AL East

The Toronto Blue Jays will likely have to wait a bit longer to get outfielder George Springer back in the lineup.

"I would expect it would take more than just the IL stint," general manager Ross Atkins said when discussing whether Springer will be ready to return when he is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list May 13, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

"There's a chance I'm wrong, but based on the information that I have right now, I would expect that it would take longer than that IL stint," he added.

Springer is sidelined with a quad injury and was placed on the injured list retroactive to May 3.

He also dealt with a strained oblique muscle earlier this season and did not make his Blue Jays debut until April 28. In all, he has played just four games and is yet to be in the lineup as anything but a designated hitter because of the health concerns.

To Toronto's credit, it was still 15-14 and in third place in the American League East entering play Thursday. It is just 2.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox and figures to be all the more dangerous when Springer returns.

The three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and 2017 World Series MVP represented one of the biggest signings of the offseason and is expected to add even more pop to a lineup that already features Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

He flashed his potential in that Blue Jays lineup when he launched two home runs in a win over the Atlanta Braves in one of the four games he has played this season.

Unfortunately for Toronto, it seems like it will have to continue treading water without him in the immediate future.

New York Yankees fans weren't about to miss their chance to heckle the Houston Astros prior to Tuesday's game.

After all, it was Houston's first trip to the Bronx with fans in attendance since news of its sign-stealing scandal broke, and Yankees fans chanted "you're a cheater" at Carlos Correa during batting practice:

Major League Baseball fined the Astros $5 million, stripped them of their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch for one year after it was discovered the team implemented a sign-stealing system during its championship run in 2017.

Houston ultimately fired Hinch and Luhnow.

Yankees fans in particular likely have strong feelings about the scandal seeing how Houston stunned their team in a seven-game battle in the 2017 American League Championship Series. 

They certainly let Correa know how they feel.

The Boston Red Sox are opening up Fenway Park in June to serve as a graduation site for high schools in the city. 

Per ESPN's David Schoenfield, Fenway Park will be used as the venue for 15 of 38 graduating classes in the Boston public school system between June 7-21. 

Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said in a statement that the organization offered the venue after learning the public school system was looking to find outdoor venues large enough to host graduation ceremonies:

"Fenway Park is the perfect outdoor space in the heart of the city and large enough to host teachers, students, and their families in a safe manner. After such a challenging year, this important milestone is one that should be celebrated, and we are pleased to be able to offer our venue to help these seniors celebrate their achievements."

Schoenfield noted the Red Sox extended offers to all 38 schools with a graduating class, but some had already found a host site. 

Per CBS Boston, families will be assigned seats in the bleacher section to watch the ceremony. 

High schools and colleges across the country are holding in-person graduation ceremonies this spring, but some are limiting attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Red Sox do have home games scheduled at Fenway from June 8-14. First pitch for five of those games is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. There are also games scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. 

On those days, graduation ceremonies will be held in the morning to give Fenway employees enough time to prepare for the Sox games. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set an MLB record on Tuesday, becoming the youngest player to hit three home runs and log seven RBI in one game. 

Guerrero, who turned 22 on March 16, was almost solely responsible for the Blue Jays' run total as they battled the Washington Nationals with a 9-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth.

He got things going with a grand slam in the bottom of the third, putting the Blue Jays up 4-3.

The hit snapped a streak of 17 scoreless innings for Nationals starter Max Scherzer. 

But the onslaught wasn't over. Guerrero launched a solo shot in the bottom of fifth to increase the distance to 7-3, then logged a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh. 

The first baseman now has seven home runs on the season, putting him one off the league lead that is currently held by Ronald Acuna and Rhys Hoskins. He launched nine in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and had 15 as a rookie through 123 games in 2019. 

The owners of the Boston Red Sox aren't limiting their pro sports interest solely to Major League Baseball.

Speaking in a Sportico webinar Tuesday, Fenway Sports Group limited partner Sam Kennedy said the organization that counts LeBron James and Maverick Carter among its partners would happily buy an NBA or NHL franchise should one become available.

Said Kennedy, who is also president and CEO of the Red Sox (h/t Boston Globe's Michael Silverman):

"We're a huge admirer of the National Basketball Association and obviously the National Hockey League, it represents a natural place for Fenway Sports Group to look but we've not had any specific discussions or negotiations with any local market. But we have, as we've done over our two decades here, connected with [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver and his team and [NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman and [deputy commissioner] Bill Daly just to let them know that at some point we'd love to explore further opportunities in their league."

The NHL has added two new franchises in recent years with the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, but the NBA hasn't expanded since the Charlotte Hornets rejoined in 2004.

Fenway Sports Group already owns the Red Sox, Liverpool, Fenway Park, Anfield and 50 percent of Roush Fenway Racing. As the cohort embarks on what Kennedy called "Fenway 3.0," the group is planning expansion efforts wherever viable.

"[Fenway 3.0] is going to be about tripling down on new and different teams, leagues, revenues, maybe here in North America, maybe abroad," Kennedy said. "But I think we'll see more of the same, which is a commitment to blue-chip property and getting blue-chip management to come in and operate as we go forward."

With a recent addition of $750 million from RedBird Capital Partners, FSG has plenty of cash on hand.

Finding the right club to purchase is another story. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are being sold to a group including former MLB star Alex Rodriguez. In Boston, Jeremy Jacobs has held control of the Bruins since 1975, while Wyc Grousbeck's group has controlled the Celtics since 2002.

James has long talked about his desire to own an NBA franchise. As a member of Fenway Sports Group, that dream may come true soon.

The New York Yankees traded outfielder Mike Tauchman to the San Francisco Giants for reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later, the club announced Tuesday.

In a corresponding move, utility-man Tyler Wade has been recalled to the Yankees from the team's alternate site.

Tauchman had been a valuable depth piece for the Yankees in recent years—especially as injuries continued to mount in 2019 and 2020—but was off to a slow start in 2021 with manager Aaron Boone unable to give him consistent playing time.

The 30-year-old is slashing .214/.267/.286 with one extra-base hit in 16 plate appearances entering Tuesday. With Aaron Judge, Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton and Brett Gardner all capable of playing in the outfield, Tauchman became a bit of an odd man out.

Instead, Tauchman goes to San Francisco for Peralta, a left-handed reliever who primarily uses a fastball-slider combination to attack hitters.

The 29-year-old has thrown 8.1 innings this season with a 5.40 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, eight strikeouts and two saves. He should help the Yankees bullpen set up for closer Aroldis Chapman while providing Boone with a mismatch option in relief.

New York (9-13) will now carry five lefties out of the pen as it attempts to get its season back on track after an abysmal April.

The Giants, meanwhile, add Tauchman to center field with LaMonte Wade Jr. on the 10-day injured list and Mike Yastrzemski considered day-to-day.

The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels reportedly "very briefly talked" about the possibility of an Aaron Judge trade, but "nothing advanced" in those conversations, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. 

According to that report, those talks were the "lightest of flirtations, and perhaps a door-opener for other names. Teams talk all the time about a wide range of players, from their best to their least accomplished."

But as Olney noted, the Yankees have a big decision on the horizon when it comes to Judge, who will hit free agency following the 2023 season.  

As he wrote, "In 2017, [Judge] clubbed 52 homers, drew 127 walks and posted a 1.049 OPS. In the 258 games since then—played over the full seasons of 2018 and 2019, the 60-game season of '20, and the sprinkling of games this year—Judge has 67 homers and .914 OPS."

Judge has not trended in the right direction, in other words. 

The 28-year-old was an All-Star in that 2017 season, won the Rookie of the Year and was the AL MVP runner-up behind Jose Altuve. But he missed 50 games in 2018, 60 games in 2019 and 32 games last year.

There's little doubt that Judge is a threat to go yard when he's healthy. But just how much of a threat? But was that 2017 season something of an aberration? Is Judge a very good player who had one MVP-esque season and may never replicate it? And how much of an investment in Judge are the Yankees willing to make if they are concerned about his continued issues with injuries? How well will he age into his 30s?

Hence the team's complicated, looming decision. 

Granted, it's hard to imagine the rest of the American League would have been thrilled to see Judge settling into the Angeles lineup behind Mike Trout. And if Judge is ever put on the trade block, you can bet more than a few teams will come calling. 

But if he hits free agency, he's a candidate to get paid in a big way. Paying him an extension to keep him from free agency will equally cost big bucks. The Yankees will have to decide if they're willing to shell them out. 

New York Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela left Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves early due to back tightness, the team announced.

Urshela was 1-for-3 with a single before departing the game in the seventh inning.

Rougned Odor moved into the lineup and DJ LeMahieu slid over to the hot corner as the Yankees trailed the Braves, 3-0. They eventually fell, 4-1.

Urshela grounded into in a double play and was in discomfort as he made his way down the first-base line in his last at-bat.

The 29-year-old was hitting .273 entering the night, the second-highest average among the Yankees' everyday players behind LeMahieu's .300. He played a major role in the team's 3-1 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday, going 2-for-3 with a double and a solo home run. 

If he's forced to miss time, Odor will likely see time in the infield with LeMahieu continuing to slide over to third. The insertion of Odor would do little to help New York's woes, as he's hitting just .125  with a home run through seven games this season. 

Urshela has been a bright spot for the otherwise unexciting Yankees, who entered Wednesday in last place in the AL East at 6-10, five games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. 

As a team, the Yankees entered Wednesday with a second-worst batting average at .204, with just 58 runs (third-worst) and 112 hits (fourth-worst). 

They're back in action against Cleveland on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. ET. 

No team in the American League has a worse mark than the New York Yankees' 5-10 record, and general manager Brian Cashman is hoping it's a start the team will move past. 

"It's 15 games," he said, per Joon Lee of ESPN. "It's 15 games I'd like to forget."

Cashman also noted the team does not plan on overreacting to a slow start with so many games remaining in the season.

"I've got a lot of trust in the people we have," Cashman said. "I've seen them work a lot of magic along the way. ... We're not reactive. I don't see us reacting to not believing in the staff we have, and the players we have, either."

Lee noted the last time the Bronx Bombers started off 5-10 was in 1997, although they bounced back and made the playoffs with 96 wins.

Cashman isn't the only one frustrated with the slow start.

Pitcher Gerrit Cole told reporters the mood in the clubhouse is "certainly not happy," following Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay completed the sweep of a series that also saw frustrated Yankees fans throw baseballs onto the field during Friday's contest:

The biggest issue for the Yankees has been power with a league-worst .346 slugging percentage and 16 home runs through 15 games.

It is a rather surprising development considering they finished second in the league with 306 long balls in 2019 and fifth in the shortened 2020 campaign with 94 homers.

New York is five games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East, although Boston finished in last place during the 2020 season. The Yankees have plenty of time to make up that ground on a team that is exceeding expectations at this point.

Doing so would help Cashman forget this abysmal start.

The New York Yankees are coming off four straight playoff appearances and are stacked on paper. Safe to say, not many people envisioned a 5-10 start for the Bronx Bombers, but that is exactly where they sit following Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. 

"Certainly not happy," ace Gerrit Cole said when asked about the mood in the clubhouse given the team's American League-worst record:

It was hard to blame the right-hander for Sunday's loss, as he allowed two earned runs and five hits while striking out 10 in 6.1 innings of work.

Cole was dialed in again after allowing three earned runs with 29 strikeouts in 18.1 innings in his first three starts against the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. Two of New York's limited wins came with him on the mound.

While it is early in the season, SportsCenter noted the last time the Yankees had the worst record in the American League was back in 1968. They bounced back some that season and finished 83-79, although they missed the playoffs.

New York has lost five in a row, and things took a turn for the ugly Friday when frustrated fans threw baseballs onto the field and caused a stoppage in play:

"That was the first time that I think I've experienced that," outfielder Clint Frazier told reporters. "You never want it to come to that, obviously. Hopefully moving forward we play well enough to where that does not happen again."

Fortunately for the Yankees, it is just mid-April with plenty of time remaining to make up ground in the AL East. 

That won't be easy with the Boston Red Sox sitting at 10-5 and the Rays and Blue Jays both realistic playoff contenders, but there is enough talent to make a charge as the season progresses even if it has been a frustrating start.