NYY News: Rotation rounding into form
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Three-fifths of the intended Opening Day starting rotation is on the IL, with Gerrit Cole out for the year while Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman try to rehab and rejoin the club. Despite those blows, the Yankee rotation is rounding into form well, not just because of Max Fried. The starting staff was the worst in baseball in the season's first two weeks, but since then boast the second-best ERA in the game. The only squad better is the Texas Rangers, so this week should be a fun series.
MLB.com | Jacob Foster: A cadre of MLB.com writers cast their votes for Rookie of the Year favorites now that we're about a quarter of the way through the season. Jasson Domínguez, still just 22, gets himself some scattered votes but no first-place slots, as the outfielder has earned himself everyday playing time, but doesn't quite measure up to the top two first-year players in the American League. The Martian still has three quarters of the season to catch up.
Advertisement
FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: With the quarter pole in our review mirror, Dan takes us through the players whose ZiPS projections have most changed, for better and worse. On the 'best' front, ZiPS seems to be something of a believer in Trent Grisham's terrific start, and is also high on prospect George Lombard Jr. The Yankees have a rolling offense for now, and sure enough, don't have any names on the downgrade list.
More from pinstripealley.com:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
MLB All-Star Game: Judge, Ohtani Lead Players in Initial Fan Voting
The MVP front-runners are understandably also the top recipients in initial voting for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani lead the American League and the National League, respectively, with the most votes obtained so far after Monday's release of the initial batch of ballots. The first round of fan voting runs through on June 26. At that point, the top two players at each position (including six outfielders per league) will be voted in a run-off to determine the starts for the July 15 showcase in Atlanta. Judge leads all players with 1,568,527 votes and could become the first repeat top All-Star vote-getter since Alex Rodriguez (2007-08). The six-time All-Star and two-time MVP has about 525,000 votes more than Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who is the next closest AL player. In the NL, Ohtani has 1,398,771 votes. That gives the three-time MVP about 262,000 votes more than Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman, who is currently in second place. Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong currently comes in third place in voting. Sunday's blockbuster trade between the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants also impacted All-Star voting. With Rafael Devers (796,382) joining San Francisco from Boston, he bumped Chicago's Seiya Suzuki for the second spot in the DH ballot in the NL behind Ohtani. Both Judge and Raleigh are currently the only two AL players with more than a million votes. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor joins Ohtani, Freeman, and Crow-Armstrong as the four NL stars who have surpassed that tally. Here are the top American League vote-getters at each position: Catcher: Seattle's Cal Raleigh (1,043,168) and Toronto's Alejandro Kirk (370,460); First base: New York's Paul Goldschmidt (667,258) and Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (614,726); Second base: Detroit's Gleyber Torres (535,079) and Baltimore's Jackson Holliday (440,093); Shortstop: the Athletics' Jacob Wilson (562,696) and Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. (519,984); Third base: Cleveland's Jose Ramirez (968,754) and Boston's Alex Bregman (397,581).Designated hitter: Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn (353,029) and New York's Ben Rice (232,331); Outfielders: New York's Aaron Judge (1,568,527), Detroit's Riley Greene (675,070), Los Angeles' Mike Trout (475,265), Cleveland's Steven Kwan (457,882), Detroit's Javier Baez (421,342) and New York's Cody Bellinger (416,858). Here are the top National League vote-getters at each position: Catcher: Los Angeles' Will Smith (1,124,629) and Chicago's Carson Kelly (408,081); First base: Los Angeles' Freddie Freeman (1,136,389) and New York's Pete Alonso (895,900). Second base: Arizona's Ketel Marte (850,572) and Los Angeles' Tommy Edman (510,451); Shortstop: New York's Francisco Lindor (1,019,273) and Los Angeles' Mookie Betts (597,188); Third base: San Diego's Manny Machado (955,122) and Los Angeles' Max Muncy (415,750). Designated hitter: Los Angeles' Ohtani (1,398,771) and San Francisco's Rafael Devers (796,382); Outfielders: Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong (1,126,119), Kyle Tucker (704,740), Los Angeles' Teoscar Hernandez (685,553), New York's Juan Soto (625,618), Arizona's Corbin Carroll (597,805) and Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. (596,363). Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How MLB executives, scouts grade the Giants' trade for Rafael Devers
David Ortiz, Boston's Hall of Fame DH, didn't go easy on fellow Dominican Red Sox star Rafael Devers on Devers' way out of town. Boston sent Devers, a three-time All-Star third baseman and slugger, to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday for pitcher Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, 2024 first-round pick James Tibbs III and minor-league pitcher Jose Bello, with the Giants' front office mostly earning plaudits for a bold strike well before the deadline to bring in an elite hitter. Devers doesn't come free of controversy, though. He wasn't enthusiastic about moving off third base when the Red Sox acquired Alex Bregman, nor was he keen to play first. He's been playing at DH this season, and Ortiz apparently didn't entirely approve of how Devers handled things. On Monday, Ortiz told Spanish-language reporter Yancen Pujols, as translated by Marcos Grunfeld, 'No one is indispensable on a team. The only way to become indispensable is by doing things the right way, all the way around. You need to be available. I think that marked the end of the relationship between the Red Sox and Devers. 'You have to be smart. A player's worst enemy is his ego. And guess what teams do with your ego? They buy it.' Ortiz also told The Athletic, 'You think everything with me and the Red Sox was roses and flowers? I went through some tough times also. But I was mature enough … to keep things internal. … You have to have the maturity to resolve the problems and move on.' The Chronicle reached out to executives, agents and scouts to get their impressions of the deal as a whole and of Devers; all spoke anonymously because their teams conduct business with the other clubs involved. While Devers is consistently a 30-plus home run threat — who arrives in S.F. leaving behind the American League lead in walks — and he's only 28, the responses weren't universally glowing. Some scouts have concerns about Devers' conditioning, and some execs were troubled by the flap over where Devers might play. That could become an issue in San Francisco, too. The team hasn't decided publicly which position he'll handle and president of baseball operations Buster Posey said he, GM Zack Minasian and manager Bob Melvin want to speak with Devers in person before settling on anything. 'My initial reaction was: Did they just get a combo between Carlos Santana and Pablo Sandoval?' one NL scout said. 'The bat really helps balance their lineup but little else. His defense is not a plus, his baserunning is not a plus and I see him getting fat. If I thought he was more like José Ramírez, I would be all-in but I don't see that kind of character or the speed and defense Ramírez offers.' One executive described Devers as 'moody' and prone to conditioning issues, but he also praised the deal, saying that if anything, Devers' contract is somewhat undervalued and adding. 'This is the best way to get a big bat to SF.' One former player and exec was wildy in favor. 'Tremendous move by Buster,' he said. 'Looooove it. Bold. He will treat the player with the proper respect and he's huge for that offense. This makes the Giants a true contender.' A longtime AL executive was equally enthusiastic, calling the move 'a decisive strike that emphatically announces that the Giants are open for business,' while also comparing Harrison to Robbie Ray at the same age and raving about Tibbs' plate discipline, power and strong arm. He also noted that if Devers agrees to play first base, even for the short term, it will take some pressure off top prospect Bryce Eldridge, who is 20 and still learning to play first. 'It's a seismic blockbuster deal that makes sense for both clubs,' he concluded. Another AL executive agreed with that assessment. 'The Giants did an amazing job of recognizing 'unaligned principles' between an organization and one of its star players and they moved on it,' he texted. 'At a time the Giants had been missing on some free-agent targets, they pivoted and used prospect capital to improve their club in a very tough division. 'The Red Sox did a very nice job of acquiring as much talent as they could and made the most of a very difficult situation. Overall, this is really 'old school.' refreshing in an industry paralyzed by process and finance over competition. Well done on both sides IMO.' An NL executive was similarly impressed, texting: 'Seems like a good baseball deal for both sides … Red Sox unload an unhappy teammate and SF drops a really good hitter into an environment where offense is hard to come by. Steep price for SF to pay but I like how they are willing to push the chips in to win now.' An NL scout has seen a lot of Harrison and Tibbs and likes both of them, citing Tibbs' power potential in particular. 'Word is Devers wants no part of DH,' the scout said. 'Where is he going to play when Matt Chapman gets back? Does Devers fit Posey's way of playing the game? 'I get that they need an impact bat in the lineup. I'm not critical of the deal. Just wondering if he fits into the culture that Posey is trying to build.' One agent who represented no players in the deal noted that long-term deals for DH types have the potential to backfire, and with $260 million or so still owed Devers, it might hamper the Giants' ability to do other things in a few years, with Devers' contract running through 2033. But, he concluded, 'In the short term, this is exactly what they need.' Another agent with no skin in the game pointed to how drastically Boston has underperformed as the primary impetus for the deal but said he was disappointed Devers hadn't embraced moving to first. 'If you're paid a lot of money to play baseball and they want you to play rover, go play rover,' the agent said. 'You have to do whatever helps your team with that paycheck, and they definitely unloaded a s--- ton of payroll. 'But Harrison's star had faded a little bit and the experiment with Hicks as a starter didn't work out, so this might be a little of, 'I'll swap my insanely talented misfits for yours and see if we can fix them.' That fresh start might be all anyone needs sometimes. Harrison could still turn into a dude, you have him at the minimum for another year and then pennies on the dollar for three more years. 'It's going to be fun to look back on this one and see how it all panned out.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Red Sox players ‘just as shocked as everyone else' by trade of Rafael Devers
Red Sox players learned at about the same time as the rest of the baseball world: Team decision-makers Related : All of a sudden, their best hitter was gone. 'Probably just as shocked as everyone else. That's the best way to describe it. Didn't really see it coming,' Trevor Story said Monday afternoon. 'The timing of it comes at a weird time. We thought we were playing really good. It's a brutal reminder that this game is a business. It showed its face.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Shortstop Trevor Story (10) celebrates with Rafael Devers after the DH's homer on Sunday. A few hours later, Story and the rest of the Red Sox were no longer teammates with Devers. Greg M. Cooper/Associated Press Advertisement Jarren Duran added, echoing that sentiment: 'I didn't see it coming. It was a shock … They made a decision that they thought was best for us. We have to stick by it and move forward as a team.' And Garrett Crochet: 'Tough blow … It was a shock for sure, after the run we just had this past week.' A day later, as they prepared for the series opener with the Mariners, a competitor in the American League wild-card race, Sox players trying to move on appeared loose and jovial in the clubhouse. They attended routine pregame meetings, ate snacks, and shouted inside jokes across the room. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow walked through the room, stopping at Aroldis Chapman's locker to share a comment and a laugh. Related : Advertisement Infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton arrived from Triple A Worcester as the answer to a trivia question: Who filled Devers's roster spot? In a transactional sense, Eaton was the easy answer, at least until right fielder Wilyer Abreu returns from the injured list, which is expected Friday. In a larger baseball sense, it's not as simple. Journeyman infielder Abraham Toro, who has been hot, moved into Devers' No. 2 spot in the lineup. Kristian Campbell was slotted in as the designated hitter, with David Hamilton playing second. How or if the Red Sox replace Devers's All-Star-caliber performance remains to be seen. 'Obviously, he has a big presence in the lineup. We'll miss that,' Crochet said. 'But we can't really just sit here and harp on that. I don't think that does anybody in this room any good. I don't think that's what the fan base wants to hear either.' In a coincidental announcement that underscored his popularity and production, Devers led AL DHs with 796,382 votes in the first All-Star balloting update, released Monday by MLB. But since he now is in the NL, he is off the AL ballot (and well behind the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani on the NL side). So the AL DH leader is the Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn at 353,029 — less than half of Devers's total. By the time the players arrived at T-Mobile Park, manager Alex Cora was the only member of management to address the team, Story said. Walker Buehler and Crochet said in separate interviews that the front office didn't owe them an explanation. Advertisement Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler said the Red Sox brass didn't owe an explanation to their players: "This is part of the business," the veteran hurler added. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff 'From the outside perspective, that would seem like a logical thing,' Buehler said. 'But this is part of the business. We have no reason to get an explanation. They made a decision. Our job remains the same.' The overall sentiment of Cora's message, Duran said, was simple: onward. Several players struck the same tone in their public comments. '(Cora) trusts everybody we got right now,' Duran said. 'I trust everybody we have now, and we can't let one little thing deter what we got going so far.' This is one thing, sure, but it's not exactly a little thing. 'He's a great player, but at the end of the day, it's how many guys? Twenty-six, right?' Duran said. 'It's just one guy. So we got 25 other guys who were pulling on the same line to win those series, not just one. So I think we gotta think about it like that, as a team.' More Rafael Devers trade coverage: Advertisement Tim Healey can be reached at
