Bronx Bomber Ball

Every year at Spring Training, mixed in with the buzz about young and talented prospects and the reappearance of veterans and familiar faces, there are always a few players who fall right in the middle. One of the players to fall into that category this year is left handed pitcher Tommy Layne. Layne is entering the sixth  season of his major league career and he hasn’t quite reached journeyman status yet, but he definitely seems like that type of player. He broke in with the San Diego Padres in 2012 as a 27-year-old and made a stop in Boston before signing with the Yankees in August of 2016. For his career, Layne has pitched in 197 games, posting a 3.23 ERA in 136.2 innings while allowing just 111 hits. Layne is a reliever by trade and although the Yankees have seen the recent emergence of several highly touted relief pitching prospects, the role of lefty specialist still seems to be very much up for grabs on this year’s club. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

With the season winding down and the Yankees playoff hope slimming by the day, some 40-man roster spot decisions will have to be made in the near future. While some roster spots will open up because of impending free agents and retirements (Mark Teixeira, Billy Butler, etc.), some roster spots will be needed to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft (Tyler Webb, Kyle Hishioga, etc.). Because of these moves some roster spots may be up in the air this offseason, let’s take a look at some players whose 40-man roster spots may be in limbo. Photo Credit: Kim Klement

After a solid 5-4 victory on Thursday night, the Yankees were once again looking for a win to get back to .500 on the year. The Yankees sent Chad Green up against former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Kluber had a stellar night giving up one run across eight innings with eight strikeouts which was juxtaposed by Green’s horrendous night where he surrendered seven earned runs across 4.1 innings en route to a 10-2 loss. Photo Credit: Aaron Josefczyk | AP

The Yankees began a three game set in Sunny San Diego with the All-Star Game hosting Padres on Friday night. Nathan Eovaldi, looking to bounce back from an awful month of June where he went 0-3 with an ERA of 8.65 and an eye-gouging 1.81 WHIP in five starts, was opposed by Colin Rea, who also had a bad month of June going 1-1 with a 6.15 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in five starts. However, in a new month, Eovaldi looked to get back to his May ways, but was unable to do so in a game that featured a lot of offense. The Yankees would rally for four runs in the ninth, but could not complete the comeback in a 7-6 Padres win. Photo Credit: Lenny Ignelzi | AP

Unbelievable. In one of the craziest games in recent memory, the Yankees were hurt by a 3 hour, 35 minute rain delay as the Rangers rallied off Kirby Yates in the ninth to take Monday's series opener, 9-6. As the top of the ninth began, the rain began to fall harder and harder, and after Aroldis Chapman walked the leadoff batter and fell behind Shin-Soo Choo, Joe Girardi got his wish and convinced the umpires to delay the game. However, after the delay, Yates hit two batters, and then Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus both delivered 2-RBI singles to give Texas the win. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Kathy Willens

On a warm Saturday night, Ian Kinsler singlehandedly led the Tigers to a 6-1 win with a 5-RBI night. The Yankees offense couldn’t get anything going after scoring 33 runs in the last five games, and Masahiro Tanaka’s two mistakes both resulted in home runs. The Tigers also snapped the Yankees five-game winning streak, and with the loss, the Yankees returned back down to .500. Picture Credit: New York Yankees Twitter

For the second consecutive time this season, the Yankees offense was silenced by the incredibly efficient Marco Estrada (3-2, 2.43 ERA). Coming off a game in which the entire team produced one hit, the Yankees couldn’t solve Estrada, as the right hander allowed just three hits. Winners of seven of their last ten, the Yankees were incredibly flat in tonight’s 4-2 loss. Picture Credit: Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press via AP

Today (Thursday, May 26), the Yankees called up LHP Richard Bleier from Triple-A Scranton, activated Alex Rodriguez off of the 15-day disabled list, put Chasen Shreve on the 15-day DL, and sent Rob Refsnyder back down to Triple-A Scranton. Richard Bleier | Picture Credit: Associated Press/Chris O'Meara