MLB.com | Clark Fahrenthold: Carlos Lagrange made a triumphant return to the mound Wednesday, striking out two in a scoreless inning with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Most encouragingly, the fireballer’s heater topped out at 102.1 mph and he threw four pitches in triple digits. The Yankees’ number-two pitching prospect had been on the shelf since the end of June with a capsular sprain in his right shoulder. The team had transitioned him to a bullpen role earlier this year in hopes he could help
out the major-league team down the stretch, though it’s unclear if that remains an option this year.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: ($) With the postseason approaching, a round-robin of looming questions. Spencer Jones’ struggles in center have weakened his case to hold down center field upon Trent Grisham’s return, though Kirschner would still give him the edge. In a potential Wild Card series, he projects Cam Schlittler to start Game 1 with Max Fried and Gerrit Cole (in no particular order) to follow, making Carlos Rodón an option in a relief role. With starters bouncing to the bullpen, Tim Hill, Luis Gil, and Michael Fulmer don’t make the cut for Kirschner’s roster projection.
MLB.com | Patrick Donnelly: Inherent in the Grisham/Jones question and other decisions about postseason playing time is a simple question: how much can a player be trusted to perform his first time playing October baseball? Fellow rookie George Lombard Jr. and deadline acquisitions Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos join Jones in making zero playoff appearances to date. Aaron Boone opines that playing in the Bronx helps mitigate the newcomer concern. “You play for the Yankees, you play in New York,” said the Yankees manager, “it has a way of getting you ready for the postseason.”
