MLB Rumors: How long will Aaron Judge be out?
The New York Yankees received another update on star outfielder Aaron Judge Tuesday, and it provides even more uncertainty. Per Judge, he can't make any promises about his potential return from a toe injury.
Had Judge simply suffered turf toe, he'd be out 6-to-8 weeks, in NFL terminology. However, this isn't football, and frankly Judge doesn't know what's wrong with his toe yet. He has a torn ligament, or at the very least some damage in that department, so an injury timetable cannot be determined just yet.
"I can't make any promises," Judge said. "I wish I had an answer. I just feel bad. You guys are looking for answers. That's your job. You're reporting. I've got no answers. I'm trying to figure stuff out and get through this thing."
In Judge's absence, the Yankees have struggled offensively, despite some heroic efforts from Billy McKinney and his outfield replacements. Nonetheless, it's tough to consider the Yanks a playoff threat without Judge in the lineup. His injury timetable, at least per someone in the Yankees organization, is expected to be shortly after the All-Star Break. That date could fluctuate depending on tests done between now and mid-July, however.
At this point in his recovery process, it's tough for Judge to predict when he'll be back. Give him credit for being honest, but it's likely not what Yankees fans want to hear.
MLB Rumors: Cubs add to the bullpen
The Chicago Cubs need some bullpen help, that much is obvious. While a trade at the deadline could happen, especially due to recent comments by the Ricketts family, most fans did not expect Chicago to make a move via free agency.
Chicago signed Shane Greene, who has 67 saves over the course of his big-league career. Greene, however, hasn't seen much success since the 2020 season, when he made 28 appearance to the tune of a 2.60 ERA.
The Cubs are far from the first team to take a chance on Greene since then. He's signed with the Dodgers and Yankees, among others. However, Chicago doesn't have much to lose by signing Greene, as he comes on a low-risk contract. MLB Trade Rumors explains why bullpen help is in such demands for the Cubs.
"Swift decline notwithstanding, Greene represents a no-risk flier for a Cubs team that regularly rolls the dice on veteran rebound candidates in the bullpen. It hasn't always worked in their favor, of course, but the Cubs have netted strong returns on minimal investments for names like Andrew Chafin, David Robertson, Ryan Tepera, Mychal Givens and Mark Leiter Jr. (among others) in sticking to this approach in recent years. They'll hope to add Greene's name to that list of successes in the coming months."
Clearly, Chicago doesn't view their 'pen as a finished product. Should Greene work out, then maybe it'll avoid the need of making a deadline trade, thus giving up an asset in the process.
MLB Rumors: Alek Manoah's start in rookie ball didn't go according to plan
Alek Manoah hit another road block with the Toronto Blue Jays. While his last major-league appearance against the Houston Astros was a complete disaster, his most recent outing on Tuesday may have been even worse.
Manoah gave up 10 runs and 11 hits in rookie ball. It was supposed to be a productive start in what was his path towards a return in Toronto. Instead, Manoah is as far removed as ever from the big leagues. The former ace is lost, and as much as this Jays organization believes in him, it's tough to see him contributing again this season.
To make matters worse, Manoah was facing the New York Yankees Florida Complex League team. CBS Sports offered the beleaguered hurler some support, even giving an excuse or two.
"To be fair to Manoah, it's likely that he was working on something during Tuesday's outing, be it altered mechanics or a tweaked arsenal. That doesn't make his statline totally irrelevant, but there is often a context in these situations that gets lost from looking just at the linescore. Still, it's probably not an encouraging sign for the Blue Jays that he had such struggles against competition that is, to put it kindly, well beneath big-league quality."
As the writer says, the caliber of hitters Manoah was facing on Tuesday are well below MLB caliber. This is bad, and should be viewed as such.