MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Shortstop Anthony Volpe was on the bench for Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox, as the Yankees gave him a day off (though he did come in late as a defensive replacement) in the midst of a 1-for-28 slump. Except a “day off” might be something more than that, as Yankee manager Aaron Boone was non-committal about Volpe being back in the lineup for Monday. The former top prospect has struggled both offensively and defensively this year and the bloom is fully off the rose
around Volpe in the eyes of a lot of Yankees’ fans.
During the postgame, Volpe himself provided an update, as he confirmed that he will not be among tonight’s starting nine against the Nationals. He did say that he should return tomorrow, though.
SNY | John Flanigan: Also of note roster-wise for Monday’s game is that the Yankees are set to activate reliever Fernando Cruz ahead of it. Cruz had been a solid member of the Yankee bullpen, posting a 3.00 ERA and 2.48 FIP before going down with an oblique injury at the end of June. Paul Blackburn, who really wore it in long relief work on Saturday during his Yankees debut, is the most likely candidate to be cut from the roster to clear room.
ESPN | Jorge Castillo: Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched two home runs last night as the Yankees won the last game of an otherwise-tough series against Boston. He reached the 100-homer milestone as well in the process. But his heart was heavy, as he told reporters that he lost his best friend on Saturday. Although Chisholm understandably chose to keep the details private, he did acknowledge that it felt “surreal” to have the game that he did, and ESPN cameras also saw him emotional with captain Aaron Judge following the 100th homer.
Our condolences go out to both Jazz and his friend’s loved ones.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees have restricted Aaron Judge to just DH’ing since his return from an injured list stint due to a flexor strain in his right arm. Ahead of Sunday’s game, Judge took a step towards returning to the field, as he practiced throwing to the bases and the cutoff man. There’s still no word on when the Yankees might put in back in right field, but him throwing from that distance is not a bad sign for his return.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: As the Yankees took a series loss to the Red Sox, including a blowout defeat on Saturday, they were certainly saying the right things about needing to improve. The issue is, they’ve said they need to play better many times throughout this season. They may know they need to play better, but they have actually do it.
