Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/27/18

New York Post | Dan Martin: Greg Bird is finally healthy and back in the lineup, but he has yet to find consistency at the plate. Some might be wondering if Brandon Drury, who has been taking reps at first base and is hitting well in Triple-A, is an option to displace Bird. Aaron Boone basically shot that idea down saying they’re not considering it. He thinks Bird just needs more time to build his strength and stamina and get his timing right.

New York Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: Masahiro Tanaka threw another successful bullpen yesterday and came away feeling fine. The next step will be a either a rehab start or a simulated game, and it’s possible he only needs one outing before returning to his rotation spot. Aaron Boone says he expected to figure that out in the next 24 hours, so we should hear what the next step for Tanaka is sometime today.

Newsday | David Lennon: One of the narratives surrounding the Yankees are that they’re too home run reliant. Those takes came out even more after being swept by the Rays this past weekend. Yesterday’s game should show people that the Yankees aren’t just reliant on the long dongs. Sure, they’re still going to hit home runs in bunches and they’re kind of built around that, they still find other ways to score. Yesterday, only two of the six runs came via home runs, and they were solo shots.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: While the Yankees likely won’t send just one representative to the All-Star Game, it looks like our big baseball son Aaron Judge will be the only Yankee starter. Even if Gary Sanchez can retake the lead for catchers, his injury will likely keep him out, and it’ll require a miracle for Gleyber Torres to overtake Jose Altuve. Miguel Andujar is second for third baseman, but is still about 600,000 votes behind Jose Ramirez. Stanton is also in second but almost one million votes behind J.D. Martinez.

Cut4 | Andrew MEARNS!!!: I should probably be used to it by now, but I still get amazed by it. Giancarlo Stanton is a Yankee. You may have seen me mention this once or twice before, but it’s true. He’s a Yankee! Before the game against the Phillies yesterday, Stanton in his Yankee uniform, hit an absolute monster shot in batting practice. The ball was so close to leaving Citizens Bank Park. This is why he feels sorry for the baseballs. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t ruled out the Home Run Derby just yet:

Didi Victory Tweet

I know Didi’s used the old man emoji for Aaron Hicks before, but I don’t know that he’s ever just straight up called him an “old man” but I love it and I love Sir Didi Gregorius.