Around the Empire: Yankees news - 5/24/22

MLB | Bryan Hoch: Josh Donaldson was suspended one game without pay for his comments toward Tim Anderson during Saturday’s game against the White Sox. MLB exec Michael Hill stated “regardless of Mr. Donaldson’s intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment.” Donaldson has appealed the decision. In the meantime, he’ll be out after having been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.

New York Post | Mike Vaccaro: It took until nearly Memorial Day, but the Yankees are facing their first real troubles of the year. The weekend’s series loss to the White Sox was the team’s second series loss on the season, and the injury bug has finally started to hit after a pretty clean month-long stretch. With Aroldis Chapman banged up, Chad Green done for the year, and the club in the middle of a long stretch of games, Aaron Boone will have his work cut out for him keeping his team pointed in the right direction.

New York Post | Dan Martin: An MRI on Chapman’s Achilles came back negative yesterday, though the closer isn’t out of the woods yet. “I think the IL is still very much in play. I just think we don’t want to rush into it,” Boone said before Monday’s game against Baltimore. It sounds like the Yankees could be playing it cautious with Chapman, and it’s hard to blame them. The lefty has said he’s been struggling with the ailment for weeks, and his performance has obviously suffered over that span.

FanGraphs | Ben Clemens: The Yankee bullpen has taken on water lately, so take your mind off that worrisome trend by reveling in Clay Holmes’ dominance. Clemens details how Holmes has relied even more on his turbo-sinker, and gotten even better results with it, in 2022. There’s just not much opposing hitters can do when Holmes can throw hard, with incredible movement, and with improved location.

Baseball Prospectus | Rob Arthur: (subscription required) The official MLB baseball has confounded players, fans, and analysts alike in recent years, perhaps no more so than in 2022. Arthur provides some excellent raw data to support the idea that this season’s baseball has been stranger than ever. The variation in drag from individual baseball to baseball this year has been much higher than typical, which could help to explain why many players feel like some well-hit balls sail for extra-bases and home runs, while others fall softly in the gloves of outfielders.