AL East

The Boston Red Sox are hoping California high school shortstop Marcelo Mayer will become the crown jewel of their farm system after selecting him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft. 

While other top prospects in this year's class had some up-and-down moments during the season, the 18-year-old's steady performance and long-term potential at shortstop helped him rise up draft boards. 

MLB.com ranked Mayer as the No. 1 player in the 2021 class and compared his offensive skill set to a former National League Rookie of the Year:

"He has average or above tools across the board, starting with a plus feel to hit from the left side of the plate. He has an advanced approach and knowledge of the strike zone to go with elite bat-to-ball skills and a pure stroke. Long and lean, there’s a lot of raw power for him to grow into, with some scouts seeing a Corey Seager-like offensive profile if it all comes together."

The scouting report also noted Mayer's defensive instincts and aptitude are similar to San Francisco Giants star Brandon Crawford. 

A standout at Eastlake High School, Mayer has been the team's starting shortstop since he was a freshman in 2018. He posted a .392/.555/.886 slash line in 34 games as a senior. 

The Red Sox are playing with house money right now, currently leading the American League East and picking arguably the best player in the 2021 draft with the fourth overall pick. 

Rafael Devers (24) and Alex Verdugo (25) are both young enough that they could be in their prime years by the time Mayer gets called up. 

Boston's front office is doing a fantastic job of stockpiling high-impact talent for the future. Mayer joins a group that includes Triston Casas, Jeter Downs, Jarren Duran and Gilberto Jimenez. 

Mayer could end up having the highest ceiling of any position player in the Red Sox system as soon as he signs because of his value as a shortstop. He will need a few years to develop in the minors, but an advanced hitting approach could get him to the big leagues sooner than expected.

The Boston Red Sox announced Sunday they agreed to a two-year contract extension with closer Matt Barnes:

The deal also includes a team option for a third year in 2024. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe first reported the proposed deal.

Barnes is in the midst of a breakout 2021 season, earning his first All-Star selection thanks to a 2.68 ERA and 19 saves over the first half of the year. He entered Sunday with 62 strikeouts with only 10 walks in 37 innings.

Nearly every number is a personal best for Barnes, who had a 4.08 ERA entering this season across seven years with the Red Sox.

Cutting down walks has been a huge change for the reliever, throwing just 2.4 per nine innings this season after averaging 4.2 per nine innings entering the year.

The adjustments elevated Barnes from middle reliever to closer to one of the best pitchers in the American League. As a pending free agent, the 31-year-old likely would have been in high demand on the open market.

Boston ensured he wouldn't leave town, with a new deal that will keep him for at least another two years. It's well-deserved after helping the team sit in first place heading into the All-Star break.

Kenley Jansen will now headline the thin upcoming class of free-agent relievers.

Making his first start at Minute Maid Park as a member of the New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole apparently didn't want to be taken out of Saturday's game against the Houston Astros.

Cole was seen on television cameras yelling "I ain't leaving," among other things, at Yankees manager Aaron Boone in the bottom of the ninth inning:

Speaking to reporters after the game, Cole explained he "said the f-word a lot and I kind of just blacked out."

With the Yankees clinging to a 1-0 lead, Cole gave up a leadoff single to Jose Altuve on his first pitch of the ninth inning. The four-time All-Star's 112 pitches over the first eight innings was more than he made in any start so far this season.

He got Michael Brantley to fly out after a 10-pitch at-bat, followed by a strikeout of Yuli Gurriel. Cole's pleading with Boone worked, as he remained in the game and struck out Yordan Alvarez on three pitches to secure the win.

The final strike to Alvarez was a 99.1 mph fastball that the Astros designated hitter swung through.

The 129 pitches thrown by Cole set a new career high. He allowed just three hits and struck out 12 against a Houston offense that entered Saturday leading MLB in batting average (.270), on-base percentage (.345), OPS (.785) and runs scored (488).

Since losing the first game of a doubleheader to the New York Mets on July 4 that dropped their record to 41-41, the Yankees have won five of their past six games. They will go for a three-game series sweep of the Astros on Sunday.

Former New York Yankees first baseman Joe Pepitone is suing the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, on the grounds that it refuses to return the Mickey Mantle 500th home run bat that Pepitone says he lent to the HOF.

According to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, the 80-year-old Pepitone's lawsuit states:

"Pepitone’s Bat is a one-of-a-kind historical baseball artifact with an estimated value of more than $500,000. Pepitone did not gift, sell, assign, or in any way transferred his sole ownership interest in the Bat to any person or entity. Pepitone unequivocally demanded that the Museum return the Bat on September 1, 2020, as promised. The Museum has unreasonably and unlawfully refused Pepitone's demand to return the Bat and continues to possess the Bat without legal cause or justification over Pepitone's objection."

The Hall of Fame denies Pepitone's account, saying it has owned the bat since the Yankees donated it in 1967.

The bat in question was used by Mantle to hit the 500th home run of his MLB career during a game on May 14, 1967, against the Baltimore Orioles.

The lawsuit states Mantle used Pepitone's bat to hit the historic homer after Pepitone homered earlier in the game: "In the next inning (7th inning) of the Game, Pepitone handed his bat … to Mantle and told Mantle that the Bat 'had another home run in it.' Mantle smiled at Pepitone and took the Bat to the plate."

Pepitone stated in the lawsuit that the bat disappeared from his locker following the game, but then-Yankees executive Robert Fishel told him it had been loaned to the Hall of Fame and still belonged to him.

Pepitone also alleged he has visited the Hall of Fame on many occasions and has always been told the bat belongs to him. Specifically, he said then-Baseball Hall of Fame public relations director William Guilfoile—who died in 2016—told Pepitone the bat was his "for the asking."

Pepitone was Mantle's teammate for seven seasons from 1962 to 1968. While he wasn't a superstar like Mantle, Pepitone had a productive career with three All-Star selections and three Gold Glove awards.

Mantle is considered one of the greatest players in MLB history. The Mick hit .298 with 536 home runs and 1,509 RBI in 18 seasons with the Yanks, earning 20 All-Star nods and three American League MVP awards while winning seven World Series titles.

Per Kaplan, Goldin Auctions founder Ken Goldin estimates Mantle's 500th home run bat is worth "well over $1 million" thanks to Mantle's popularity and the scarcity of game-used items with such significance from that era.

Kaplan also noted the lawsuit doesn't mention written contracts, meaning it could be difficult to prove who owns the bat.

Five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers combined to throw an unofficial no-hitter against Cleveland in Game 2 of a doubleheader between the two teams on Wednesday at Tropicana Field. 

Pete Fairbanks closed out the 4-0 win by getting Harold Ramirez to fly out deep to right field in the top of the seventh. 

Collin McHugh tossed two scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen. Josh Fleming, who was credited with the win, went 2.2 innings. Diego Castillo and Matt Wisler also got in the game before Fairbanks took over for the seventh. 

Tampa's pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts and just two walks to give the team its fourth straight win following a five-game losing streak. 

Yandy Diaz and Taylor Walls provided all of the offense for Tampa Bay with two RBI each. 

The Elias Sports Bureau, which serves as the official statistician of MLB, doesn't recognize seven-inning games as a no-hitter. That's good news for Cleveland, which is on its way to a historically-bad offensive season. 

Cleveland's lineup has now been no-hit three times in 2021. The first two came in traditional nine-inning games (Apr. 14 vs. the Chicago White Sox, May 7 vs. the Cincinnati Reds). 

Per Joe Rivera of the Sporting News, no MLB team has ever been no-hit three times in a single season. 

Since Wednesday's game won't go in the official record book, Cleveland is able to avoid making history. The current trajectory of the franchise does suggest a third no-no isn't totally out of the question. 

Cleveland's offense ranks 20th or worse in virtually every major statistical category, including runs scored (20th), batting average (26th), on-base percentage (29th) and total bases (27th). 

The Rays pitching staff had a very good overall against Cleveland's inept lineup. They only gave up one run on four hits over the course of 14 innings between the two games of the doubleheader.    

The New York Yankees have gone 1-5 in their last six games amid a season where not much has gone right for the 41-39 Bronx Bombers, who are mired in fourth place in the American League East and sit 5.5 games back of the second wild card.

Star right fielder Aaron Judge is taking on a leadership role to hopefully fix the team's woes, however, telling reporters Friday that he called a players-only meeting three days prior.

"Just [had] some things on my mind, some things I've been seeing over the course of the year," Judge said, per ESPN's Marly Rivera.

"Usually around the All-Star break is the time where you have a meeting and guys kind of address things going into the second half. But I felt like there's some things that couldn't wait until the All-Star break to get brought up."

Judge has been the team's best and most valuable offensive player, hitting .285 (.904 OPS) with 18 home runs and 42 RBI. The rest of the offense has largely struggled, sitting 13th among 15 AL teams in runs scored and eighth in OPS.

He's probably as good a voice as any right now to step up and be this team's de-facto leader. While Judge didn't offer specifics on what was said, he continued to provide a glimpse into the meeting room.

"It was a good time for a lot of us to be honest with each other," Judge added.

"Maybe [say] some things on our mind. ... All the best teams I've been on, you're able to say what you need to say to somebody and not let somebody's feelings get hurt. It was a good meeting. There was a lot of emotion, but I think overall it was great for the team."

The Yankees fell 5-3 to the Angels the night before the players-only meeting. New York responded Tuesday with an 11-5 win but arguably suffered their worst regular-season loss the next night when the Angels scored seventh in the ninth to overcome an 8-4 deficit en route to an 11-8 win.

The Yankees' next two games were postponed due to weather. They're set to host the New York Mets on Saturday.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone shouldn't have to worry about job security while general manager Brian Cashman is in charge. It just remains to be seen if the status quo will remain in the front office. 

According to SNY's Andy Martino, Cashman doesn't appear ready to move on from Boone despite New York falling to fourth in the American League East and nine games back of the first-place Boston Red Sox.

"In addition to covering the Yankees on a daily basis, SNY spoke this week to five league sources with a feel for the team’s dynamics," Martino wrote. "To put it simply, people around Brian Cashman will be stunned if the GM decides to change managers after this season, even if the Yankees miss the playoffs. But those same people wonder if it will be Cashman’s decision to make."

New York is 41-39 with a minus-three run differential as the All-Star break nears.

Boone's contract with the Yankees ends after this season. The team's managing partner, Hal Steinbrenner, wouldn't commit to the manager returning next year if New York fails to reach the playoffs, telling reporters on a Thursday Zoom call he "can't answer that" with so much of the season left. 

“That’s a hypothetical, and these aren’t things I want to contemplate hard on until the season is over,” Steinbrenner said. "But making the playoffs is important, and the reason it’s important is not just because we do it every year and the fans expect it—that’s important—but it’s important because it will show that we have come back, because we ain’t there right now."

Steinbrenner also placed blame on the players for the Yankees' offense ranking 23rd in runs (329), 14th in OPS (.720) and tied for 10th in strikeouts (737). It doesn't help matters that New York has gone 17-24 against the AL East including 0-6 against the Red Sox. 

Martino noted Steinbrenner's declaration Thursday leaves room for the team to either overrule Cashman on Boone's future or even bring in a new general manager who would then decide Boone's fate. 

The one-time Yankees playoff hero has gone 277-187 as the team's manager since taking over for Joe Girardi in the Bronx, having won the AL East in 2019, but has only advanced to the American League Championship Series once. New York lost to the Houston Astros in six games in 2019.

It doesn't appear likely New York will make a change at manager during the season, but things could always escalate quickly if the Yankees continue to slump. 

Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale is optimistic he can make a big impact on the mound if he returns to action this season.

Asked Thursday whether he can help the Red Sox's odds of contending for a World Series title, the seven-time All-Star told reporters, "That's the plan." He added:

"Our staff has done a hell of a job up to this point. ... We've got the best offense in baseball and you've got to throw the ball too, and our guys have done an unbelievable job keeping us in games and putting up big starts when we need it. And for me, I just gotta come in and do my job."

Sale hasn't appeared in an MLB game since August 2019.

That month, he landed on the injured list with elbow inflammation but was on track to feature for Boston in 2020. However, then-manager Ron Roenicke indicated he wouldn't be ready by Opening Day, and he underwent Tommy John surgery.  

Sale has been steadily working his way back since then. He threw a simulated game Saturday and logged another two simulated innings Wednesday.

The 32-year-old said Thursday he's ready for a rehab start and that he'd "go to New Zealand and make a start if I have to."

While expected, Sale's return would be an added bonus for a Red Sox squad that has exceeded expectations. Boston owns the American League's best record at 50-31 and has a three-game lead on the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

FanGraphs gives the Sox an 11.2 percent chance of winning the World Series, second-best in the AL behind the Houston Astros (14.1 percent).

A number of notable pitchers have made successful comebacks from Tommy John surgery, so nobody will be surprised if Sale is once again a dominant force. Even if he were to be 70 to 80 percent of his old self, he'd probably be an upgrade over Nick Pivetta or Garrett Richards in Boston's rotation.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded outfielder Tim Locastro to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league pitcher Keegan Curtis.

Lindsey Adler of The Athletic first reported the news, noting Locastro's speed and defensive presence.

Locastro, 28, has been in the midst of a season-long slump for a flailing Diamondbacks team. He's hitting .178/.271/.220 with one home run and five runs batted in through 55 games. Five steals and solid defense have been Locastro's only real saving grace in Arizona this season, and it's likely the Yankees will use him as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

Adding Locastro will do little to help the Yankees' main issue: their offensive woes. New York's American League representative has scored only 329 runs this season, the worst total in the AL East and ninth-worst in the majors.

The Yankees are expected to explore several major acquisitions ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, so this may simply be a precursor to the team adding a slugger who could be replaced by Locastro in later innings.

Curtis, 25, is a career minor leaguer who was playing for the Yankees' Double-A affliate. He is not considered among their top prospects and has a 1-1 record with a 3.94 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 2021.  

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman provided a blunt assessment of his team during a chat with reporters Tuesday.

"I know they urgently want to get on track, but I also know that we suck right now, as bad as you can be," Cashman said.

Trying to knock ourselves out of that is the effort, but until we get online and start playing high again, it's gonna look bad. It plays bad and it stinks to high heavens. Right now, we gotta own that.

I gotta call it like I see it: It's pretty bad right now.

The 40-38 Yankees have lost four straight games following a three-game road sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox and a 5-3 home defeat to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.

Entering Tuesday, the Yanks have scored the second-fewest runs in the American League, and they are hitting just .234 as a team.

The Yanks' pitching has largely carried the team to its above-average win-loss record, with the bullpen shining all season.

However, one of the Yankees' best hurlers, Corey Kluber, is on the 60-day injured list with a right shoulder strain. Staff ace Gerrit Cole has also not fared well lately, going 2-2 with a 4.65 ERA in June.

The Yanks' other problem is that they may not have much time to turn things around this year. Eight teams sit ahead of them in the top-heavy AL standings, and the Yanks are six games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second wild card.

Changes could be on the horizon for the Yankees, but a move away from manager Aaron Boone doesn't appear to be one of them.

"This is not an Aaron Boone problem and this is not a coaching staff problem," Cashman said. "They're doing what they need to do but we're not getting the results we need. They've got my support. We're in this together."

The Yankees have two more games with the Angels before hosting the New York Mets for the Subway Series beginning Friday.