Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/4/21

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Aroldis Chapman is on a dreadful run of form. However, if you expect Aaron Boone to deviate from his late-inning bullpen formula, think again. The skipper reiterated that he would still be going the flamethrowing lefty in the ninth inning if the Yankees held a lead. It’s plenty reasonable for Boone to not overreact to a bad few weeks and stick with one of the greatest closers of this era. On the other hand, it’s also hard not to feel that this small decision is of a piece with the Yankees’ entire ethos of sticking, unflinchingly, to their best-laid plans, even as things crater.

New York Daily News | Kristie Ackert: Clint Frazier is on the IL after a bout of vertigo. Boone said the left fielder is feeling better, but that preliminary tests to determine what caused the incident haven’t turned up anything. Frazier will continue to undergo to tests. It’s an uneasy situation, with the young outfielder having struggled with problems stemming from a 2018 concussion for months throughout that year and 2019.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: Sherman looks back at the first half and hands out some MLB midseason awards. Shohei Ohtani gets the nod for AL MVP, Gerrit Cole the AL Cy Young, and he tabs Gleyber Torres the Anti-AL MVP. Torres is certainly among the most disappointing players in the league, though he’s been far from the worst player on the Yankees this year, which admittedly says much more about the team’s performance than that of Torres.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Derek Dietrich opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees after 36 games. The 32-year-old signed on with the Yankees over the winter, but struggled to get anything going in Triple-A and never received a call to the majors. Dietrich’s calling card includes positional versatility and a bit of pop, but his .215 average in the minors gave the Yankees little motivation to give him run in the majors.