Daily Report – 7/17/26
Yankees
After a brief hiatus, the Yankees are back, and they’ve got something to prove this weekend when the Dodgers come to town. The schedule for the rest of July won’t do the Yankees any favors, but it is the perfect opportunity for them to cement themselves as the American League’s finest.
I said it when the season started, and right now, I believe more than ever that this is the best Yankees team since 2009. It isn’t just the AL’s weak state that gives them a chance to return to the World Series for the first time since their 2024 loss to the Dodgers.
Between Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Trent Grisham, the Yankees have plenty of offensive firepower to do better than survive the next month or two without Aaron Judge. They suffered a historic slump at the end of June, but they ended it emphatically. Now, they rank three games behind Tampa Bay for the division lead.
Max Fried is roughly two weeks away from returning to the Yankees’ rotation, which has the AL’s third-best ERA. The Yankees’ pitching staff has the best ERA in the Majors because of their top-ranked bullpen ERA.
Giancarlo Stanton will also be back soon, and Clarke Schmidt could become a second-half relief option. Plus, the trade deadline is less than three weeks away, and the Yankees have as good a chance as ever to make a splash on August 3.
Hunter Goodman, Colorado’s All-Star catcher, is my top deadline candidate. Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota’s catcher, is the next-best option.
The asking price for Goodman, or a top-tier reliever like San Diego’s Mason Miller, will be quite high. Yet, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Yankees have deemed George Lombard Jr.’s debut imminent. The 21-year-old shortstop is the organization’s top prospect, and this season is as good a time as any for the Yankees to go all-in at the deadline… even if it means parting with a top prospect.
But the Yankees are also anxiously awaiting the results of Judge’s latest imaging, which he was scheduled to receive during the All-Star break. The team will likely announce an update later today. Before the All-Star break, Brian Cashman said that he didn’t expect Judge’s results to come back clean, but if they showed enough improvement, he would ramp up baseball activities.
Whatever happens with Judge, the Yankees’ current focus should be on starting the second half with a bang, and it begins against the two-time defending champion Dodgers tonight at the Stadium. Then, the Yankees will host Pittsburgh for three games before embarking on a 10-day road trip, part of a 13-game stretch without a day off.
This could be the Yankees’ time. It all rides on the results of Judge’s imaging, but if they show progress, then the Yankees can continue paving their path back to a glorious October.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, RHP Gerrit Cole (3-4, 4.04 ERA) will return to the top of the Yankees’ rotation as his team faces RHP Roki Sasaki (3-5, 5.33 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports, MLBN). In his last seven starts, Sasaki holds a 0-2 record and a 5.86 ERA.
The last time Cole took the mound against LA, he and his teammates allowed five unearned runs and the Dodgers the right to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. That was also the last time the Dodgers visited Yankee Stadium.
So, the Yankees definitely have something to prove.
On Saturday, on Baseball Night in America at 8:08 PM, LHP Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA) will toe the slab for New York against NYC native RHP Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) (FOX, FOX One).
Then, on Sunday Night Baseball at 7:20 PM, two aces will battle it out in the Bronx (NBC, Peacock). RHP Cam Schlittler (9-5, 2.05 ERA) will mind the rubber for the Yankees against the superstar righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-6, 2.85 ERA).
All of this is happening in New York City during the same weekend as Fanatics Fest AND the 2026 World Cup Final in the Meadowlands between Spain and Argentina.
Schedule
Tonight 7/17:
7:05 PM: NYY vs. LAD; YES, Gotham Sports, MLBN; SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (3-4, 4.04 ERA) vs. RHP Roki Sasaki (3-5, 5.33 ERA)
Saturday 7/18:
5:00 PM: 2026 FIFA World Cup, Third Place Match – France vs. England; FOX, FOX One
8:08 PM: Baseball Night in America – NYY vs. LAD; FOX, FOX One; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA)
Sunday 7/19:
3:00 PM: 2026 FIFA World Cup Final – Spain vs. Argentina; FOX, FOX One
11:00 AM: FIFA World Cup Live; FOX
7:20 PM: Sunday Night Baseball – NYY vs. LAD; NBC, Peacock; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (9-5, 2.05 ERA) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (9-6, 2.85 ERA)
Cover Image Courtesy: YES Network
