Wells went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Rays.
Wells put New York on the board with a solo shot to right field in the second inning. It was the backstop's fifth long ball of the campaign, three of which have come over his past 10 contests. Wells is batting .286 (8-for-28) with six RBI over that stretch and has moved back into the primary catcher role for the Yankees, starting five of the team's past seven contests behind the plate.
Cortes (4-8) took the loss against the Rays on Thursday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 4.1 innings.
A two-run homer by Randy Arozarena put Cortes behind in the first inning, but New York tied the score with solo homers in the second and third. However, the southpaw surrendered three runs in the bottom of the third frame, and the Yankees never managed to catch up. Cortes thus took his third loss across his past four outings, and he's already doubled his previous career-worst mark with eight defeats on the campaign. He hasn't been as bad as his record indicates, though, recording a 3.67 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 110:22 K:BB over 115.1 innings.
Soto acknowledged after Thursday's game against the Rays that he'll have to continue playing through a hand injury for the next few weeks, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Soto originally suffered the injury June 28 on a slide into home plate and has gone 9-for-36 with two homers, four RBI and five runs scored in 11 games since. He had a particularly productive game Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run, but his numbers could be diminished until his hand is closer to full strength.
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Yankees' Ian Hamilton: Begins throwing program
Rotowire
Manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Hamilton (lat) has begun a throwing program, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Hamilton was slated to be shut down from throwing for 3-to-4 weeks after a mid-grade lat strain sent him to the injured list June 18, so he seems to still be right on schedule in his rehab process. The Yankees have yet to set a target return date for the 29-year-old, but a timeline may emerge once he's thrown a few bullpen sessions.
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Yankees' Juan Soto: Swipes bag Wednesday
Rotowire
Soto went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 2-1 win against Tampa Bay.
Offense was scarce in the contest, and Soto collected two of New York's six hits. He added a stolen base to boost his fantasy line. The multi-hit game was Soto's first since June 28. He has been pretty quiet so far in July with a .200/.333/.333 slash line, one homer and two RBI over eight contests, though he's also drawn six walks.
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Yankees' Clay Holmes: Racks up save No. 20
Rotowire
Holmes struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings Wednesday to record his 20th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Rays.
It was Holmes' first save since June 9, as he'd blown his last two chances while posting a worrying 10.80 ERA over his past seven appearances. Despite the rough stretch, he still sports a 2.89 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 39:8 K:BB through 37.1 innings on the season and has already banked his third straight 20-save campaign.
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Yankees' Marcus Stroman: Inefficient again Wednesday
Rotowire
Stroman came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Rays, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.
The Yankees staked Stroman to a 2-0 lead through four innings, but the veteran right-hander couldn't hang around long enough to record the win. Instead, he got the hook after 84 pitches (49 strikes), leaving the mound with the bases loaded and needing the New York bullpen to bail him out. Stroman has completed six innings only once in his last seven outings, delivering a shaky 5.30 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 23:18 K:BB through 35.2 innings over that stretch. He'll now get an extended rest, as he isn't scheduled to make another start before the All-Star break.
Bickford re-signed Thursday with the Yankees on a minor-league contract.
After losing his spot on the Yankees' 40-man roster and clearing waivers earlier this month, Bickford elected free agency, only to re-sign with the Yankees on a minor-league deal one day later. He reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and will continue to work in relief with the Yankees' top affiliate.
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Yankees' Henry Lalane: Makes season debut
Rotowire
Lalane (undisclosed) was reinstated from the rookie-level Florida Complex League Yankees' 7-day injured list Thursday.
He made his 2024 debut Thursday, tossing one inning and giving up two runs on one hit and one walk. Despite missing the first two months of the FCL season, the 20-year-old lefty remains one of the Yankees' top lower-level pitching prospects after striking out 34 batters over 21.2 innings in rookie ball in 2023.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Exiting starting nine Wednesday
Rotowire
Wells is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Wells will hit the bench after he started behind the dish in three of the Yankees' last four games. Jose Trevino will get the nod at catcher Wednesday, forming a battery with starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
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Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Might return without rehab games
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Stanton (hamstring) could skip a rehab assignment and return from the 10-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
Stanton did some running Tuesday and has been reincorporating baseball activities into his training regimen of late as he works his way back from a strained left hamstring. He'll need to do some more ramping up before the Yankees are confident that he's ready for game action, but bypassing a rehab assignment would shorten the length of his absence a bit.
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Yankees' Ben Rice: Slugs fifth homer
Rotowire
Rice went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Tuesday in a loss to the Rays.
Rice brought New York to within a run with his two-run shot in the seventh frame, but the team was unable to score again. The rookie first baseman continues to thrive in the majors, as he's slashing .267/.348/.567 with five home runs, three doubles, nine runs and 14 RBI over just 19 contests covering 69 plate appearances. All five of Rice's homers and 10 of his RBI have come over his past five games.
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Yankees' Tim Mayza: Reaches deal with Yankees
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Mayza agreed Wednesday with the Yankees on a minor-league contract, Brendan Kuty and Katie Woo of The Athletic report.
Cut loose by the Blue Jays after clearing waivers last week, Mayza was quickly able to find a new home within the American League East. The Yankees plan to assign Mayza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre initially, but he might not have to wait long for a big-league call-up while New York currently has five relievers on the injured list. Mayza turned in a 1.52 ERA in 69 appearances with Toronto in 2023 but had taken a big step back in 2024 prior to being cut, accruing an 8.03 ERA, 1.95 WHIP and 16:12 K:BB across 24.2 innings in 35 appearances.
