Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/10/19

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Even before the announcement of Domingo German’s hip injury, the Yankees had started to explore trades for starting pitchers. Brian Cashman has already touched base with the Blue Jays regarding Marcus Stroman, and the club has scouted Madison Bumgarner. The Yankees are almost certain to add a starter at the deadline, and it appears they’re targeting the big names.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: It turns out that German’s left hip has bothered him for a while now. He told reporters that he felt it during his disastrous outing against Kansas City on May 26, also known as the time he gave up seven runs on four homers. It’s exceptionally frustrating when a player tries to grind through an injury; it only ends up hurting the team. In this case, German’s silence may have even changed the calculus on the team’s pursuit of Dallas Keuchel. Now is a good time to remind you of Josh’s piece from last year on how troubling it is when a player refuses to speak up about injuries.

FanGraphs | David Laurila: Ever wonder how CC Sabathia developed his trademark slider? It turns out it happened accidentally, as the left-hander worked with Cleveland’s pitching coach on developing a cutter. Instead of a cut fastball, Sabathia fired off a “wipeout slider.” To this day, Sabathia still calls the breaking pitch a cutter, something he elaborated on to Mike Harkey during a recent episode of the R2C2 podcast. Never change, big guy.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Yankees fans have a new hate vessel, and his name is Kendrys Morales. The 35-year-old sat out of yesterday’s lineup, but he’s been a mainstay of late. Aaron Boone explained that Morales will get playing time because he makes hard contact and takes his walks. It’s not the most satisfying answer, but fans now have the rationale straight from Boone.