Happy Friday, everyone! Before you get too busy going about your day, take a minute to do your All-Star voting. Are any Cubs worthy of electing to the All-Star team? Once you’ve done that, come back and let’s get into the news stories wrapping up the week.
Aaron Judge continues to sit out as the Yankees evaluate his injury; Manny Machado is lamenting the Padres’ offense, while old friend Nick Castellanos no longer has to worry about the Padres offense as all, since they DFA’d him; meanwhile, the rumor
mill continues to swirl around a Tarik Skubal trade; and of course since it’s a day that ends in Y, Commissioner Rob Manfred is saying something potentially contentious.
We’ve got all that and much more below, so let’s dive right in.
- All-Star voting has begun!
- Thomas Harrigan has eight stories to keep an eye on as All-Star voting gets underway.
- Aaron Judge remains benched as he and the Yankees await clarity on his injury. Story by Bryan Hoch.
- Ryan Phillips, meanwhile, is wondering whether the “rib injury” could be something more serious.
- Ben Clemens looks at the rotating cast of lesser-known names that keep showing up on top of the leaderboard.
- Michael Baumann shares that concerns about Adley Rutschman might have been premature.
- Nick Selbe explains why the AL MVP race may not be another sure thing for Aaron Judge.
- Juan Soto shares his feelings about the proposed MLB salary cap. Story by Will Sammon. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Hitters are now facing more pitchers than ever before.
- Ben Clemens looks at the unexpected rise of Louis Varland.
- Sorry Cubs fans, but we are not the most injury-prone team in baseball. Eno Sarris and Brittany Ghiroli look at teams with the most injuries, and question if it’s bad luck, or bad business. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Roki Sasaki had a brutal Spring Training and a terrible start to the season, but things are starting to turn around. Story by Jay Jaffe.
- Mark Bowman looks at some key takeaways from the Braves MLB-best season so far.
- Bailey Ober is blaming his elbow injury on slick balls at Fenway. (ESPN)
- Ryan Phillips looks at the six best trade destinations for Tarik Skubal.
- In a cruel bit of timing, the Padres decided to DFA Nick Castellanos while on the road in Philly… against the last team to release him. Story by Dennis Lin and Matt Gelb. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- You hate to see it (or love to see it if you’re cheering for the opposing team, I suppose).
- Reid Detmers did the near-impossible, climbing his way out of the bullpen and into the Angels’ starting rotation.
- Evan Drellich shares new comments from Rob Manfred about the failure of the luxury tax system. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Francisco Lindor shows his acting chops in a new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day. Story by Brian Murphy.
- Manny Machado admits he is “frustrated” by the Padres’ dismal offense. (ESPN)
- The Astros have made some moves to help boost their roster. (AP)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. explains why he actually loves Yankees fans. (SI)
- Is something about to go down?
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
