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Anthony Volpe will also be on the bench tonight (but will return tomorrow)

Anthony Volpe’s 2025 season is, to put it politely, pretty painful. The Yankees shortstop, who has shown some interesting things in the past, seems to have regressed dramatically this season.

And with the organization having passed up the chance to add several big names at shortstop because they were banking on Volpe, it’s obviously not going over well in the Bronx.

Yesterday, therefore, it was really interesting to see that Volpe was benched against the Red Sox. The young player rarely takes a day off, but Aaron Boone noted that Volpe was struggling and wanted to try something different.

And when Boone mentioned that the club was “going to look at it” when asked how long all this would last, it was clear that this wasn’t just a one-day affair.

And last night, Volpe chatted a bit about it all. In fact, he told reporters that he would miss today’s game, but would be back in the line-up tomorrow.

In the end, then, we’re talking about a two-day benching… for now. After all, just because Volpe returns tomorrow doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily be in the lineup on Wednesday.

One wonders if Jose Caballero, who is solid at shortstop and brings another element to the Yankees lineup, could get more starts at the #6 position. And it doesn’t sound crazy to think that.

Because in reality, right now, the heat on Volpe’s shoulders is absurd. He’s the fans’ unwilling whipping boy, a victim of the expectations placed on him by the club’s management.

In a world where the Yankees hadn’t shied away from picking up a guy like Corey Seager when he was a free agent, for example, Volpe’s failures would be a lot easier to swallow. But the club chose to go all-in with Volpe… for better or worse.

So we’ll see how the Yankees handle Volpe, but his status as a regular seems to be in doubt at the moment. Let’s see how long that lasts.

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Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman’s jobs at stake

After an excellent start to 2025, the New York Yankees have been struggling since June. Sure, the Bombers are still in the playoff picture, but expectations are much higher in the Bronx.

Which leads us to wonder whether manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman need to start worrying about their job security.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, that moment could be coming soon.

You wonder where this is all going. What happens if they miss the playoffs? It’s unlikely, but what will happen? More likely, they could be eliminated early. That’s certainly a scenario we can envisage. Will Aaron Boone be back? Will Brian Cashman return? Or are they finally turning the page? It all seems to be in play.

Boone in particular could be on the hot seat, despite a World Series appearance last year, he can’t seem to find a way to get the best out of his flock.

Granted, it’s not entirely the skipper ‘s fault that his team is too often guilty of botched routine plays, but he bears a large part of the blame. And when he tries to publicly defend the mistakes that are made, he gives the impression that no one is accountable for his actions.

Prior to this season, the Yankees gave Boone a two-year contract extension through 2027, in his eighth season as Yankees manager. With Boone at the helm, New York has only missed the playoffs once, in 2023. But the club’s World Series drought remains in the imagination.

Cashman, meanwhile, has been the team’s general manager since 1998 and has helped build the rosters of the Yankees’ last five World Series winners.

Following the 2022 campaign, the New Yorkers granted their manager a four-year contract extension, which will expire in 2026.

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Jazz Chisholm Jr. loses best friend and hits two home runs

After three consecutive losses to the Boston Red Sox, Jazz Chisholm Jr. took matters into his own hands and put on quite a show last night (Sunday), hitting two home runs and producing four runs as the New York Yankees finally beat their eternal rivals 7-2.

The 27-year-old also turned two double plays while working his natural position at second cushion.

And while the evening put a smile back on the faces of fans, players and coaches alike, it meant more to Chisholm than perhaps anyone else at Yankee Stadium.

In fact, ESPN cameras captured an emotional Chisholm returning to the dugout after his first long ball of the game, receiving special congratulations from his teammates.

After the game, the second baseman revealed that he was playing with a heavy heart, despite hitting his 100th career home run.

It was a bit surreal. I lost my best friend yesterday, so today felt like a different kind of day, especially with the 100th home run. I’ve been through a lot in the last 30 hours.

Chisholm chose to keep the details of his friend’s death private while discussing his difficult day with reporters in the locker room after the game.

The emotional evening culminated in the Bombardiers’ second win over the Boston Red Sox this season, with the Yankees now a half-game behind their American League Eastern Section rival and five games out of first place in the division held by the Toronto Blue Jays.

A less-than-ideal weekend in New York.

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“Expect to see Adley Rutschman in a new uniform in 2026”

The Orioles have several good, quality youngsters. And for years, the thinking has been that the club should try to sign a few long-term guys to keep the core intact.

Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson are Scott Boras clients, which has always made the project more complicated. But catcher Adley Rutschman, who has been the biggest element toward the Orioles’ return to respectability, has always been THE candidate of choice.

But over the past year, it’s been harder for him on the field. So it seems: things aren’t looking good for the Orioles in 2025, either.

Then, in the last few days, the Orioles announced that Samuel Basallo, a young catcher with a week’s worth of show experience , has agreed to sign an eight-year contract in town. And the owner announced that there’s more to come… contract extensions.

Even if Basallo can play elsewhere on the field, we agree that this is quite a message towards Rutschman. With two years and counting to go, is the face of the franchise in recent years on his way out?

The question arises. And according to Bob Nightengale (USA Today), the answer is quite clear.

Expect to see Adley Rutschman wearing a new uniform in 2026. – Bob Nightengale

Nightengale asserts that Rutschman, who is currently injured and is therefore making way for Basallo, will be the biggest name on the market this winter among position players.

Will a club go after him? And will they want to sign him long-term before they get him? We’ll have to wait and see.

  • Sunday night baseball: Yankees win over Red Sox.
  • Dodgers and Padres still tied.
  • 45 home runs before September: three guys are already there.

  • Love it.

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cal Raleigh’s 49th home run: catcher record broken

In 1970, Johnny Bench hit 45 home runs for the Reds. And for years, for catchers, that was the mark to beat in a season.

Salvador Perez hit 48 in 2021, setting a new mark for guys who play catcher for at least 75% of their games.

But in 2025, the way Cal Raleigh was hitting, it was always clear that barring injury, he was going to be able to beat Perez’s mark. And today, he did.

With his 48th and 49th home runs of the season, he has exclusive rights to the record.

As it’s still August, he’ll almost certainly have the chance to shatter the mark and raise the bar high for future catchers who want to tackle his mark.

In fact, the catcher is on a 62-tour pace. That would be enough to match Aaron Judge’s mark of 62 in 2022. That’s still, to this day, the record in American League history.

Do we still think Judge is the MVP of the American in 2025 or not?

It’s crazy to see that a catcher like Raleigh, who also plays in a stadium that favors pitchers, has already reached 49 home runs this season. That’s quite a feat, and it doesn’t happen every year.

So we have to take advantage of it.

The next step for the man nicknamed Big Ass will be to make sure he gets his team into the playoffs. It’s not guaranteed, and he’ll have to work hard to get the Mariners to the fall dance.

  • Things are going well for the pitcher.

  • Vladdy should be back at it tomorrow.

  • Please note.

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MLB in brief: The return of Field of Dreams | Will Wagner recalled

The return of the Field of Dreams

The Phillies will host the Twins at the famous stadium in 2026.

Rockies officially eliminated

To everyone’s surprise… or not.

Bob Uecker honored

Every Brewers player has Ueck on their uniform today.

Aaron Nola has to stand up

Without Zack Wheeler, the Phillies need their other big right-hander.

Kyle Tucker is back with a vengeance

The few days off seem to have done him good. He has three home runs in two games.

Cam Schlittler and Tyler Glasnow

Mark DeRosa thinks the two are similar.

Yordan Alvarez could be back soon

He’s barely played this season.

Will Wagner recalled

The Padres are giving him a chance.

Erick Fedde released by the Braves

His 8.10 ERA in 23 innings didn’t convince the club. Astonishing.

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Abraham Toro remains in the Red Sox organization

Abraham Toro had a season of two halves in Boston. After Triston Casas was injured, Toro took the reins at first base and broke it down… but for the past two months, he’s been tearing it up.

As a result, the Red Sox looked elsewhere for reinforcements… and that’s when Nathaniel Lowe was acquired.

In the last few days, Toro was designated for assignment to Boston. He was submitted to the waivers, and we learned today that he was not claimed.

This left the veteran with two options: opt out of his contract and become a free agent, or accept a move to AAA and remain with the Red Sox organization.

In the end, Toro opted for the second option.

Still, it’s a bit surprising to see Toro opt for this option. After all, we’re talking about a guy who’s proven he can hold his own in the majors, and more importantly, a guy who can help out just about anywhere.

After all, he’s the one who stepped up when Casas was injured, something Rafael Devers didn’t want to do.

But in reality, it’s good news for Boston. Keeping Toro ensures that the club retains depth at first base, a position that is a real revolving door for the Red Sox. There’s a world in which he could regain MLB playing time with the Red Stockings if the club looks for reinforcements between now and the end of the season.

That’s how he got his chance in Boston in the first place, after all, and familiarity with the organization could work in his favor.

So we’ll see how it all shakes out, but Toro is staying with the Red Sox organization after all. All the better.

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The difficulty of using Shohei Ohtani in series relief

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been counting on Shohei Ohtani for the past year and a half. That said, Ohtani has only been pitching for the Dodgers for a few weeks now.

And he’s doing it well.

Obviously, when you think of Ohtani, you think of the hitter. But in Anaheim in 2022, he still finished fourth in the American League Cy Young race. He’s a good pitcher…

We’ll remember that the Japanese sent him to the mound in the final of the 2023 World Classic, with the game on the line and Mike Trout coming to bat.

Could this idea of bringing Ohtani on as a playoff reliever be transposed to 2025? Let’s just say it’s a possibility worth considering by the Dodgers.

Even if it’s unrealistic.

Mark Prior, the Dodgers’ pitching coach, addressed the subject in a podcast. And the big problem is that if Ohtani leaves the DH position to pitch in relief, he can’t go back to hitting when he leaves the mound.

So the Dodgers would have to do without his services.

It’s important to remember that the “Shohei Ohtani rule” exists. But it allows the player to stay in the game as a batter because he’s the starting pitcher only. That’s a game-changer.

So until proven otherwise, it’s simpler to use Ohtani as the starter.

However, if the club really needs him in the playoffs and it’s really late in the game (so there’s no opportunity for him to come back and hit), the manager and his team will consider him.

Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No.

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Blue Jays make history in Miami victory

Yesterday, the Blue Jays faced the Marlins in Miami. The club decided to send Jose Berrios to the mound.

The pitcher did well. After a few more laborious outings, the veteran gave his team a quality start: 6.1 innings, eight strikeouts and just two earned runs.

He needed it… and so did the club.

But even so, the club needed six relievers to win. And why? Because the Marlins and Blue Jays played a ball game that lasted no less than 12 innings.

It was 4-4 after nine innings when the Blue Jays scored in the 10th. But so did the Marlins. The same merry-go-round was repeated in the 11th… and in the 12th, the visitors scored without giving up a run to win it 7-6.

The result? In the modern era, John Schneider’s men became the first to win a game after escaping a lead in the ninth, tenth and eleventh innings. #WhenEven

Jeff Hoffman and Mason Fluharty were credited with sabotage in the win. Tommy Nance got the win and Brendon Little picked up the save for the Toronto Blue Jays.

On the batting front, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was again absent. We don’t expect to see him go on the injured list, though.

But at least Bo Bichette got up. He placed the ball in the safe zone four times while producing one run and crossing home plate twice. He was very useful for his team.

George Springer (two runs produced, two runs scored and three hits) also had his say as the game’s first batter.

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MLB in brief: Eric Lauer back in the Blue Jays rotation | Time to stop protecting Anthony Volpe

Time to stop protecting Anthony Volpe

The shortstop clearly isn’t doing the job.

Eric Lauer back in the Blue Jays rotation

His stay in the bullpen was short-lived.

Not easy to face these guys

Especially when it comes to getting a hit.

The Padres aren’t dead

It’s up to the Dodgers to respond.

Nathaniel Lowe back in Boston next year?

Why not?

Pete Alonso’s winter

It won’t be easy.

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