It really never is dull around here. Another week of Yankee baseball has seen trades, injuries, errors, meltdowns, and everything else in between. Since we last spoke, the Yankees had another ugly week, going 2-4 against the rival Jays and NL contending Phillies. Almost nothing was encouraging as they even managed to suck the fun out of making some acquisitions this weekend. The newest Yankees are third baseman Ryan McMahon and utility man Ahmed Rosario parachuted into a mess, as their debuts were marked by the team getting thumped Saturday by the Phils and Aaron Judge heading for the IL.

Judge’s injury feels like a good place to begin our breakdown, as the we all know how important he is to them. It was announced before Saturday’s contest with the Phil’s that he was out of the lineup, getting a scan on his right elbow following feeling some pain in Toronto Wednesday. The Yankees wound up getting as close to good news as they could, short of Judge not being hurt for the rest of the year. It turned out number 99 will miss two weeks with a flexor strain, but his UCL is not damaged, the most important thing in this mess. The news of Judge’s injury touched off a frenzy of speculation about what the front office’s next steps would be both internally and externally. It seems both parties were pretty unsure what the Yankees would do from here, as some members of the media are reporting they’re considering a sell off of relievers with expiring contracts, while others are reporting with Judge’s season not being over, they are going to go for it.

Of course, what goes hand in hand with Judge’s season not being over is that the Yankees super star outfielder can’t play the outfield due to his injury, at least for the foreseeable future. So, when he comes back in two weeks, Giancarlo Stanton is going to have to play the outfield, which implies he will go back to old post in right field where the Yankees will hold their breath with his health. Manager Aaron Boone has approach Stanton about this move and seems Stanton, the World Series hungry veteran that he is, is completely on board with the plan. While I applaud him for doing what it will take to help to this team, there is denying Stanton playing the field makes this already weak defensive team even worse. To compensate for this situation Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Jasson Dominguez, assuming “the martian” is still here post deadline, will have to combine to play good defense and caddy the ailing Stanton.

As for the new additions, Ryan McMahon got off on the right foot with Yankee fans this weekend. The new number 19 racked up a couple of hits, including an RBI double, and flashed his gold glove caliber defense at the hot corner which is a breath of fresh air for this ball club. It shouldn’t be lost on people that McMahon has never exactly been a prolific offensive player, even in the thin air of Coors Field, but if motivated now that he is in a pennant race, he can be an effective option. Meanwhile Ahmed Rosario didn’t get into the lineup Sunday but the Yankees, per all reports, have coveted the utility man for a long time. Rosario doesn’t provide a lot of pop, but he was hitting .270 in Washington while making just six errors at multiple positions, a credit to his steady versatility.

Both of these players can help the team in more ways than one, but if the Yankees are going to survive without Judge, let alone ensure they make the playoffs, Brian Cashman must keep going from here. I don’t believe they will sell. As flawed as they are, Judge is coming back and can at the very least still hit, which is more than enough incentive to not waste another year of 99. With Fernando Cruz, Ryan Yarbrough and Luis Gil all returning soon to the mound, I would go add two arms to the bullpen and one more starter before 6 PM Thursday night to fortify this roster as best you can. You may want them to sell or want them to cut dead weight, but there is no way the Yankees are going to turn down a chance to play October baseball and make October dollars. And while I am frustrated as much as the rest of you, I can’t say I want them to sell, it’s no fun…besides they don’t know what they’re doing with prospects, so why get more.

The manager had his yearly July meltdown, as we nearly got the “it’s all right in front of us” speech this past week in Toronto. Boone was “grilled” by the gang at Jomboy Media and he was not happy about it, going as far as to get into another shouting match with himself, while Jimmy and Jake challenged him on the Yankees defensive issues and lack of urgency, something that has plagued them for years now under Boone. Whether you like Jomboy and his brand of coverage, Boone’s “help I am under siege” act is a joke coming from a manager who doesn’t ever get asked a tough question by a media group that the Yankees mostly employ themselves and spends their spare time defending him. He has no idea what it’s like to manage this team, in this town, with the fans and the media and George Steinbrenner breathing down his neck. Ask Joe Torre what it was like, he can teach Boone a thing or 12 about the game.

Highlight of the Week

On a brighter note, our highlight of the week is away from the diamond, as the Yankees weren’t setting the world on fire in these recent games. Instead, our highlight comes from Cooperstown as it was Hall of Fame induction weekend. Our pastime celebrated Billy Wagner, Dick Allen, Dave “The Cobra” Parker, Ichiro Suzuki, and Yankee star CC Sabathia. It was such a wonderful sight to see Carston Charles Sabathia representing the franchise as he became the 24th player to go into the Hall as a Yankee. Sabathia is one of the truly great personalities we have had in our game this century and he was an outstanding performer, especially in big spots. I loved him and enjoyed every second of his career in Cleveland, Milwaukee and especially in pinstripes. True to the song, CC made it here, and so he could make it anywhere! Thanks for the memories 52 and enjoy the honor!

What’s Next

With all that said, here’s what’s on the horizon for the Bombers as we begin a new week. They trail the Blue Jays by 5.5 games in the AL East and hold the first Wild Card spot with a 1.5 game lead over the rival Red Sox who just took two games from the Dodgers this weekend.

• Monday night they kick off a four-game set in the Bronx with the Rays who are in worse shape than the Yankees are. If there is going to be any kind of turn around, beating up on the floundering Rays has to be a center piece of it.
• The trade deadline is Thursday night at 6 PM, and hopefully by then the Yankees have made further improvements to this squad.
• Next weekend the Yanks head to Miami to play a pesky Marlins team that if they are not careful with, will give them fits. They’re not a great club, so much like Tampa, the Yankees need to focus up and take care of business.

We’ll have continuing coverage throughout the week of the Yankees games and hopefully further new additions at the deadline so stay tuned for that. Mike will have you covered with Mets deadline coverage, while the two of us will also have further previews of the college football season releasing this week. We’re also going to get our NFL up and running soon and even talk some hockey here soon with some new friends on our air. On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.