Yankees’ injured list keeps growing
When the Yankees announced last Monday that Carlos Rodon would make his return to the mound the following night after missing over a month with left elbow inflammation, there was excitement in the Bronx air. For the first time all season, we would finally get to see the fearsome foursome of Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried all be together in the same rotation. A preview of what is to come in October would finally play out during the regular season.
But those hopes were incredibly short-lived.
Just seven hours later, the Yankees announced that Max Fried would be heading to the 15-day injured list with a left elbow bone bruise. If that sounds oddly familiar, it’s because he reaggravated the same injury that kept him out for a little over two months earlier on this season. While on the surface that reflects poorly on the trainers for letting him back on the mound despite not fully healing from his injury, it’s moreso the case of him getting some rest for the postseason. After all, pitching has been the least of their concerns with a league-best 3.21 ERA despite all their injuries. As long as he’s back in the fold for a couple starts before the playoffs, the Yankees should err on the side of caution.
So one pitcher comes in while the another goes out. Should be simple as that, right? Well the baseball gods decided to inflict yet another injury on yet another starter. Ryan Weathers left Saturday’s loss to the Blue Jays in the fourth inning due to a flexor strain in his left forearm, leading to a spot on the 15-day IL. Luckily he avoided any damage to his UCL, which would have kept him out for the rest of the year and into next season. Like Fried, we’ll see Weathers back at some point in September, though he might not get many more starts as he’ll likely be moved to the bullpen come October.
As if those setbacks weren’t enough, an already-depleted batting order took more damage as Ryan McMahon was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with a sprained left thumb. Although he has had a tough time at the plate with a .216 batting average and a .649 OPS, his glove will undoubtedly be the most valuable loss to the lineup. Jose Caballero should be just fine in his place, and McMahon’s injury shouldn’t keep him out for too long.
Then came an update on Giancarlo Stanton on Thursday. The oft-sidelined slugger was recovering from a right calf strain and was running bases when he strained his left calf. I would say that you can’t make this stuff up, but given Stanton’s injury history, it’s unfortunately not too surprising. Any hopes of him returning this season have seemingly been dashed, and it’s likely he’ll wrap up another injury-riddled campaign with just 90 at-bats.
It also feels like Stanton’s time making a meaningful impact on the Yankees is all but over. The DH spot will feature a rotating cast of characters with Ben Rice, Aaron Judge, and Jasson Dominguez. That doesn’t leave him any room heading into 2027, which is the final year he’s fully committed to the Yankees since he has a club option in 2028, one that they’ll most likely decline. His postseason prowess will be certainly be missed, though he wasn’t all that great last October after batting .192 and hitting no home runs.
So in a week from hell regarding all this adversity, you’d think the Yankees would be struggling to get in the win column. But as has been the story all season long, they’re finding ways to come out on top.
They did plenty of that this week, winning five of six games against division opponents including three straight victories in Baltimore, their first sweep since the All-Star break. Shockingly enough, the pitching didn’t have to carry them this time around. Their bats finally decided to wake up, scoring at least three runs in all of their games this week.
Plus, the injury news wasn’t all bad. Seeing Cody Bellinger back in the lineup is a breath of fresh air. He went 1-4 in his return to the diamond in Sunday’s win over the Blue Jays.
Despite all their injuries this year, they’ve still managed to put up a 74-56 record and stay within striking distance of Tampa Bay with just a three-game deficit in the AL East. Critics will predictably chop that up to playing in an admittedly weak American League. But as the old saying goes, you can only play who’s in front of you. At least for this week, concerns about inconsistent hitting have gone away… for now. It won’t come as a surprise to see issue in that regard pop up this week against the Astros and Red Sox.
How long is David Stearns’ leash?
It was more of a mixed bag this week for the Mets, going 3-3 against the Padres and White Sox. Still, it’s been a more fruitful past few weeks, holding one of the best records since the trade deadline at 12-5. As I’ve discussed in previous columns, there is reason to watch this team despite being fully out of the playoff picture. A mixture of young talent and compelling storylines from players like Jefrey Yan has created more positive vibes in Queens.
But that shouldn’t take away from the bigger picture: This season has been a complete and utter failure. For a team with the second-highest payroll in baseball, they should almost never have virtually out of playoff contention by the All-Star break and be sellers at the deadline. It goes to show that money can’t always by you a championship even if the Dodgers the are the counterargument to that.
Most of the blame has rightfully been put on the shoulders of David Stearns, president of baseball operations. You would think missing the playoffs the last two seasons would make his seat red-hot. But that doesn’t seem to phase owner Steve Cohen. Before Wednesday’s game against the Padres, Cohen met with the media and maintained his commitment to Stearns, saying that he’s “smart,” “knows what he’s doing” and “learns from his mistakes.”
It’s the last part in particular where I push back on “Uncle Steve” here. The amount of mistakes Stearns has made in just one offseason is quite staggering, and the worst part is that you could see them coming from a mile away. The most egregious sin was not re-signing Pete Alonso in free agency. The argument for this at the time is that the lifelong Met and face of the franchise would not be a worthwhile long-term investment. Let’s check in on how he’s doing this year: A .273 batting average? 30 home runs? The sixth-most RBIs in the league? Sounds pretty good to me.
If you’re going to let Alonso walk, you should at least find a competent replacement for him at first base. How’s that worked out? Well free agent signing Jorge Polanco only has played only 37 games this year, a .148 batting average, two home runs, and is done for the year with ankle surgery. Mark Vientos has been borderline unplayable at times and is also dealing with an injury. And while Jared Young has impressed, it’s still way too early to tell if he makes up for the lost production in Alonso. He or anyone else on the team won’t be able to replace his leadership, however. That includes Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.
Then there’s trading away Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. I was not a fan of the trade at the time to deal away one of the most underrated players in the league. The argument that there wouldn’t be room for him in the outfield with the emergence of Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing might help Stearns’ case, but there’s always the DH spot that could be of use. While Nimmo has continued to put up consistently solid numbers, it’s been a nightmare season for Semien, as the 35-year-old second baseman has not been able to have a renaissance with a paltry .626 OPS. To Cohen’s credit, he did admit that they took “too much risk” with some of their moves, and I’d imagine this was part of what he was talking about.
But Stearns’ most notable example of not learning from his mistakes is when it comes to starting pitching. He thought only getting Freddy Peralta would have been enough to boost a rotation that was injury-riddled in 2025. But it clearly did not pan out, and Peralta was out the door at the deadline. Although their team ERA is actually above average this year at 4.07, their rotation is not close to being championship-caliber outside of Nolan McLean.
I haven’t even mentioned the predictably disastrous signing Devin Williams. That being said, Edwin Diaz hasn’t been so hot with the Dodgers, either. Call it a tie in that regard?
As great as Stearns’ first season was with the Mets, baseball (and professional sports in general) is a “what have you done for me lately?” business, and the negatives heavily outweigh the positives this year. You could say he’s unlucky with his free agent signings dealing with injuries, but that’s the risk they took with older and more injury-prone players, and it hasn’t paid off.
This upcoming offseason will be an immensely pivotal one for Stearns. If he can’t put together a postseason-guaranteed roster for 2027? Perhaps Cohen would be making the mistake this time in entrusting him for too long.
NCAA: The Wild, Wild West
In the latest episode of the ongoing chaos that is the current state of college athletics, apparently NFL players can now return to college.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel reported that a Louisiana judge granted a temporary restraining order for 30 athletes that allows them to return to college for another season of eligibility. That list includes 16 football players, several of who signed with NFL teams, have taken part in training camps and have even played in preseason games. As long as they are released from their teams by September 1, they can go back and play college ball.
This of course stems from the NCAA’s “5-in-5” rule implemented in June, meaning that athletes are eligible to play five seasons within a five-year span. This only applies to Division I and Division II. This was put in place to simplify things when it comes to redshirting and other circumstances and avoid more lawsuits. Instead, it’s had the opposite effect as over 100 athletes are suing the NCAA to get another year of eligibility. That’s because Division I did not include outgoing seniors who played four seasons in four years. Naturally, they weren’t happy.
Among those many athletes, there are some local-ish lacrosse players who have gotten involved. Late last month, five Syracuse men’s lacrosse players—including recent graduate and All-American Joey Spallina—joined a lawsuit to get that now-coveted fifth year of eligibility. For someone like Spallina who is already playing professionally in the Premier Lacrosse League, there’s a strong chance he could be allowed to return to the Dome to run it back for one final season and capture a national championship. There’s no question that one of the big reasons as well is from a financial point of view. A rookie contract in the PLL is worth $25,000 while the stars get paid up to $50,000. Someone of Spallina’s ability can make up to $100,000 through their name, image, and likeness. I wonder if there’s an acronym for that?
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with players getting paid in college in my eyes, there comes a point where things are getting out of hand. Let’s go back to the original lawsuit we were talking about with NFL players. The season for some college football teams starts on August 29 for “Week 0.” After already having played a game, there’s a chance that somebody gets cut from the team to make room for a player who has gone up against NFL players either in training camp or in the preseason. Is that not incredibly unfair for that cut player who had to work their tail off just to make the team only for someone in the pros to swoop in and take their place?
The way to fix this problem is very simple: Once you sign a contract with a professional team, you also sign away any remaining eligibility that you have to play in college. I won’t go so far as to say when you declare for the draft that you forfeit your eligibility, because people can change their minds. But once you sign on the dotted line, you say goodbye to your collegiate career.
Implementing this change is easier said than done, as that will only lead to more lawsuits that the NCAA will inevitably lose. If that’s the case, it might have to take higher powers to get involved get this situation back under control. Yes, that means regulation coming from Congress. Given the long and arduous process of the legislation branch, it could take years before there’s a sense of normalcy in college sport. In the meantime, expect more wild stories like this to come out of the wild, wild West that is the NCAA.
Other things that caught my eye
- Local college sports are officially back in action. Well, only for Cornell women’s soccer. They had the honor of being the first team to kick things off on Thursday against St. Bonaventure. The Big Red scored the first three goals of the game and hung to secure a season-opening 3-2 win. They also played on Sunday at home against Boston College, where they fell 3-1. Cornell will play again at home on Thursday against Lafayette before the next team gets their season going. That would be Cornell men’s soccer for a Saturday night showdown at Marist.
- Staying on East Hill but going to the winter, Cornell women’s hockey was the latest team to fully release its schedule. Two non-conference series jump off the page. On November 27 and 28 the Big Red welcomes Northeastern to Lynah Rink. The Huskies made the Frozen Four last year where they lost to Ohio State. Then on January 1 and 2 they’ll head to Penn State, who also took part in the Frozen Four and fell to eventual champions Wisconsin. That’s quite the gauntlet to help prepare them for a tough slate of ECAC play.
- It was a pretty uneventful second week of preseason action with most of the starters sitting out. The Bills, Giants and Jets all secured comfortable victories in the same week, something that will very likely not happen this year. Buffalo beat up on Cleveland 31-7 without Josh Allen and company. Big Blue laid a beatdown on the Dolphins 26-3. That was certainly more one-sided than the brawl they had with Miami a couple days earlier. And Gang Green blanked the Steelers 17-0 where they did something once thought impossible: actually record an interception. Two of them actually. It’s a very early Christmas miracle!
- The Section IV high school sports season gets fully underway today with all the other fall sports holding their first day of practice. Football has already been practicing, and it’s been a blast going around to the local schools to check things out and chat with their head coaches. If you want to listen to any of my conversations with the coaches, you can find them on our PodCenter.
