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NY Post | Ken Davidoff: J.A. Happ has not performed to the level he’s expected of himself. In particular, he’s going through another rough stretch as he tries to make his case to pitch in the postseason. That door may be closing fast depending on how he performs against the Yankees’ upcoming schedule of playoff-caliber opponents, beginning Wednesday against Oakland.
NY Daily News | Bradford William Davis: The Yankees made a small move by signing reliever Trevor Rosenthal to a minor-league deal. Rosenthal has been awful in his short time in the majors this season, still working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2017. Rosenthal couldn’t cut it in poor-performing bullpens in Washington and Detroit, but with a host of quality options in New York, the Yankees can add Rosenthal to their list of arms down in Triple-A in case help is needed.
MLB.com | Mike Lupica: Aaron Boone was handed the reins to a talented Yankee squad back in 2018, but now the second-year manager is on pace to do something no Yankee manager has done before him. Boone can clinch another 100-win season so long as the Yankees go at least 17-19 over their final 36 games, something no Yankees manager has done in their first two years coaching the team.
Only three managers have done it at all in back-to-back years: Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy, and Joe Torre. That’s impressive company, and considering the adversity that Boone has had to work around this year, it’s looking like the Yankees nailed their managerial search almost two years ago.
Crawfish Boxes | William Metzger: Finally, our sister-site covering the Astros over at the Crawfish Boxes did a deep dive into the sudden success of several key Yankees this year. Like many, they tried to find the main factor to the Yankees seemingly pulling hitters from a hat, and settled on the advice of Carlos Beltran.
Beltran was a veteran presence on the Astros championship team in 2017 that saw career years from the likes of Jose Altuve, Mawin Gonzalez, and Carlos Correa. Beltran sat out the 2018 season in retirement, but joined the Yankees in the offseason as a special advisor. The last time that Beltran was affiliated with the Yankees was 2016, when the team brought up eventual superstars Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Coincidence? Perhaps not.