NYY News: Soto something of a bailiff

07/03/2024 05:00 AM

Previewing the trade deadline; a new kind of lineup protection; Rice is cooking; Ferguson needs to step up

FanGraphs | Jon Becker: With less than a month to the trade deadline, there's not a ton of clarity across baseball regarding who will do what. The added Wild Card slot makes many more teams nominal contenders even if they shouldn't be. Regardless of that third spot, the Yankees figure to be a buyer, competing with a few others for relief help and a potential corner bat. Still, it looks like it'll be a seller's market come July 31.

MLB.com | Mike Petriello: We're used to thinking of lineup protection as the hitter behind the star helps the star see more strikes. If that's the case, how come Aaron Judge is seeing more strikes than Juan Soto? Petriello proposes the answer lies in Soto's own, otherworldly OBP ability — since he's on base so often ahead of Judge, pitchers will attack the Yankee captain rather than risk a situation where a free pass adds even more traffic to the problem, and Judge is certainly benefitting from the practice.

New York Post | Dan Martin: It's common for a rookie to need some adjustment time upon his first taste of MLB action, but Ben Rice has been "as advertised" for the Yankees. The first baseman was never going to be the slugger you might expect at the position, but good bat-to-ball skills and excellent knowledge of the zone have him off to a solid start. Entering play yesterday, his 111 wRC+ was a darn sight better than Anthony Rizzo's performance, even as Rice still hunts his first MLB home run.

NJ.com | Max Goodman: One of the reasons the Yankees need to shop in the relief market is because Caleb Ferguson is just about the worst left-handed reliever in baseball. His 5.54 ERA only went up after he surrendered a huge home run to Elly De La Cruz last night, and if he can't turn it around, he's on the list of guys who may be replaced.