AL East

The New York Yankees have signed their first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft, with shortstop Trey Sweeney agreeing to a $3 million signing bonus, per Carlos Collazo of Baseball America.

The deal is $242,900 under the slot for the 20th overall pick.

As Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com noted, the team is hoping to save money to sign third-round pick Brock Selvidge, who will likely need more than the $637,000 slotted for him at 92nd overall. The high school pitcher is committed to LSU and could choose college if New York doesn't reach his asking price.

As Collazo previously reported, the Yankees have already signed their second-, fourth-, ninth- and 10th-round picks for under slot deals.

The Yankees are at least able to get Sweeney under contract after an impressive year at the plate for Eastern Illinois. The 6'4" shortstop hit .382 with 14 home runs, flirting with a .400 batting average for the season before a tough final day of the season. 

He also tallied 46 walks in 48 games while striking out just 24 times on his way to winning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.

The approach at the plate helped him rate as the No. 55 overall player in the 2021 class by MLB.com.

Defense could be a question mark at the next level, but the Yankees expect him to remain at shortstop going forward. 

"We really see him as being able to play shortstop," Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees Vice President of Domestic Amateur Scouting, told reporters after the draft. "He's smooth, he's got good hands, he runs well enough, his range is good and he's got a plus arm. So realistically he has all the tools and the intangibles to be a shortstop."

New York will now determine his best path to have a successful major league career.

The New York Yankees and MLB have given a lifetime ban to the fan who threw a baseball at Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

The Yankees announced the decision Sunday in a statement:

While the Yankees appreciate the spirit and passion of our fans in our various rivalries—especially with the Red Sox—reckless, disorderly and dangerous behavior that puts the safety of players, field staff or fellow fans in jeopardy will not be tolerated. There is absolutely no place for it at Yankee Stadium. The safety of everyone at Yankee Stadium, including guests in the stands and players on the field, will always be the top priority for the Yankees organization every time we open our doors.

The incident came in the sixth inning of Saturday's game between the Yankees and Red Sox. According to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, Verdugo tossed a ball into the stands in between innings and a fan later threw it back during play, hitting the outfielder in the back.

Security caught the fan, and he was ejected from the game.

Verdugo was clearly upset during the incident, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora took his team off the field until everyone calmed down.

"There’s no reason to ever throw stuff back on the field, ever," Verdugo told reporters after the game. "There really isn’t. As fans, bro, y’all gotta be better. It’s just that simple. I don’t care how much you hate a team or how much of a rivalry [there] is, you don’t throw s--t at people, man."

The Yankees' ban continues the trend of recent punishments against fans who have crossed the line at sporting events.

In the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers banned a fan who dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook, while the New York Knicks banned a spectator who allegedly spit on Trae Young.

Boston Red Sox star Alex Verdugo implored New York Yankees fans to do better after a spectator threw a baseball at him in the field from the stands Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.

"There's no reason to ever throw stuff back on the field, ever," Verdugo told reporters after the game. "There really isn't. As fans, bro, y'all gotta be better. It's just that simple. I don't care how much you hate a team or how much of a rivalry [there] is, you don't throw s--t at people, man."

Verdugo said he initially attempted to toss the ball to a young Boston fan in the outfield after he was done warming up between the top and bottom of the sixth inning. Instead, the ball was captured by a Yankees fan, who then threw it at Verdugo, striking him in the back.

The incident prompted Red Sox manager Alex Cora to remove his players from the field as an incensed Verdugo shouted at the bleachers while stadium security attempted to locate and remove the fan who threw the ball.

"I know my left fielder. I know Alex," Cora said. "He needed time to breathe and to get his thoughts. It seemed like nobody was listening to me. You never know. What if he jumps the fence? What if he goes up there?"

The game was eventually called after six innings after a 52-minute rain delay. The Yankees won 3-1—their first win in eight tries against their division rival.

The two clubs return to Yankee Stadium on Sunday for the rubber match of their three-game set to open the second half of the season. Verdugo wants fans to remember to behave regardless of what happens on the field.

For the first time since Sept. 29, 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to play baseball games in their home stadium. 

The Blue Jays announced on Friday their return to the Rogers Centre will begin on July 30 against the Kansas City Royals. 

Per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the Blue Jays received a national interest exemption from the Canadian government to play in Toronto. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada's government rejected a proposal from Major League Baseball prior to the start of the 2020 season that would have allowed the Blue Jays to play games at their normal home. 

Instead, the Blue Jays organization played the entire 60-game campaign at their Triple-A affiliate's ballpark in Buffalo, New York. 

Prior to the start of spring training, the Blue Jays announced plans to start the regular season in Dunedin, Florida, "with the hopes of a return to play at Rogers Centre as soon as possible."

After spending the first month in Florida, the Blue Jays moved back to Buffalo on June 1 while they continued to wait for clearance from the Canadian government. 

Canada did loosen travel restrictions for citizens last month, with everyone who is fully-vaccinated no longer required to follow a mandatory 14-day quarantine period 

The rule does not apply to foreign travelers entering the country, though the special exemption suggests that MLB teams won't be included in that policy. 

Canada previously allowed fans to attend NHL games starting with Game 6 of the opening-round playoff series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. Approximately 2,500 fans were permitted to the Bell Center. 

The Canadiens attempts' to allow 50 percent capacity (10,500 fans) for the Stanley Cup Final were rejected by Quebec public health officials.

It's unclear how many fans will be allowed to attend games at the Rogers Center. The Blue Jays are scheduled to play 10 consecutive home games from July 30-Aug. 8, including a three-game set against the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox. 

Toronto's 45-42 record ranks fourth in the AL East, but its only 4.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second wild card spot.    

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge will miss time after being placed on the COVID-19 injured list, the team announced Friday.

Backup catcher Kyle Higashioka and third baseman Gio Urshela also landed on the list, where teammates and pitchers Nelson Cortes and Wandy Peralta have already been since Thursday. Relief pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga has also been on the list since last Saturday.

Players who are found positive for COVID-19 must isolate for a minimum of 10 days, per MLB.com.

The Yankees' COVID-19 outbreak forced the postponement of their home game against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The two teams will return to the field Friday at Yankee Stadium.

As for Judge, aside from missing some time because of "general soreness in the side," as manager Aaron Boone described, Judge was able to stay on the field during the first half of the season.

Injuries remain a concern for Judge, who played just 28 of 60 possible games during the shortened 2020 campaign. He also missed 60 games in 2019 and 50 games in 2018 with various ailments.

It has slowed down a promising career that started with a Rookie of the Year award and two All-Star selections in his first two full seasons in the majors. He finished second in voting for the MVP award in 2017 after leading the league with 52 home runs.

Judge has played well when healthy in 2021 with 21 home runs, 47 RBI and a .282 batting average (.901 OPS).

The 29-year-old remains one of the sport's best power hitters and is capable of carrying the Yankees lineup for stretches at a time. The challenge for him has been staying on the field.

For now, the Yankees must traverse without him. The depleted Yankees' healthy outfield options include Brett Gardner, Tyler Wade and Tim Locastro. New York also just called up Trey Amburgey and Greg Allen to the 26-man MLB roster.

MLB announced Friday's game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will be played as scheduled, with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium.

Thursday's game between the two AL East clubs was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Yankees clubhouse. Six players tested positive for the coronavirus.

New York will place six players—Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, Kyle Higashioka, Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta—on the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Friday's game, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. There's no minimum time requirement on the COVID IL, so the players can return whenever they've cleared health and safety protocols.

The Yankees' outbreak comes despite the club reaching MLB's targeted 85 percent vaccination threshold to ease coronavirus restrictions, per ESPN. General manager Brian Cashman said the majority of those who tested positive were asymptomatic after receiving a vaccine.

Thursday's game was MLB's first COVID-19 postponement since the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics on April 19.

CNN's Dakin Andone and Madeline Holcombe reported Friday that COVID-19 cases have risen in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., over the past week, including 38 states with at least a 50 percent increase amid the "growing prevalence of the Delta variant." States with lower vaccination rates are seeing higher rates of the virus.

MLB confirmed Thursday's game would be made up Aug. 17 as part of a doubleheader.

The Yankees and Red Sox remain scheduled to play three games this weekend, including national broadcasts Saturday on Fox and Sunday on ESPN.

Boston (55-36) leads the AL East, with New York (46-43) eight games back in fourth place.

Pitching prospect Irv Carter had a major league reaction when he was drafted to become a professional pitcher.

After the Toronto Blue Jays selected him with the No. 152 overall pick of the 2021 MLB draft on Monday, Carter and his family embraced in an emotional celebration:

The American League East team might have found some value in the Calvary Christian Academy (FL) product. He checked in as the 118th-best prospect on MLB.com's top prospects list.

MLB.com's scouting report pointed to a fastball that could consistently check in at the mid-90s, as well as "a very good slider" and solid changeup.

Toronto, which is in third place in the AL East at 45-42, also selected pitcher Gunnar Hoglund with the No. 19 overall pick. Perhaps he and Carter can one day anchor the team's rotation if they live up to their potential.