Bronx Bomber Ball

Don’t look now, but the Yankees might be hitting their first real rough patch of the season.   While it’s hard to complain about a team with a 58-23 record at the midway point of the season, the Yankees have a crucial stretch of games coming up against the second-place Boston Red Sox, and the offensive has gone through a bit of a cold streak that hopefully doesn’t linger through those important games.

Last year we delved into various trade opportunities for the Yankees, and they ended up acquiring one of our proposed targets of J.A. Happ. In 2019, the first place Bombers will again look to the trade market for rotation help. The IL-Yankees of 2019 have lost Luis Severino, Domingo German, James Paxton, and C.C. Sabathia to injury at some point this year, and Severino is still on the IL. With the uncertainty of Severino's return to form and the heaps of question marks surrounding the rest of the rotation, it is obvious the Yankees could use another arm to the rotation.  AP

Life is good.  The calendar says July, burgers and brats are on the grill, fireworks are filling the air, and The New York Yankees are the best team in baseball.  Sure, the Dodgers are playing good ball and fans in Minnesota and Houston might have something to say about that stance, but for now Yankee fans are sitting in a great spot.  The ball club has won 57 games and sits atop the AL East by 6.5 games.  For many fans, the top concern at the season’s midway point could be who the club is targeting in a trade.  I am of the belief that a reliable starting pitcher needs to be added to the staff in order to put this team over the bump and secure meaningful wins in October.  However, we must ask, “at what cost?”  Along with premier young pitching, the Yankees have some big bats in the farm system and while their professional future is still unwritten, let’s look back at the first half of their 2019 seasons and call out the studs. Credit: NJ.c...

As a follower of the Yankees, the richest franchise in baseball and fifth in all of sports, they’re often associated with superstar names when guys become available because they have the money, pedigree, and even the assets if it’s via trade. Look no further than the latest example of a potential trade target that would require a massive package, shortstop Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians. Photo Credit: Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports

Earlier this spring, the New York Yankees extended a non-roster invitation to 21 ballplayers in their organization.   The Yankees' 40-Man Roster is loaded and there is a drop-off of talent as we look at player 41 and beyond.   This makes sense.   Much of the talent in New York’s farm system is very young and will be playing in low-level minors in 2019.   The list of non-roster invitees includes some of that young talent, but also some of the journeymen types.   Each spring, it’s exciting to look through the list and try to identify a few players that will be called up to The Show at some point this season.   This year, barring an outbreak of injuries, it will be a short list.   However, there are three non-roster invitees that have a legitimate shot at cracking the major league roster at some point this season.   Photo Credit: NY Post

Spring training is underway and regular season baseball is less than a month away.  The New York Yankees reported to George M. Steinbrenner Field for their 23 rd  year of spring training in Tampa as they gear up for the 2019 season, looking for their third postseason berth in as many years.

As the annual trade deadline looms near, the Yankees are reportedly “making a strong push” for superstar shortstop/third baseman Manny Machado, Jon Heyman of Fan Cred Sports reported.   Photo Credit: NYDN

Last year Cashman acquired Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia, David Robertson, Tommy Khanle, and Todd Frazier before the July 31st deadline, which helped drive the Bombers to game seven of the ALCS, but they gave up some of their better prospect in the process. The team has its sights set on a championship, so GM Brian Cashman will undoubtedly upgrade the starting pitching at the deadline, but who and for what? Getty Images

Part two of our farm system update focuses on the top ten hitters in the Yankees’ farm system. While only seven of New York’s top 30 prospects are hitters, and one being the recently promoted Gleyber Torres, the Yankees'  depth is clearly in their pitching, but there are still a few up and coming hitters who can make an impact in the near future.  All stats are through Sunday, May 20th and all rankings are per MLB.   Photo Credit: Newsday

The Yankees have one of the best outfields in all of baseball right now, with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, and even Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury. With all the talk this winter about the new “Bash Brothers,” one of the bigger storylines has slipped through the cracks, how great centerfield prospect Estevan Florial is. AP

With the graduation of Mets’ youngster Amed Rosario off prospect lists, Yankees INF Gleyber Torres has taken over in the top spot on prospect boards. The 20-year-old phenom has seen his stock rise ever since turning pro, and his stock is at its highest point in the final few weeks of the MLB regular season. Photo Credit: Scranton Times Tribune

The Yankees have officially acquired RHP Sonny Gray and $1.5 million in international signing bonus money from the Oakland Athletics for OF Dustin Fowler, INF/OF Jorge Mateo, and RHP James Kaprielian. The deal was first reported by Jack Curry of YES Network , and the deal was reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports . Photo Credit: Frank Jansky | ICON Sportswire

It was reported yesterday by Bob Klapish of USA Today that the Yankees and Athletics were making some serious progress with the Yankees leading the pack in the Sonny Gray trade discussions, though the two clubs were not close to a deal. Now, Jon Heyman of FanRag sports reports that the reason for the clubs being far apart may be due to the Athletics requesting either Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier as the return in a trade package. Photo Credit: Aric Crabb | Bay Area News Group

Over the past few seasons, the moves that Brian Cashman has made has built the Yankees farm system into one of the best in baseball, and that fact was amplified when the MLB released their mid-season top 100 prospects list, a list that features six players in the Yankees system.  Photo Credit: David Monseur

According to a report by Mark Feinsand posted on MLB.com, the Yankees are one of a few teams that are ramping up efforts to land a top starting pitcher. While the Yankees have been linked to a lot of the pitchers on the market, their focusseems to be mostly on Oakland pitcher Sonny Gray.  Feinsand reported today that the Yankees and the A’s are making progress on a deal that could include first baseman Yonder Alonso as well as Gray. Sources: Yankees making progress with A's on potential Gray/Alonso trade https://t.co/dAjdUknT7f — Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 25, 2017

Per  MLB.com's  Jon  Morosi , the Yankees have heated up their talks with the Oakland Athletics over first  baseman  Yonder Alonso.   It was first reported yesterday  that the Athletics had sent scouts to single-A Charleston to view Blake Rutherford, Estevan  Fl orial ,  Hoy Jun Park and  Fr eicer  P erez, and today it seems that talks are progressing, although nothing is imminent at this time. The Yankees have also previously expressed interest in other lefty  first basemen , namely, Lucas Duda of the Mets, Justin Bour of the Marlins and Matt Adams of the Braves.   Photo Credit: Chris O'Meara | AP

As the July 31 trade deadline is near, it’s been reported that A’s scouts have been scouting the Yankees Low-A affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs. They’re noted to be keeping an eye on top outfield prospect Blake Rutherford, shortstop Hoy Jun Park, outfielder Estevan Florial, and right-hander Freicer Perez. Photo Credit: Martin Griff | Pinstriped Prospects

As the first-half of the seasons comes to a close, All-Star Game festivities are on the horizon in Miami. Yesterday the Futures Game was played between prospects from the United States and around the world. Two Yankee prospects, Domingo Acevedo and Estevan Florial, were selected to play on  the World Team, and both of them played during Sunday’s contest. Photo Credit: Newsday

While the Major League All-Star rosters have yet to be announced, Major League Baseball released the rosters for the annual Futures Game on Thursday. The Yankees will have two representatives on the World roster. RHP Domingo Acevedo and outfielder Estevan Florial are the two players that have been chosen. Photo Credit: Martin Griff