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FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Another year, another round of Next Man Up. Jaffe runs down this season’s avalanche of Yankees injuries and the options they have to stem the tide while Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu heal. There’s no guarantee the subs will be able to replace the stars as well as they have so far, but there’s also little chance that the injuries will knock the Yankees significantly in the playoff race, given the season’s altered structure.
Washington Post | Kevin Blackistone: Over the weekend, MLB honored the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues. Blackistone argues that baseball needs to do more than honor the history of the Leagues; in needs to explain why the Negro Leagues existed in the first place. The answer, of course, is that MLB segregated the game and kept it that way for decades. It’s difficult to view baseball’s celebration of the Negro Leagues as genuine when it was baseball itself that necessitated a separate league for Black and Latino players.
ESPN | Marly Rivera: Giancarlo Stanton expressed disappointment in himself after his latest injury, a hamstring strain that could keep him out a month. “Words can’t really describe the disappointment I’ve had over this”, the 30-year-old said during pregame yesterday. For as hard as parts of the Yankee fandom are on Stanton when he struggles, it seems he is even harder on himself. One can only hope he can get and stay healthy soon, as for all his detractors, Stanton has been great (134 OPS+, 44 homers in 717 at-bats) when healthy with the Yankees.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Kuty explores the idea of Clint Frazier’s trade value. There’s no indication the Yankees have any plans of trading Frazier, and they probably shouldn’t given how well the young outfielder has played when pressed into duty by injuries. But opposing executives have apparently expressed their high opinions of Frazier’s game, and have questioned how he fits into the Yankees’ plans.
Also, Aroldis Chapman rejoined the Yankees yesterday, and Aaron Boone indicated DJ LeMahieu could be out about three weeks with his thumb injury, though he should avoid surgery. LeMahieu compared this thumb sprain to one he sustained with the Rockies in 2018. It’s a slightly concerning connection, considering LeMahieu missed about two and a half weeks with that sprain, and then slumped to a .712 OPS in the 30 games after returning from the injury despite calling hitter-haven Coors Field his home at the time.