Daily Report – 5/1/26
Yankees
Did the Yankees show urgency this week, or did they make a Jasson Domínguez-sized mistake?
On Monday, the Yankees optioned Luis Gil to Triple-A and recalled Jasson Domínguez. On Tuesday, they placed Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list and recalled Max Schuemann, a multi-faceted defender who can fill many roles off the bench.
The urgency with which the Yankees demoted Gil exemplifies something that they might not have done in past years. Usually, the Yankees commit wholeheartedly to their roster decisions. Last season, they continued to roll out Marcus Stroman and Carlos Carrasco in their rotation for months, despite their weaknesses on the mound. The years before that featured too much of DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, Alex Verdugo, Joey Gallo, and Aaron Hicks.
But this year, the Yankees have roster depth, especially their starting pitching. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón haven’t thrown yet, and the rotation’s 2.74 ERA is the best in baseball. Gil was the only weak link, and it took just four starts for the Yankees to send down their 2024 Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the two veteran starters who are yet to make their season debuts, the Yankees had two phenomenal rookie arms waiting in the wings. Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange are both Big League-ready. The Yankees could have stuck to a four-man rotation because of yesterday’s off day, but on Wednesday, they called up Rodríguez to make his debut.
To make room for Rodríguez, the Yankees designated veteran left fielder Randal Grichuk for assignment (he has since elected free agency). A few hours later, in the Yankees’ game against the Texas Rangers, Domínguez got hit by a pitch and exited early with a left elbow contusion. He is scheduled to undergo a CT scan after X-rays revealed inconclusive results.
“Right when it hit me, I felt my arm go numb a little bit,” Domínguez said. “But it’s just swelling.” He added that he is not concerned about the injury.
Although Grichuk underperformed in 16 games with the Yankees, batting .194 with a .535 OPS, I am not convinced Schuemann is a better bench piece. Obviously, Domínguez’s injury was unexpected, and I understand the Yankees had to make room on their roster for Rodríguez. I’m just not sure that Grichuk was the right player to DFA.
“Difficult decision, just because I feel like Randal’s come in here and fit in really well,” Boone said. “But just the fit right now, with me not catching [Ben] Rice much, [Paul Goldschmidt] being the backup first baseman, not having that position flexibility right now with the guy on the bench that Max [Schuemann] brings, I think it just makes sense for our club right now.”
Nevertheless, Brian Cashman’s week of urgency has been exciting. He also transferred Anthony Volpe’s rehab assignment to Double-A to give George Lombard Jr. his first shot at Triple-A. Boone offered a lot of “we’ll sees” when asked when he would activate Volpe. The Yankees could have ended his rehab assignment today.
If you speak Boone-ese — I like to think I speak Boone-ese — then one of three things could happen in the next few days:
1. The Yankees call up Volpe and reinstate him as their starting shortstop.
2. The Yankees call up Volpe but keep him as Jose Caballero’s backup, since Caballero has been playing well.
3. The Yankees leave Volpe in the Minors and debut Lombard Jr. against Baltimore this weekend.
I like Option 3. I like it a lot.
Cashman has said he believes Lombard, at 20 years old, has an MLB-caliber glove, but his offense was holding him back. This season, in 20 games with Double-A Somerset, he has hit .312 (24-for-77) with four home runs and a .971 OPS. For context, he hit .235 last season and recorded a .748 OPS.
On Tuesday, things got dicey in the ninth inning with David Bednar pitching against the Rangers, but the Yankees earned a 3-2 win. Cam Schlittler outdueled the Hall-of-Fame-bound Jacob deGrom with six shutout innings. Schlittler allowed three hits and two walks, but struck out eight batters, helping the Yankees win the series.
Tuesday’s series-clinching win took a bit of the pressure off Rodríguez on Wednesday, but the Yankees got shut out 3-0. It was their ninth road game in as many consecutive days, and they got bitten by the “day game after a night game” bug that gets the better of so many teams, especially on the road.
Former Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi had flawless command for Texas. The Yankees have always struggled against him. This time, he held them to four hits across seven innings.
“You always feel like you want to finish everything off and make it really great heading into an off-day,” Boone said. “Eovaldi beat us today.”
Meanwhile, Rodríguez’s first career start was a bit shaky, and his command wasn’t as polished as advertised. In four innings, he allowed two runs off four walks and four hits. His first out was of a rare variety, as he caught Brandon Nimmo stealing while striking out Josh Jung on a pitch the batter challenged. Jung’s challenge was unsuccessful, meaning the “strike him out, throw him out” double play stood.
“His stuff was good,” Boone said. “The strike-throwing wasn’t as sharp as it’s going to be with him, or typically is. There was a lot of good out there. You saw his stuff play. A little better on the strike-throwing part, and it’s a different line, but he still kept us in the game.”
Overall, Rodríguez had a strong debut. He generated whiffs on 28% of his swinging strikes, including four of his six sliders. He looked confident on the mound, especially after securing his first out. He will try to improve his command when he likely faces Texas again on Tuesday.
“I felt like I was competing,” Rodríguez said. “I felt like I could have executed a little bit better. Just missing a lot of pitches, so trying to move forward from that, work on that, and try to be better.”
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, the Yankees will begin a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles (YES, Gotham Sports). RHP Will Warren (3-0, 2.59 ERA) will toe the slab for the Yankees against the lefty Cade Povich (1-0, 2.19 ERA).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
DH Ben Rice (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
CF Trent Grisham (L)
SP: RHP Will Warren (3-0, 2.59 ERA)
Tomorrow, at 1:35 PM, LHP Ryan Weathers (1-2, 3.21 ERA) will start for the Yankees (YES, Gotham Sports).
Then, on Sunday at 1:35 PM, LHP Max Fried (4-1, 2.09 ERA) will mind the rubber (YES, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
Tonight 5/1:
7:05 PM: NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Will Warren (3-0, 2.59 ERA) vs. LHP Cade Povich (1-0, 2.19 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2026 Kentucky Oaks in Primetime; NBC, Peacock
Saturday 5/2:
1:35 PM: NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (1-2, 3.21 ERA) vs. TBA
2:30 PM: 152nd Kentucky Derby; NBC, Peacock
12:00 PM: Preliminary Kentucky Derby Coverage; Peacock
6:57 PM: Kentucky Derby Post Time; NBC, Peacock
Sunday 5/3:
1:35 PM: NYY vs. BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Max Fried (4-1, 2.09 ERA) vs. TBA
