- The Yankees activated catcher Jose Trevino from the 10-day injured list on Friday, and Carlos Narvaez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Yesterday’s game marked Trevino’s first action since a left quad strain forced him out of the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Orioles on July 12. Trevino figures to resume his catching platoon with Austin Wells, though Wells’ hot bat over the last month might have earned him a larger share of the playing time.
Yankees Rumors
Yankees Select Tim Mayza
The Yankees announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Tim Mayza. They signed the lefty to a minor league deal after he was released by the Blue Jays last month. They optioned Will Warren after Wednesday’s game and designated Enyel De Los Santos earlier this week, meaning they already had a vacancy on both the active and 40-man rosters.
It’s been a strange year for Mayza, who had a strong run for the Jays before everything seemed to come off the rails this year. From 2017 to 2023, he made 317 appearances for the Jays, despite missing the 2020 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. In that stretch, he allowed 3.47 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 25.7% of batters faced, walked just 7.8% of opponents and got ground balls on 54.4% of balls in play. He racked up four saves and 77 holds in that period.
But here in 2024, his 35 appearances for the Jays were disastrous, leading to an 8.04 ERA. He surely wasn’t helped by a .367 batting average on balls in play or his 54.8% strand rate, but he also only struck out 13.2% of batters faced.
He was designated for assignment by the Jays at the end of June. Since he had passed five years of service time this year, he earned the right to reject an outright assignment while retaining his $3.59MM salary. The Jays skipped that formality and released him, leaving them on the hook for the rest of that money.
The Yankees signed him to a minor league deal and sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has since made nine appearances for the RailRiders, allowing two earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. He has struck out eight opponents against three walks.
That will get him another shot in the big leagues, giving manager Aaron Boone a second left-handed option alongside Tim Hill. Now that Mayza has more than five years of service, he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. But if he manages to stick around, he can be retained via arbitration for the 2025 season.
For now, it’s a fairly low-risk move, as the Yankees will only have to pay Mayza the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Jays pay, which will make a small dent in their competitive balance tax calculation. Last week, Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said the Jays were just under the tax line but that the situation was “fluid”.
Yankees Hopeful Jazz Chisholm Jr. Can Return In September
Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been prescribed rest and rehab for the UCL injury in his left elbow and is expected to play again this season, per Jon Heyman and Greg Joyce of the New York Post. He’ll likely still be sidelined into September, but it’s clearly good news for the Yanks that their most impactful deadline pickup won’t require immediate surgery and could return down the stretch.
Chisholm hit the injured list just two days ago after suffering a left elbow strain on a slide into home plate. As we’ve seen in the past with position players, it’s possible to play through ligament damage in the non-throwing elbow without being greatly impacted at the plate. (Both Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper have had productive stretches at the plate despite ligament injuries that required eventual surgery.) That’ll be the goal for the Yankees and Chisholm in the short term. There has yet to be any indication that eventual offseason surgery has been expressly ruled out. Presumably, that’ll hinge on how Chisholm’s elbow responds to the rest. Most — but certainly not all — sprains of the UCL do eventually require surgical repair.
The 26-year-old Chisholm has been a force in the Yankees’ lineup since being acquired from the Marlins in exchange for a prospect package headlined by young catcher Agustin Ramirez. In 14 games and 61 plate appearances, he’s ripped an incredible seven home runs while batting .316/.361/.702. That surge propelled Chisholm to 20 homers, and the five bases he’s swiped along the way have him at 27 steals on the year. It’s the first 20-20 season of the Bahamian-born infielder’s career.
Chisholm’s power-speed blend and potential for a 20-20 or even 30-30 season have long been apparent, but he’s been too prone to injury to realize that type of production until the 2024 campaign. He’s previously dealt with shoulder, back, foot and oblique injuries that limited him to a total of 281 games in three seasons from 2021-23. His latest injury appears that it’ll lead to another absence of some note, but if Chisholm is back for even half of September, he’d have time to surpass his previous career-high 124 games in a big league season.
The Yankees control Chisholm via arbitration through the 2026 season. He’s earning $2.625MM in 2024 and will be due a pair of raises in the next two offseasons. Chisholm has served as their primary third baseman since being acquired, although with Gleyber Torres slated to become a free agent at season’s end, a return to second base for Chisholm next season could be in the cards. His hot streak with the Yankees has boosted his season line from roughly average to a more productive .257/.328/.445, and Chisholm now touts a similar .254/.319/.468 slash with 53 long balls and 61 stolen bases through 1115 plate appearances dating back to 2022.
Yankees Designate Enyel De Los Santos For Assignment
The Yankees announced today that infielder Oswald Peraza and right-hander Will Warren have been recalled to the active roster. One spot was opened by infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. landing on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 13, with a left elbow sprain. That injury and Chisholm’s expected IL placement were both previously reported. The other roster spot was opened by right-hander Enyel De Los Santos being designated for assignment. Additionally, the Yanks added that righty Lou Trivino will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset.
It’s a very quick turnaround for De Los Santos, 28, who was just acquired prior to the deadline a couple of weeks ago. The Yankees sent outfielder Brandon Lockridge to the Padres in order to acquire De Los Santos and minor league pitcher Thomas Balboni.
It seems that the buyer’s remorse set in very quickly, as things didn’t go well for De Los Santos after swapping his Padre pinstripes for the Yankee variety. After the trade, he tossed 6 1/3 innings over five appearances, allowing 10 earned runs in that time. He struck out five opponents while walking three of them.
The Yankees were rained out on Friday and played a double-header on Saturday, meaning their five starters have each pitched in the past four days. They needed Warren to come up and make a spot start today, which required a corresponding move. The only member of their bullpen that can be optioned is Jake Cousins, who has a 2.25 ERA on the season. Rather than send Cousins down, they have decided to bump De Los Santos off the 40-man roster not too long after trading for him.
Since the deadline has now passed, the Yankees will have no choice but to put De Los Santos on waivers in the coming days. Although his results have clearly been poor since coming to the Bronx, it seems likely that some other club will look beyond that and put in a claim based on his previous work.
From the start of 2022 and up until the trade, the righty actually posted some strong numbers between the Guardians and Padres. He tossed 159 1/3 innings in that time with a 3.50 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.
Meaningful roster upgrades are difficult to come by at this post-deadline part of the calendar, so a club looking for bullpen reinforcements will probably put in a claim. That might not even need to be a contending club, as De Los Santos is making just $1.16MM this year and can be retained via arbitration for two additional seasons.
Waiver priority goes in reverse order of the standings, so the teams with the worst records will have first dibs. Even a team out of contention might take a shot on De Los Santos given those two extra years of control. But if they all pass, some club in a playoff race could benefit with a fresh arm that has had some success in recent seasons, Yankee tenure notwithstanding.
Cutting bait on De Los Santos will cut into the club’s bullpen depth, but they are about to backfill some of that with Trivino. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and missed all of the 2023 season. He hit free agency and the Yanks re-signed him on a one-year deal with a $1.5MM guarantee and a $5MM club option for 2025, plus bonuses and escalators that kick in at 15 appearances this year.
Prior to this lengthy injury layoff, he put up some strong numbers. Most of that came with the Athletics, though he also came over to the Yankees at the 2022 deadline as part of the Frankie Montas trade. Overall, he has 284 2/3 innings under his belt with a 3.86 ERA. His 10.6% walk rate is a bit high but his 24.5% strikeout rate and 47.4% ground ball rate are both strong.
Yankees Planning To Place Jazz Chisholm On IL With UCL Injury
The Yankees are likely to place Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the 10-day injured list with an injury to the UCL in his left elbow, manager Aaron Boone told the New York beat (relayed on X by Chris Kirschner of the Athletic). The organization is unsure whether Chisholm will need to undergo surgery.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the injury is to Chisholm’s non-throwing arm. It’s nevertheless a tough blow that’ll subtract the Yankees’ key deadline acquisition from the lineup. Chisholm has gotten out to an excellent start to his time in the Bronx. He already has seven homers in 14 games. He’s hitting .316/.361/.702 across 61 trips to the plate since the trade.
Chisholm had connected on 13 longballs with Miami. This is his first major league campaign reaching the 20-homer mark. He has also swiped 27 bases (including a perfect 5-5 showing with the Yankees) and now carries an above-average .257/.328/.445 slash line on the year. The Yankees have won nine of 14 games since Chisholm joined the team. They enter play tonight half a game behind the Orioles for the top spot in the AL East. Baltimore is tied with the Guardians for the #1 seed in the American League, so that’s very much in play for New York as well.
While Chisholm had spent his entire Marlins career in the middle of the diamond (primarily at second base or in center field), he has moved to the hot corner in the Bronx. Chisholm has been in the starting lineup for all 14 games since the Yankees acquired him. Thirteen of those have come at third base, while he has made one start in center field. The hot corner has been a problem for New York all season. Yankee third basemen aside from Chisholm have hit .231/.292/.320 through 419 trips to the plate.
Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu have gotten the bulk of that work and neither has hit at a league average level. The Yankees have deployed LeMahieu as the right-handed half of a first base platoon with lefty-swinging Ben Rice lately. That could point to Cabrera, who gets the nod there tonight against White Sox righty Jonathan Cannon, as the primary option if Chisholm goes on the shelf. Oswald Peraza, who is hitting .244/.352/.384 in a fairly pedestrian Triple-A campaign, is on the 40-man roster. So is Jorbit Vivas, whom the Yankees acquired in an offseason trade with the Dodgers. The Yankees briefly called Vivas up around the All-Star Break but didn’t get him into a game. He’s hitting .242/.379/.374 over 58 Triple-A contests.
The Yankees can no longer turn to the trade market for anything more than a minor league depth pickup. Amed Rosario is headed to the waiver wire after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers last night. If Chisholm is out for an extended stretch, the Yankees could look to put in a claim for the righty-hitting infielder. New York is behind everyone other than the Phillies, Guardians and Orioles in the waiver priority, though. There’s a good chance that another team claims Rosario before the Yankees get an opportunity.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Casas, Story, Schmidt
Orioles general manager Mike Elias spoke to reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports) ahead of today’s game against the Rays, offering updates on several injured players. First and foremost, he expressed optimism regarding starter Grayson Rodriguez, who landed on the 15-day IL last week. Elias described Rodriguez’s right lat/teres injury as “pretty mild” – much less serious than the similar injury he suffered in 2022 – and said the team is hoping to have him back in the rotation by late September. The young right-hander has a 3.86 ERA across 20 starts this season, and Elias made it clear that the Orioles are still hopeful he will play an “enormous” role for the team come October.
Discussing his club’s minor league rotation depth while Rodriguez is out, Elias named Cade Povich, Cole Irvin, and, interestingly, Brandon Young of Triple-A Norfolk. Povich, 24, is a top prospect and has a spot on the 40-man roster, while Irvin, 30, has six seasons of MLB experience. Young, 25, doesn’t have Povich’s prospect pedigree or Irvin’s big league resume, but he is enjoying a strong season; he has a 3.82 ERA and 2.92 FIP across 20 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Barring another injury, the Orioles rotation is set with Corbin Burnes, Zach Eflin, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, and Albert Suarez. Still, Young is a name worth keeping an eye on.
Elias also provided some good news about several Orioles relievers. Jacob Webb hit the IL last week with inflammation in his right elbow, but tests revealed no structural damage. The club is hopeful his IL stint will be a short one, perhaps no longer than the minimum 15 days. Webb has pitched well for Baltimore since joining the club last August. In 71 2/3 innings, the 30-year-old has a 3.14 ERA and 3.98 SIERA as a middle relief option for manager Brandon Hyde. The Orioles are also planning to have Danny Coulombe back in late September. Coulombe, who has a 2.68 ERA over the past two seasons, has been out since June, when he had surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Finally, Elias touched on Félix Bautista’s rehab, explaining that things are “going really well” for the star closer as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He will not pitch for Baltimore this year, in the regular season or the playoffs, but he is set to throw off a proper mound next week as he prepares himself for a full and healthy 2025 campaign.
On the position player side of things, Elias noted that there is “still time” for Jordan Westburg to get back on the field before the end of the regular season. The All-Star infielder has been out since he fractured his right hand on July 31. He has 18 home runs, an .815 OPS, and 2.8 FanGraphs WAR over 101 games this year. Elias also expressed hope that Heston Kjerstad won’t be out for “too much longer” as he continues to recover from a concussion. The GM acknowledged that it’s “pretty mild” as far as concussions go, but the team is still taking his symptoms “really seriously” and will not bring him back until they make sure he is “totally out of the woods.” The Orioles had previously optioned Kjerstad back to Triple-A, but placing him back on the injured list reverses the option.
In additional injury news from around the AL East…
- Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas is reportedly “close to returning” from his rib cage injury, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. He is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, and Cotillo suggests Casas could be back in the majors as soon as Thursday. Boston will need to activate him once he maxes out his minor league rehab time on August 18, but it appears the slugger could be back in the lineup a few days sooner. Casas hit six home runs over his first 22 games this season before suffering his injury, and his big lefty bat will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the Red Sox’s lineup.
- Meanwhile, Trevor Story is about to take what manager Alex Cora describes as a “huge step” toward returning this season, according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. The shortstop, who has been out since April after undergoing shoulder surgery, will take batting practice on Monday. His surgery seemed to be season-ending back in April, but Cora now believes the two-time All-Star will be back with the Red Sox before the end of the year. Story himself suggested that his return has gone from “a maybe” to “a reality.” He is already ready to return defensively, and he is making excellent progress swinging the bat. He says his swings have felt “really good” with “no hesitation or hold back.”
- Finally, Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt told reporters (including Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post) that it is “very realistic” to expect he will return to the club before the end of August. The right-hander has been out since May with a right lat strain. Over his first 11 starts, Schmidt pitched to a sparkling 2.52 ERA and 3.64 SIERA. Meanwhile, since his last appearance, Yankees starters rank second-last in the AL with a 5.22 ERA. Their problems go far beyond Schmidt’s injury, but it will surely help to have him back in the fold. It’s not clear how manager Aaron Boone will arrange his rotation once Schmidt returns, but Boone was reportedly “thrilled” with Schmidt’s performance in a live batting practice session earlier today (per Joel Sherman of the New York Post). There will be a job for Schmidt when he’s ready, even if he has to push a more established arm – like Marcus Stroman or Nestor Cortes – out of the rotation.
Yankees Acquire Cam Eden From Blue Jays
The Yankees announced Friday that they’ve acquired outfielder Cam Eden in a trade sending cash back to the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the time being.
Eden, 26, was Toronto’s sixth-round pick back in 2019. He briefly made his big league debut late last season, appearing in five games and going 1-for-6 with a pair of strikeouts. The Jays removed him from the 40-man roster after the season, outrighting him to Triple-A Buffalo. Because Eden was not on the Jays’ 40-man roster at any point this season, he’s eligible to be traded even after the major league trade deadline.
[Related: How to Acquire Players After the MLB Trade Deadline]
While Eden isn’t likely to factor heavily into the Yankees’ plans down the stretch, he’s a Triple-A piece at a time when Everson Pereira is out for the season and Jasson Dominguez could soon get a call to the big leagues. Eden is also a potential bench/pinch-running option in September or even in the postseason, if the Yankees choose to dedicate a roster spot to someone with that type of specialized skill set. He’s hitting just .198/.299/.322 with a 27.4% strikeout rate this season, but he’s also swiped 26 bags in 33 tries. This is his second run through the Triple-A level; Eden hit .257/.354/.333 there last year and stole 53 bases in 57 attempts.
Eden has played all three outfield spots in his pro career. The Cal product has spent the bulk of his time in center field. FanGraphs Eric Longenhagen ranked him at the back of the Jays’ top-34 prospects back in 2022, touting Eden’s plus speed, quick first step in center and baserunning acumen — while also noting that lack of offensive upside that limits his ceiling.
Anthony Volpe Leaves Game Due To Foot Contusion, X-Rays Negative
- Anthony Volpe fouled a ball off his left foot during a plate appearance in the second inning of tonight’s 9-4 Yankees loss to the Angels, and the shortstop was eventually forced out of the game in the eighth inning. Manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and other reporters that x-rays were negative and Volpe just received a contusion, though more will be known in the coming days if Volpe will need to miss any time. Volpe has an exactly average 100 wRC+ over 516 PA this season, with a lot of streakiness baked into a .257/.304/.410 slash line. The second-year player has been hot at the plate recently and is still delivering standout defense at shortstop, so the Yankees can only hope the injury isn’t serious.
NL West Notes: Snell, Rushing, Senzatela
Blake Snell’s free agency was one of the top — and most drawn-out — storylines of the 2023-24 offseason. After lingering on the market well into spring training despite having just won his second Cy Young Award, he inked a two-year, $62MM deal with the Giants that affords him the ability to opt out and return to the open market again this offseason (this time without a qualifying offer). Snell’s decision to eventually settle on a two-year pact with San Francisco came months after a reported overture from the Yankees, who pivoted to sign Marcus Stroman after Snell rejected a longer-term offer.
At the time, MLB.com reported that the Yankees had put forth a six-year, $150MM offer to Snell, which he purportedly spurned in hopes of landing a lengthier deal. Snell himself was asked about the reported terms in a recent appearance with hosts Scott Braun, A.J. Pierzynski and Cameron Maybin on Foul Territory (video link). While the two-time Cy Young winner declined to delve into specifics, he stated in no uncertain terms that the numbers which became public were not accurate.
“The deal that came out — that wasn’t what was offered to me,” said Snell. “I can say that. … What they offered wasn’t close to that.”
Snell understandably wasn’t keen on going into specifics, which is common practice for players and executives alike when discussing free-agent interest. (Although Teoscar Hernandez notably divulged the Red Sox’ offer to him in a recent interview.) At this point, the specifics matter little; Snell seemed like a long-shot to join the Yankees once they added Stroman and pushed themselves into the top tier of luxury-tax penalization, meaning Snell would’ve come with a 110% tax hit (thus making his current $31MM AAV an expenditure north of $65MM). He signed with the Giants, and after a disastrous and injury-marred start to his San Francisco tenure, he looks largely back to Cy Young form.
Snell’s upcoming player option will mark a fascinating decision. If he continues at his current post-IL pace or anywhere near it (33 innings, 0.55 ERA, 36.3 K%, 8.8 BB%), he’ll surely turn down that second year and look for a long-term pact. He’s recently blanked the Rockies while punching out 15 batters over six frames and, of course, threw a no-hitter against the Reds his last time out. However, if he begins to struggle or incurs further injuries, there’ll be more consideration given to the second season of the contract. Few finishes in baseball will be more intriguing to follow than that of Snell.
Some other notes from the National League West division…
- The Dodgers recently promoted catching prospect Dalton Rushing from Double-A to Triple-A and his new team seems to come with a new assignment. Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary says Rushing will exclusively be playing left field for now, per broadcaster Alex Freedman on X. The move is likely related to the fact that the Dodgers won’t have any playing time available behind the plate for a while. Will Smith recently signed an extension that runs through 2033. He’s essentially locked into the backstop role because Shohei Ohtani will be the designated hitter through 2033 while Freddie Freeman has first base locked up through 2027. Even after trading Thayron Liranzo in the Jack Flaherty deal, the Dodgers have two top 100 catching prospects in Rushing and Diego Cartaya, but Cartaya is considered the better defender with Rushing considered better at the plate. It’s been speculated that the club might deal from this catching surplus but it also seems they’re experimenting with Rushing at other positions to improve his chances of cracking the roster. He has logged some first base time as well as 35 innings in left field in Double-A and he now seems set to add to that total at Triple-A. Before the promotion, he hit 17 home runs in 77 Double-A games and drew walks in 11.4% of his plate appearances, slashing .270/.378/.512 for a wRC+ of 147. If he can generate that kind of offense in the majors or anything close to it, his bat will play at any position.
- Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela is going to begin a rehab assignment on Thursday, per Patrick Lyons of Just Baseball on X. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery just over a year ago, in July of 2023. His return won’t have a huge impact on this season as the Rockies are 42-72, ahead of only the lowly White Sox. But getting back on the mound before the offseason would be a nice development as the club looks to have a much stronger rotation in 2025 that could consist of Senzatela, Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner. Senzatela and Márquez both underwent Tommy John surgery last year and have missed most of this season while Freeland also missed a couple of months due to a left elbow strain. Márquez was reinstated last month but went back on the IL due to elbow inflammation.
Yankees Release Duane Underwood Jr.
The Yankees released right-hander Duane Underwood Jr., who’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal in the offseason, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s a free agent who can now sign with any club.
Underwood’s release comes despite generally solid results in Scranton. He’s pitched 38 2/3 innings for the RailRiders, logging a 3.26 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate that’s slightly north of the big league average. The Yankees never game him a look in the big leagues this season, likely due in part to an unpalatable 14% walk rate that portends some regression in that otherwise sharp earned run average.
A second-round pick by the Cubs back in 2012, the now 30-year-old Underwood has three-plus years of big league service that have been accrued over parts of six seasons split evenly between the Cubs and Pirates. Underwood found some decent success with Pittsburgh from 2021-22 and even worked his way into a leverage role with the ’22 Bucs. Over those two seasons, he tallied 130 innings of 4.36 ERA ball with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate, 45.7% ground-ball rate, one save and a dozen holds. He was arguably miscast as a setup man, but Underwood looked the part of a perfectly serviceable middle reliever at the very least.
The 2023 season marked a notable step back for the right-hander, however. Underwood pitched just 24 1/3 frames in the big leagues and was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA with glaring declines in his strikeout and walk rates. His average sinker fell from 95.3 mph in ’22 to 93.6 mph in ’23, and Underwood posted a career-low 14% strikeout rate against a career-worst 11% walk rate. Pittsburgh passed him through waivers last June. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and signed with the Yankees.
On the whole, Underwood has 190 2/3 innings of 4.63 ERA ball under his belt in the majors. He’s set down 21.5% of his opponents on strikes and issued free passes at a 9% clip — both numbers right in line with the results he delivered for the 2021-22 Pirates. He’s worked mostly in short relief with the Yankees organization, although Underwood does have eight appearances in which he’s recorded between four and six outs over the past couple months. He could be an option for a team seeking some depth in the form of an experienced arm that’s comfortable working more than an inning per appearance.
