Around the Empire
New York Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: Bad news for Michael Pineda. After getting a second opinion on the partial tear of his UCL in the right elbow, Pineda will undergo the recommended Tommy John surgery today in Cincinnati. With his contract being up this year, Pineda has most likely pitched his last game in pinstripes. While Pineda was inconsistent throughout most of his Yankees’ career, having it potentially end like this is terrible. Best of luck in the future, Pineda.
Newsday | Erik Boland: Bad news for Greg Bird as well. Bird will undergo surgery for os trigonum syndrome, due to excess bone growth in the foot area. The recovery time for this surgery is six weeks. More than likely, Bird will be done for the year as well. Brian Cashman still believes that Bird is the Yankees’ first baseman of the future. We will have to see if he addresses the first base issue during the trade deadline or if he elects to stay with Garrett Cooper and Ji-Man Choi.
MLB.com | Jon Morosi: One potential name the Yankees might look at to replace Greg Bird is Yonder Alonso of the Oakland Athletics. One potential name the Yankees might look at to replace Michael Pineda is Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics. These are just rumors of course, so take all of this with a grain of salt. Billy Beane is looking to do a complete rebuild, so it could happen. As always, the question would be how much the Yankees would have to part with to acquire either one or both of them.
New York Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: If there has been one positive aspect of these troublesome times, it has been looking at the future. Clint Frazier has done very well after being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Yesterday, Joe Girardi batting him 2nd in the lineup, impressed with what Frazier has shown him thus far. He showed his appreciation with a couple of doubles. With all he’s done in the short amount of time, it’s going to be a really hard sell sending him down. So, you know, don’t. He’s here for a reason and this is it.
Newsday | Erik Boland: Tonight the Yankees will face off against former Yankee legend Bartolo Colon. The Twins signed Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal a couple of weeks ago and now he’s on their major league roster. Joe Girardi is not surprised that Colon is still pitching, given his mechanics and control. Thus far, those attributes have not helped Colon much this year. His numbers with the Atlanta Braves were less than stellar. What’s truly sad is that we won’t get to see him bat anymore. Way to ruin that joy, Twins!