Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/22/18

New York Post | Dan Martin: One of the key things the Yankees need for a successful second half is Greg Bird being the Greg Bird we want him to be. Before the break, Bird was showing signs of improvement. We’ve played two games since the break and it looks like he’s still doing well. Aaron Boone has noted how well Bird has looked in the box the past two-to-three weeks. Bird attributes it to being consistent. I attribute it to me, since we both share the same first name. After all, Greg is the word.

New York Daily News | Justin Tasch: You know who else is looking better? Sonny Gray is looking better. Okay, “better” might be a strong word here. Serviceable might be the more appropriate term here. His past two starts have ranged from average to “oh hey, he CAN pitch.” Mind you, his last two starts have been against the Orioles and the Mets, so yeah. Either way, we can hope this at least builds his confidence up a bit. Consistency, Sonny. Consistencyyyyyyyy.

MLB.com | Mandy Bell: Domingo Acevedo was called up before yesterday’s game. Domingo Acevedo was then optioned back down after yesterday’s game. Acevedo was brought up in case the Yankees needed an extra arm out of the bullpen. You know, because Sonny Gray was starting. While he didn’t see any playing time, the excitement was clearly there. Boone told Acevedo to trust his stuff, trust himself, and be ready at any time.

MLBTradeRumors | Connor Byrne: Aroldis Chapman kinda sorta imploded in the 9th inning of yesterday’s game. Whether it was due to his knee or rust or just a bad day is up for debate. What it did do is ignite the calls for Cashman to potentially get another stud reliever. Zach Britton is currently available, but that could change really quick. It looks like the Cubs, the Astros, and the always scary mystery team, are reportedly pushing hard to acquire him. The Yankees may want him, but who knows if the O’s would want to trade with us.

Newsday | David Lennon: Truth be told, this article doesn’t really have anything to do with the Yankees. Today is the last day of the Subway Series though, so there’s my connection. Since e’ve got time before the usual 8PM Sunday Night Baseball start time, I thought it might be nice to give you an closer look at what goes on across the Triboro. It’s bleak. Yoenis Cespedes came back on Friday and then told reporters that he will probably require surgery that would keep him out for 8-10 months. Fast forward to yesterday, when their manager apparently just found out about it. Apparently no one told him, which...okay look. I could spend a long time talking about the sheer dysfunction of this. Just read it and be glad our own organization is not run like this.

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