Gary Sanchez smacked a walk-off three-run home run as the Yankees overcame a three-run deficit to beat the Twins 4-3, for their sixth straight win. << Box score

Yankees 1B Tyler Austin's suspension has been reduced from five games to four, the team announced on Wednesday. He will begin to serve it on Friday.

Austin was suspended for his participation in the brawl that occurred between the Yankees and Red Sox. He rushed the mound after RHP Joe Kelly nailed him in the back as retaliation for a questionable slide on SS Brock Holt beforehand. 

The 26-year-old Austin has been hitting well for the Bronx Bombers in his last seven games with a .321/.367/.786 slash line, three homers, and 10 RBI. He owns a .305 average with five homers and 16 RBI overall this season. 

Chris Carelli, SNY.TV Facebook | Twitter | About Me | Archive

Baseball teams can never have enough depth, especially these days when the mildest of ailments is subject to a lenient 10-day stint on the disabled list. One thing that can disrupt rosters - not necessarily in a bad way - is when a starting player goes down and the replacement, a bonafide full-time option, shines.

We'll call it the Wally Pipp Effect, and the Yankees might end up dealing with two circumstances over the next couple of weeks.

The Yankees and Twins finish up their four-game series with a matinee at 1:05 p.m. on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

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Didi Gregorius hit his ninth home run of the year and Tyler Austin added a three-run homer as the Yankees stayed hot with 7-4 win over the Twins on Wednesday night.. << Box score

The Yankees and Twins will continue their series on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Orioles star Manny Machado will be a free agent at the end of the season, and has been a rumored target of the Yankees for quite some time. But there are a few issues.

1. Machado wants to play shortstop, where Didi Gregorius is currently entrenched. 

2. Even if the Yankees convince Machado to play third base, does the presence of Miguel Andujar mean they should have second thoughts about pursuing Machado? The Baseball Night in New York crew discusses...

CC Sabathia allowed no earned runs in six innings and Gary Sanchez blasted two home runs to lead the Yankees at the plate en route to an 8-3 win over the Twins at Yankee Stadium. << Box score

Chris Carelli, SNY.TV Facebook | Twitter | About Me | Archive

When a club brings up its best prospect in April, it is typically done to provide a "shot in the arm" for a sluggish club. It doesn't seem that way with the Yankees' decision to call up Gleyber Torres.

Diamondbacks pitcher and New York native Patrick Corbin has dominated opponents throughout the early portion of the season -- and the Yankees have already been paying attention.

The Yankees will continue their series against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter | The Yankee bats were alive on Monday night during a 14-1 clobbering of Minnesota -- but really, the Yankee bats have been alive all along.

As SNY contributor Anthony McCarron noted, the Yanks lead the majors in OPS (.814), and are tied for the most home runs (32). Even without significant production from Giancarlo Stanton, their offense is not a concern.

That's why the most meaningful development on Monday was not Stanton's four-hit performance, or Gleyber Torres' first big-league knock, or Miguel Andujar's continued mashing. It was Masahiro Tanaka's 6 ⅔ inning, three-hit gem...

The Yankees acquired RHP A.J. Cole from the Washington Nationals for cash considerations, the team announced Monday night.

Cole, whom the Nationals designated for assignment last week, went 1-1 with a 13.06 ERA in four games (two starts) for Washington this season, giving up 15 runs, 16 hits and six home runs in 10 1/3 innings.

Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar went 2-for-5 with a home run and a double in Monday's 14-1 win over the Minnesota Twins as he recorded an extra-base hit for the seventh straight game.

The 23-year-old Andujar, who went 4-for-4 in Sunday's win over the Toronto Blue Jays, continued his torrid pace with a solo home run in the second inning that gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead. 

"He's really a gifted hitter and I think he's gotten comfortable," manager Aaron Boone said, according to Newsday's Laura Albanese.

Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton broke out of a slump by going 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk in Monday's 14-1 win over the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Stanton entered Monday's game in a 2-for-27 slide that had dropped his batting average from .241 to .185, but reached base five times and scored thrice as New York won its third straight game.

Miguel Andujar homered to record an extra-base hit in his seventh straight game, Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Tyler Austin also homered and the Yankees won their third straight game with a 14-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday at Yankee Stadium. >> Box score

A day after going 4-for-4 with two doubles, Andujar homered in the second inning off Jake Odorizzi and doubled in the sixth, as he is now 15-for-29 since April 13 to raise his batting line from .107/.133/.107 to .316/.333/.649.

Stanton broke out of a 2-for-27 slump by going 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk, while Gregorius hit a grand slam in the eighth inning for his team-leading seventh home run of the season.

Yankees third baseman Brandon Drury (migraines) and outfielder Clint Frazier (concussion) are progressing from their respective injuries and are expected to play minor league games this week.

Drury has been dealing with blurred vision and has not played in a game since April 6. A specialist told Drury they believe he had a tendon in his neck that was blocked, which resulted in blurriness, according to ESPN's Coley Harvey, and will be treated with stimuli and acupunture-like treatments.

The Yankees begin a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday at 7 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees notes...

The Yankees have won four of their past six games, outscoring opponents 36-23 during their 10-game homestand so far. ... At plus-13, the Yankees have the sixth-best run differential in the American League. ... The last time the Yankees faced the Twins, they won the AL wild-card game 8-4. Last season, they went 4-2 against Minnesota.

Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres made his highly-anticipated major league debut Sunday afternoon. And though he is still looking for his first big league hit, his new teammates are excited to see what he can do. 

"He's gonna be good, man," Giancarlo Stanton told The Post's Dan Martin. "He is good already. He's gonna prove himself."

Torres didn't prove that he shold be with the big league roster in the spring, as he hit .219 in 13 games. However, he crushed Triple-A pitching with the RailRiders as he owned a .347/.393/.510 slash line with 11 RBI and five extra-base hits. 

With the franchise's youngest lineup in 48 years, the Yankees improved to 4-2 on their 10-game homestand with a 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Luis Severino, 24, struck out six batters in seven strong innings, while 23-year-old Miguel Andujar went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI as the Yankees' starting lineup featured no players over the age of 30 for the first time since 1989.

"We've worked really hard -- long before I got here -- at building this organization from the ground up," manager Aaron Boone said, according to Newsday's Erik Boland. "Feel like we're in position not only to be a really good team in the short term but in the long term, and I think that's a result of that."

Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres said he enjoyed making his MLB debut on Sunday at Yankee Stadium despite going 0-for-4.

"The fans gave me a good (feeling) and I enjoyed the moment," Torres said after the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, according to the New York Daily News' Peter Botte. "I expected to win the game, help my team and enjoy the opportunity and my first time in the big leagues."

Luis Severino pitched seven strong innings, Didi Gregorius hit a home run and had two RBIs, and the Yankees beat the Blue Jays on Sunday, 5-1 << Box score

The Yankees look to win their four-game series against the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. >> Click here to follow via SNY Gameday

Yankees INF Gleyber Torres has been promoted to the major leagues and will join the team on Sunday, reports Jack Curry of YES Network.

Yankees LHP Jordan Montgomery limited the Blue Jays to just one run on four hits in six innings during the Yankees' 9-1 win at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

A strong start from Jordan Montgomery and a seven-run sixth inning leads the Yankees to a 9-1 win over the Blue Jays. << Box score

Jordan Montgomery pitched himself in and out of trouble over six strong innings as the Yankees get back to winning ways over the Blue Jays. 

Jordan Montgomery worked himself in and out of trouble against the Blue Jays, allowing one run in six innings on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts. 

Montgomery retired the first six batters of the game before running into trouble in next three innings thereafter as the leadoff hitter reached base in each frame...

The Yankees have placed RHP Adam Warren (right back strain) on the 10-day DL and recalled RHP Jonathan Holder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. 

This season, Warren has pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (3.24 ERA) on 10 hits with 11 strikeouts. In the Yankees' 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday night, Warren pitched 2.2 innings, giving up one run. 

In 2017, Warren had a 2.35 ERA over 57.1 innings with 54 strikeouts. He is eligible to return to the team on May 1.

The Yankees look to take Game 3 of a four-game series against the Blue Jays on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. in the Bronx. >> Click here to follow via SNY Gameday

With hits in back-to-back home games against the Blue Jays, including a two-run home run on Friday night, Giancarlo Stanton may be breaking out of his slump to start the season.

Despite Stanton's home run, his first in 50 at-bats, the Yankees lost 8-5. But if Stanton is to regain his MVP form then the team will be back to winning more often than not.

"We're all here for the same goal," Stanton said...

Despite plating five runs, the Yankees couldn't hold off the Blue Jays' hitting in an 8-5 loss in the Bronx Friday night. << Box score

The Yankees were looking to put together a win streak after Thursday night's 4-3 victory that saw stellar pitching from both CC Sabathia and the bullpen. 

The Yankees look to take Game 2 of a four-game series against the Blue Jays on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx. >> Click here to follow via SNY Gameday

Chris Carelli, SNY.TV Facebook | Twitter | About Me | Archives

Our weekly minor league report canvases the Yankees farm system, providing updates about the status of the teams in action and the organization's top prospects.

Notes: Top-30 prospect rankings (via MLBPipeline.com) are club based with overall MLB ranks, if applicable, in parenthesis. Prospects currently in the major leagues will not be covered here. Team records and statistics are through games played April 19, 2018, unless otherwise noted.

CC Sabathia wasn't expected to throw a normal start's worth of pitches on Thursday, his first start since returning from the DL. The bullpen would be relied upon for more than a few outs. 

Sabathia went 4.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs, meaning the bullpen would have to carry the other 4.2 innings. Over those frames, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman combined to allow just one run, preserving the Yankees' 4-3 win over the Blue Jays...

The Yankees held off the Blue Jays for a 4-3 win in the Bronx as Aaron Judge homered in CC Sabathia's return from the DL. << Box score

Sabathia lasted 4.1 innings in his return, allowing two runs (none earned) on four hits with a strikeout and a walk. The bullpen behind him was stellar, combining for 4.2 innings allowing just one run...

Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided to drop struggling slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the order: from third to cleanup. 

Heading into the Yankees' game against the Blue Jays on Thursday, Stanton had been hitless in his last 13 at-bats and just 3-35 at home. But Boone doesn't see it much as a demotion.  

"It's more our personnel versus their pitching and [the Blue Jays'] bullpen, that kind of thing," Boone said...

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The Yankees have activated LHP CC Sabathia off the disabled list to make Thursday night's start against the Blue Jays, and placed RHP Luis Cessa on the 10-day DL (retroactive to April 18) due to a left oblique strain.

Sabathia had hit the 10-day DL after suffering a right hip strain that forced an early exit in his last start against the Orioles. He was hit hard in that outing as he allowed three homers on 58 pitches before being pulled after the fourth inning. 

An MRI revealed no structural damage to Sabathia's hip. The 37-year-old has dealt with injuries in the past, especially with his right knee that he had arthroscopic surgery on in 2016. With bone-on-bone arthritis in that knee, a replacement is likely to happen in the future. 

Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter | Ask nearly any front office executive when it's time to worry about a struggling team, and you'll get the same answer: Memorial Day. Only then has a GM gathered enough data to make a reliable judgment about his ballclub.

But the rest of us can't help but wonder right now about the 8-8 Yankees, whose April has so far been defined by one overriding question: Is this mediocrity for real?

While scouts who cover the Yanks generally believe the offense will recover -- Giancarlo Stanton can't chase this many bad pitches all year, can he? And someone among Neil Walker, Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar, Brandon Drury, and Greg Bird will eventually produce in the infield, right? -- there are more legitimate questions surrounding the rotation and bullpen...

It isn't an "if" Gleyber Torres will be called up to the Yankees. With infield struggling continuing, it's turned into "when."

Torres has been raking with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 21-year-old returned to the lineup Tuesday after back tightness had him out a couple games, and he didn't miss a beat going 1-for-2 with two walks and a sac fly. 

The 21-year-old is hitting .372 with a homer, triple, three double, and 11 RBI over 12 games so far this season, which begs the question of when New York's top prospect will see his major league debut. 

The Yankees have brought back a familiar face as they re-signed veteran 1B Adam Lind to a minor-league deal, per SB Nation's Chris Cotillo.

Cotillo adds that Lind will begin his time in extended spring training at their Tampa facility. Lind is familiar with the facilities having spent his spring with the Yankees. New York would eventually release him before they broke camp for the regular season. 

The 34-year-old was with the Nationals last season, where he posted a .303/.362/.513 slash line with 14 homers and 59 RBI over 116 games. He also knows the AL East well as he played for the Blue Jays for nine seasons from 2006-14. 

Chris Carelli, SNY.TV Facebook | Twitter | About Me | Archives

After logging two fine starts to open the season, Masahiro Tanaka has hit a wall with two underwhelming efforts. It's difficult to witness Tanaka's recent ineffectiveness without thinking back to last season when he turned in the worst stretch of production in his professional career during the season's first half.

Tanaka is not an overpowering pitcher, which necessitates pinpointing his top-two used pitches, the split-finger fastball and slider. When he is unable to command those pitches, it forces him to resort to a very hittable four-seam fastball, which is simply not good enough to retire batters in a pinch.

After getting called up to replace the injuried Tommy Kahnle, Yankees RHP Luis Cessa has now found his way to the DL after Tuesday's 9-1 loss to the Marlins. 

Cessa, who gave up two runs over two innings last night, left the game with a left oblique strain and was placed on the 10-day DL. The 25-year-old was expected to receive a spot start at some point during the Yankees' 10-game homestand due to the high volume of games.

However, the team is going to have to look for another option if that was the case after all.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said he might move struggling OF Giancarlo Stanton down in the lineup when the team faces the Toronto Blue Jays in a series beginning on Thursday.

The Marlins scored four runs in the first two innings and Jarlin Garcia continued his early-season dominance en route to a 9-1 win over the Yankees on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. >> Box score