The 2026 MLB season is well into the second half, and while there have been some tough breaks, the Yankees have done a nice job on the whole staying afloat. They have been missing the irreplaceable Aaron Judge for some time now, Giancarlo Stanton’s status is as mystifying as ever, and now missing Cody Bellinger for a long spell, the roster does not look the way fans may have envisioned early in the year. Despite this, the Bombers have a firm grasp on a playoff spot, and are very much in the race
for the AL East. While this can be attributed to many things, solid work with the leather certainly plays a role.
As with every other passing month, July did not pass without some highlights on the defensive side. With the month coming to a close, let’s take a look at some of the most notable flashes of the leather throughout July.
July 1: Volpe over the shoulder
On the first day of the month, in a close game at home against the Tigers, Anthony Volpe made an early entry into our list. With two outs in the fourth inning, Zach McKinstry hit a looping popup, ticketed for the center-field grass. Already shaded slightly up the middle, Volpe ran nearly straight back, before making the impressive over-the-shoulder catch and sliding to a knee, preventing a single and bringing the inning to a close.
As a bonus, reliever Paul Blackburn made a nifty, between-the-legs snag on a comebacker the same day.
July 24th: Caballero lays out, throws it from a knee
In the second inning of a scoreless game against the Phillies, José Caballero cemented his spot in July’s finest plays. With Cam Schlittler on the mound, Alec Bohm ripped the first pitch the other way toward the hole on the right side, only for Cabby to pick the worm-burner off the turf, roll over onto a knee, and make a sharp throw over to first base to just barely get Bohm. Every play mattered in this game, as the Yanks went on to win 1-0.
July 24th: Belli’s clutch play on the track
In the same game, Bellinger gave more proof to the importance of defense in the tight Yankees win. Later in the game, with the Phillies hoping to stage a rally in the ninth, Brandon Marsh nearly started one with extra bases when he rocketed a ball to the warning track the other way. Bellinger, as he does so well, had a beat on it and used every bit of his big frame to leap and make the play a few feet in front of the wall.
July 28th: Jazz ranges far into the outfield
Some of the most memorable defensive plays in baseball often involve a player far away from where their position typically roams. In this play, a chopper off the bat of Colson Montgomery bounced over first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, only for Jazz Chisholm jr. to range deep into the outfield, extend to snare the grounder, and make a spinning throw to first base. It’s not often you see a second baseman make a throw from the foul line, probably 50 feet beyond the first base bag, but Chisholm made it look pretty seamless here.
July 29th: A pair of nice plays in extras
This was very much a game to forget for the Yankees, as they ultimately lost in 12 innings. There was a time, however, that a couple of slick defensive plays nearly netted them a win in the 11th (before defense ended up biting them elsewhere). The first play sees some damage control from Goldschmidt over at first base. With no outs and a runner on second base, Camilo Doval fielded a soft chopper to his right before rocketing a throw into the dirt at first base. The veteran Goldschmidt calmly made a swift pick of the ball in front of the runner to secure the hue out.
The second play comes from the always-impressive Ryan McMahon, who snared a hard grounder to his left, quickly got to his feet and threw a strike over to first base. At the time, it was a game-saver, as the tying run was standing on third base with one out. We won’t talk about anything else from this game! If you dare ponder it, consider it a Dishonorable Mention.
