Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/4/21

NY Post | Peter Botte: The Yankees have officially placed Gio Urshela on the injured list with a strained hamstring. Aaron Boone said the third baseman underwent an MRI and it’s labeled as a Grade 1 or Grade 2 strain. “He’ll continue to ramp up here in the next couple of days,” Boone said. “Hopefully it will be just another week or eight days or so.”

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees made a whole bunch of roster moves after both Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery were placed on the COVID list. Cole, who was scheduled to start Tuesday’s game against Baltimore, was replaced by Luis Gil. The 23-year-old dominated the Orioles lineup as he threw six shutout innings, allowing just four hits and struck out six. Gil returned to the minors after the game for a fresh arm to be activated later today, but the odds are good that he’ll be back soon after that remarkable first impression.

New York also called up relief pitchers Stephen Ridings and Brody Koerner, who made their MLB debuts on Tuesday as well. In a smaller transaction, reliever Sal Romano was claimed off waivers by the Brewers after being DFA’d by New York on Friday.

Sports Illustrated | Gary Phillips: Right before the 2021 Trade Deadline, the Yankees made a trade to acquire lefty starter Andrew Heaney from the Angels. His first impression wasn’t a good one as he allowed four runs —all solo homers— as the Yankees lost to the Orioles 7-1. Questions have now come up as to why the Bombers traded for Heaney. He tends to give up the long ball and gets hit hard, and that won’t bode well in Yankee Stadium.

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: The Yankees made another minor move yesterday, claiming Jonathan Davis off of waivers from the Blue Jays. Davis had played a bit role as a bench outfielder with Toronto across parts of the past four seasons. He’s struggled to a .548 OPS in 241 big league plate appearances, with a .778 OPS to his credit in Triple-A.

Lastly, the Yankees’ farm system announced a whole bunch of minor league promotions yesterday! The most significant included catcher Josh Breaux moving from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset, notable prospects Austin Wells and Everson Pereira moving from Low-A Tampa to High-A Hudson Valley, and 2021 first-round pick Trey Sweeney moving from Rookie ball to Low-A Tampa.