sweepstakes. Unfortunately, Sandy’s been less than dandy in his return from Tommy John surgery, with an unsightly 7.01 ERA. However, almost week-by-week, Sandy’s pure stuff and command have gotten better and better, and while he’s probably not going to be his 2022 self, it shouldn’t surprise us if he’s back in the upper tier of starters before long.
New York Post | Mark Suleymanov: Jim Abbott is one of those stories that shouldn’t be true, but it is. Born without a right hand, Abbott pitched for a decade in the big leagues, throwing a famous no-hitter for the Yankees in 1993. Abbott’s journey to the majors, and his somewhat-tense relationship with New York, has been captured in a new ESPN documentary, debuting Sunday night.