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Around the Empire
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: GREG BIRD! After almost an entire season of being hurt or injured, Greg Bird is flying back to the Bronx to rejoin the Yankees today. Bird’s rehab in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre went well enough to warrant him being called back up to the majors. Tyler Austin has been optioned back down to the RailRiders. We shall see what this means for Todd Frazier and Chase Headley. Welcome back, Greg Bird.
MLB.com | Mark Feinsand: Speaking of Greg Bird, Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner offered praise for Greg Bird and other baby bombers in his interview with Mark Feinsand. Steinbrenner discusses the current crop of prospects that are helping to get the Yankees back into the playoffs, as well as the next crop of prospects like Gleyber Torres, Estevan Florial, and others. He also discusses Alex Rodriguez and his future with the org, plus Derek Jeter now owning the Marlins.
New York Post | George A. King III: Aroldis Chapman has not found out what his problem is. Whether that’s more telling of him or Larry Rothschild, the point still stands that he is not getting better. In his past seven games, Chapman has an ERA of 10.29, having given up seven hits and six walks in seven innings. That’s un-good. We continue to wait for him to figure things out. Until he does, that contract is not looking promising.
New York Daily News | Daniel Popper: News came out yesterday of the players suspended after the Yankees ruckus with the Tigers. As Jason detailed yesterday, Gary Sanchez received four games for his sucker punches and Austin Romine received two games for apparently not just taking being shoved and swung at with a cooler head. Fan-tastic. Due to this, Joe Girardi doesn’t really know who’s going to be the backup catcher. Kyle Higashioka is currently injured and no other catcher is on the 40-man roster. Guess Girardi is going to have to put on his old catcher’s gear.