Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres are stuck in a funk. They’ve lost six games in a row and own a .500 record for the first time since April 8. It’s been a rough stretch that has only felt worse by the Friars’ inability to step up in big moment. The club went 3-for-9 with RISP last night and failed to keep the pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading to a 12-7 loss.

The offense got started quickly, tagging starter Roki Sasaki for six runs on three homers by the second inning. But then, it went dark. And that’s when L.A. went to work. They scored 12 unanswered runs over the next eight innings before the Padres finally put something on the board in the ninth. It was too little, too late.

It’s inexcusable for the pitching staff to surrender that many runs with a six-run lead. Randy Vásquez and Wandy Peralta allowed four each while Yuki Matsui and Germán Márquez gave up two apiece. The loss was an unfortunate reminder of how shaky the San Diego pitching group can be.

Taking the mound

Shohei Ohtani (LAD) v. Michael King (SD)

Ohtani has been well on his way to competing for the NL Cy Young Award. He boasts a 1.58 ERA and minuscule 0.90 WHIP through 79 2/3 innings pitched. That said, he’s gotten tagged in his last few starts. Over Ohtani’s last 18 2/3 innings, he’s surrendered nine runs.

The right-hander faced the Padres in their first series of the year, pitching five scoreless innings against the club. The lineup will need to put up much more of a fight than that to put an end to the losing streak the Friars are currently mired in.

King will be tasked with the role of stopper, as he’s been so many times for San Diego. He’s truly struggled lately, but has the most upside of any pitcher in the Padres’ rotation. King owns a 5.45 ERA in his last seven starts (3.55 on the season).

His last start came against Los Angeles, where he surrendered four runs in just 4 1/3 innings. King struggled to keep his pitches over the plate, giving up four walks to the Dodgers. He’ll need to shove tonight for the Friars to have any chance at winning.

Batter up!

The offense looked healthy in last night’s game. Any time a team puts up seven runs, the lineup is not the problem. Jake Cronenworth has surged since coming off the IL. He’s batting .400 with a home run and three RBI. It’s been exactly what the Padres have needed. (Ironically, Cronenworth has batted 1.000 against Ohtani in his career.)

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
2. Jake Cronenworth, 2B
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Gavin Sheets, DH
5. Ty France, 1B
6. Jackson Merrill, CF
7. Xander Bogaerts, SS
8. Rodolfo Durán, C
9. Samad Taylor, LF

Apart from Cronenworth, the rest of the lineup doesn’t have a lot of success against the Dodgers’ two-way superstar. That will need to change tonight, with the Friars hoping desperately to turn their season around.

Relief corps

Márquez covered three valuable innings for San Diego after returning from the IL ahead of last night’s game. That allowed the Padres to only turn to Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui out of the ‘pen. Unfortunately, Jason Adam was placed on the IL to make room for Márquez’s return. That leaves the Friars without a key piece of their relief corps.

Tonight, Kyle Hart, Ron Marinaccio, Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez will be available for the Padres. The latter three represent San Diego’s high-leverage options should the game be close when King exits from his start.

Time: 6:05 Central

Weather: Humid, chance of T-storms, 96°

Opponent’s SB site: Pinstripe Alley

TV: Twins TV. Radio: Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes

How cursed are the Twins against the Yankees? When the team faced Gerrit Cole at Target Field in 2022, the first three Twins hit home runs (Arráez, Buxton, Correa). And the Twins STILL lost 10-7.

They’ll be facing Cole again today, in Yankee Stadium, essentially a haunted mansion where the Twins always die. Cole is making his eighth start since having TJ surgery last year, and he’s been up-and-down so far this season. He throws a 96-ish fastball, slider, curve, change, sinker; when he’s healthy, the fastball/slider are his best combo.

Back in April, I read a “Rival Roundup” post at PinstripeAlley that mentioned the Twins. We’re the Yankees’ rivals, now? Isn’t that like if the Harlem Globetrotters called the Washington Generals their “rivals”?

Obligatory “when in Yankee Stadium” video:

In May, a new statue of Dave Winfield was unveiled at Toni Stone Field in St. Paul, in the Rondo neighborhood where Winfield grew up. Winfield spoke a few words, and you can see the whole ceremony here. He did an interview with Charles Hallman of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorderyou can read here. In the interview, Winfield points out that he was drafted by four pro teams! The Utah Stars of the ABA, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, the Vikings, and the Padres. And Winfield talks fondly about his mother and grandmother who did the lion’s share of raising him.

The Padres switched Winfield from pitching to hitting, and he would make the All-Star team every year from 1977-1988, then win a World Series during his one year in Toronto in 1992. Most of his career was spent with the Padres and the Yankees. The Yankees signed Winfield in 1981 for $23 million, then the most-ever for a player. Owner George Steinbrenner, then as always a rich idiot, thought the contract was for $16 million — he hadn’t read the fine print about a singing bonus and cost-of living increases.

Furious, whiny baby Steinbrenner subsequently spent much of Winfield’s time in New York bashing him to the press, lamenting that he’d lost “Mr. October” in Reggie Jackson and gotten “Mr. May” in Winfield. When that didn’t turn fans into haters of Winfield and worshipers of Almighty George, he tried character defamation.

Jim McLennan at AZSnakePit has the story. Steinbrenner paid $40,000 to known gambler Howard Spira to dig up some dirt on Winfield’s charitable foundation (which did have some financial problems, which Winfield paid to fix himself, and the charity gave out scholarships for almost 30 years). Eventually Spira went to jail for two years, and Steinbrenner was banned for associating with a known gambler, although two years later, new commissioner Bud Selig lifted the ban. Just like Ronald Reagan pardoned Steinbrenner for his illegal campaign contributions to Dick Nixon! That “the Boss,” what a classy guy.

Oh, and Winfield was involved in another controversial story during his time as a Yankee. In 1983, doing in-between-inning warmup tosses, Winfield Randy Johnson’d a bird in Toronto. It was a seagull. He was actually taken to jail on charges of animal cruelty (the Blue Jays GM paid the $500 bail). Yankees manager Billy Martin said “when Toronto comes down to New York next week, we’re going to get their four starting pitchers arrested. We’re going to have somebody call the police and say they were molested in the hotel.” As BluebirdBanter’s Tom Dakers writes, “that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Billy Martin.”

Finally, a few weeks ago, Matt noticed that AI garbage was stealing his stuff and getting it wrong. Around that time, Neil deMause (who writes about stadium shenanigans) mentioned that “the AI slop is getting weird, man.” To wit:

Hmm, that does sound familiar.

Oh brave new world that has such (un)people in’t! I should start inserting the word “poop” into every sentence just to confuse the machines, except it wouldn’t work. Nothing will! There’s good ideas about what we could do out there, but they have no chance and everything is doomed. Like the Twins this weekend.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The Yankees didn’t exactly ask us that, but they might as well have after reinstating Trent Grisham from the injured list, only to add that Carlos Rodón was hitting the shelf with left-elbow inflammation, a move retroactive to June 30th. We’re only halfway through the moves, as Ryan McMahon has also returned to the fold following his illness and Oswaldo Cabrera is heading back to Triple-A.

With these four moves—six if you want to count David Bednar returning from the paternity list yesterday and Yovanny Cruz returning to Triple-A himself—the Yankees will, at least for the time being, carry only 12 pitchers and 14 position players, an unsustainable figure leading us to believe other moves are coming in the near future, perhaps as soon as Saturday.

Rodón was the scheduled pitcher for tomorrow’s matchup with the Twins. Unless the team calls someone up for a spot start tomorrow (Brendan Beck is in play since he was scheduled to go tonight for Scranton; Elmer Rodríguez pitched last night, so he’s out), the likely bulk options for a makeshift game are Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough, noting Yarbrough last pitched on Tuesday, while Blackburn tossed 19 pitches on Wednesday. After combining for 65 starts between 2024 and 2025, Rodón’s 2026 campaign has been dramatically affected by injuries, going on the IL with just nine starts to his season total, a shame because he hadn’t really skipped a beat upon his return.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, the lefty says that his UCL is intact.

Grisham needed just one game in Double-A before his activation after an early-June hamstring injury. He figures to slot back into the leadoff spot, a welcome addition to this lineup that has been depleted by injuries this season but unwavering in its production, number one in baseball in home runs. Trying to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke, Grisham was at his best right prior to the injury after a slow start—the hope is that this time off won’t negatively impact the left-handed hitter.

Due to a lack of options, if nothing else, Ryan McMahon will also likely return to a regular role, having last appeared in a major-league game a little under two weeks ago before being hit by an uncomfortable throat infection. Expectations may be low on his bat, but after watching too much of the shaky defense of Cabrera, Amed Rosario, and José Caballero at the hot corner, McMahon’s glove will at least offer a reprieve.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals, July 3, 2026, 6:45 p.m. ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates are beginning their weekend series in the nation’s capital for America’s 250th birthday as they take on the Washington Nationals in D.C.

Keller picked up the win in his last start against the Cincinnati Reds on June 28. He pitched six innings, giving up five hits and three runs, in the Buccos’ 9-4 victory at PNC Park. Keller pitched against the Nationals on April 4-10 when the two teams met at PNC Park. He pitched only four innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs in their 5-4 loss at home.

On the other end of the pitching matchup is Nationals pitcher Foster Griffin, who is off to a stellar start this season. Griffin is 8-2 with a 2.93 ERA. Griffin spent his last three years in Japan before returning to Major League Baseball as a starter for the Nationals. He played in 2020 with the Kansas City Royals and in 2022 with the Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, but didn’t have much traction in the big leagues. Now that he’s with the Nationals, he has found a true home in the rotation.

In his last start against the Baltimore Orioles on June 27, Griffin pitched seven innings, giving up three hits and no earned runs. On April 16 against the Pirates, he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up eight hits and four earned runs. The Nats are 13-4 this season when Griffin takes the mound.

Location: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh

Pitching Matchup: Mitch Keller (6-5, 4.87 ERA) vs. Foster Griffin (8-2, 2.93 ERA)

BD community, chime off in the comments section below.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

There were a number of things missing from the Orioles last year. One of those things was someone hitting a bunch of dingers. The 2026 Orioles have their share of problems too, but at least they’ve got a guy hitting a bunch of dingers. They had to pay $31 million a year to get Pete Alonso, and so far he’s doing what they’re paying him for.

In this week’s survey, I asked Orioles fans to make their choice for Most Valuable Oriole so far this season. To my surprise, Alonso came out as the choice of a majority of voters. People love their homers. Here’s how the voting turned out:

Looking purely at bWAR accumulated so far, Alonso is tied with Adley Rutschman, so there you go, most valuable. As I outlined when I put up this survey, I think the real answer is Brandon Young, without whom this season looks no different than last year did and with not even slim hope of improving. Alonso is an excellent second choice. No Oriole hit more than 17 homers a year ago and Alonso already has 19. Hopefully he can keep adding to his total in the summer months.

The Orioles continue their season journey in Cincinnati on Friday night.

This week’s survey is sponsored by FanDuel.

The final stretch begins tonight before the All-Star break as the Brewers kick off 11 games in 10 days, beginning with a visit out west. Earlier this season in Milwaukee, the Crew fared well against the D-Backs as they took two of three, both wins in ceremonious fashion.

Last homestand, both the offense and the pitching were hot and cold; They’ll need a strong finish over the next week and a half, with the Chicago Cubs playing great baseball over the last week. The Brewers will lean on their southpaw tonight in an attempt to get off on the right foot as Kyle Harrison takes the mound.

Harrison missed the D-Backs last time around, but fortunately for him, he saw a ton of them when he was with the San Francisco Giants. Lifetime against the D-Backs, Harrison is 0-2 with an 8.56 ERA and 13 strikeouts over four appearances. This time around, however, he is not the same person as he was two years ago, setting him up for revenge tonight.

Getting handed the ball for tonight’s opener for the Diamondbacks is Jose Cabrera, who will be making his third career start. In his first two starts, he made it just five innings in both games. In his first start, they were all scoreless, and in his second start, he allowed four runs on seven hits and two home runs to the Tampa Bay Rays.

As for the Diamondbacks as a team, they are coming off their last off-day until the break. In their previous series against the Giants, they took two of three, with the offense breaking out of their slump after scoring just four runs in their series with the Rays.

With the Diamondbacks having faced Harrison quite a bit during his time with the Giants, most of their lineup has faced and succeeded against him. Corbin Carroll has the most at-bats with six, including a home run, an RBI, and a couple of hits. Out of the roster, only five hitters have faced Harrison.

Tonight’s game is on primetime yet again, as you can watch on Apple TV and listen live on WTMJ 620 and the Brewers Radio Network. First pitch is 8:45 p.m.

The struggling New York Yankees welcomed back a pair of everyday players Friday, July 3 - yet lost another left-handed pitcher to an elbow injury.

Carlos Rodón was placed on the 15-day injured list due to elbow inflammation, the club announced. It's another setback for a rotation that lost fellow lefty Max Fried on May 13 with an elbow bone bruise.

Rodón's season debut was delayed until May 10 as he recovered from offseason surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow. He posted a 3.30 ERA in nine starts; in his last outing, he gave up no earned runs over five innings but walked four against Boston.

The club did welcome back outfielder Trent Grisham, who was out since mid-June with a hamstring strain. Infielder Ryan McMahon (throat, ear infection) also returned after he was placed on the IL June 24.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

torturedsoulv1 asks:How many relievers do you think the Yankees need? How many do you think they will actually trade for?

They could probably use a couple, if we’re being honest, but they’ll swing for at least one. Camilo Doval has all the tools to be a quality reliever and yet has utilized them to be supremely frustrating since arriving over from San Francisco at last year’s deadline. He’s the most likely candidate to get jettisoned off the roster in a bullpen shakeup, as I just can’t see the team trusting him with late leads down the stretch and they have more effective pitchers for mopup duty. Jake Bird started off looking like a lost cause but has turned things around in May and June, so he’s got a place for now though he also has an option remaining if the team wants to stash him back down in the minors in case he runs into another stretch of looking unplayable. Tim Hill has also seemingly lost some of the magic of his lanky lefty ways, so if they could find an effective left-handed upgrade they might take it, but he’s not pitching as bad as he was during a terrible May anymore.

Up until yesterday, I would’ve said the plan was to look for said lefty as a trade acquisition and rely on Carlos Lagrange as the right-handed upgrade, but now that he’s on the IL with a shoulder injury I think that shuts the door on a 2026 debut for him even in a relief role. It’s more possible now that they push for two arms, especially given their apparent reluctance to trust Yovanny Cruz with a role in this bullpen despite his success in the few outings he’s gotten, but perhaps Cruz slots into the spot they intended for Lagrange instead once he’s allowed back up to the majors.

OLDY MOLDY asks: Will there be any real impact bats available at the trade deadline?

The most impactful one for the Yankees would be Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers, whom the Yankees could help push towards being sellers by waking up and beating thoroughly this weekend. Though he’s only played in 37 games this season because of a hamate injury, Jeffers was posting a career-best season before he got shelved and is close to a return after hitting for consecutive days. His 164 wRC+ would blow the rest of the Yankees’ catchers out of the water, and he’s had enough success as an above-average hitter over the last three seasons to warrant belief that he’ll provide some thump to a position that has desperately needed even close to average production. Austin Wells at this point has been in the doldrums long enough to believe that his bat just isn’t going to come around, even if he does pull out of the simply miserable run he’s been on this year, and Jeffers’ defense is solid enough to warrant significant playing time down the stretch. Since he’s on his last year of arbitration as well, it shouldn’t be too costly to rent what is the ideal addition to an offense that desperately needs some help.

The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:Now that we’re more than halfway through the 2026 season, what does Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s offseason look like if his current level of play continues? He’s currently slightly below league average offensively, and by some metrics below average defensively at his best defensive position. Do the Yankees extend the qualifying offer to him? If so, does he take it?

Jazz has had a fascinating year — not a good one, but a fascinating one. It’s entirely possible that he goes on a second-half run like Gleyber Torres did in 2024 to recoup some of the value he’s lost over the first 80-plus games played, but as of right now if the qualifying offer came his way I’d have to assume he takes it and tries again on the open market with hopes of a rebound year establishing his numbers as a Yankee as the expectation for whoever signs him. Should the Yankees extend that offer to him, though?

They offered it to Trent Grisham last offseason, and by all reports were surprised when Grisham actually ended up accepting the deal. That may have led to their offseason plans changing, though with the benefit of hindsight I’m not sure if they were ever really going to be that invested in the Kyle Tucker Sweepstakes which meant that Cody Bellinger’s return was always the top goal and Grisham’s return obviously didn’t impede that. What it did mean was that their playbook was more restricted, and with Bellinger asking for more money than they thought reasonable that led to a significantly drawn-out winter. This time around I’d have to assume they’d be more aware of the possibility of Chisholm accepting, and in fact a qualifying offer might be the only way that Jazz sticks around another year in pinstripes if his asking price isn’t completely deflated.

The 2026 class of free agents don’t look to have any game-changing targets at positions of need for New York, and while there may be interest in renting Tarik Skubal’s services I doubt they’ll wade into the bidding war for his long-term contract so the money’s there to gamble on one more year with Chisholm should the team want to. Add onto that the impending lockout hanging over the sport, and a short commitment that would avoid scrambling to put together the team if/when baseball is played in 2027 doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

BetweenthePinstripes asks:Are the Yankees ever going to win again?

Eventually, friend.

The Atlanta Braves are using this four-game series as the turning point from their June hitting woes, right?

Let’s look at this lineup.

The lineup is almost identical to Thursday’s quiet finale. So, the question is, what are we hoping to accomplish with the same look after a disappointing ending to the previous game?

If there are any English fans in today’s crowd, they might be in for a treat, as Micahel Harris II has shown a good offensive production (2.000) in his past three at-bats against New York Mets’ Christian Scott.

Now, Scott was fully sidelined last year due to Tommy John surgery, and that’s a big reason why the rest of the offense doesn’t have a lot of experience recorded against him. And though offensive production is helpful, it doesn’t always equate to runs. Very much needed runs that the Braves need to get back in the win-column, and consistently stay there.

The plan is obvious: the Braves need hits. Something’s not clicking from bat to mindset, and it’s costing the team these games that’ll count near the end.

Braves beat writer Mark Bowman shared a stat on Atlanta’s offensive production in their past 19 games.

Every team goes through its tough stretches, but now it’s a matter of figuring out what the hindrance is to fix it before the All-Star Break, and preferably bring the second half of the season in on a good note.

First pitch is 7:15 EST.

Note: The Mets Lineup was not available at the time of publication

The Cincinnati Reds welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Great American Ball Park on Friday for a quick three-game set. The 7:10 PM ET series opener will feature southpaw Trevor Rogers on the bump for the O’s, while the Reds will roll out veteran righty Brady Singer.

It’s a matchup that’s somewhat emblematic of the two similarly disappointing teams. Baltimore, at 40-48, sits 13 games out in the American League East division and mired in 4th place, and this is after they had a brilliant run in 2023-2024 with a young core that was the envy of the entire sport. Since then, though, they’ve stalled (or outright regressed), their failures in free agency and trades paired with a litany of pitching injures/problems not able to return them to the top of the highly competitive division.

Trevor Rogers, in many ways, is a pretty good representation of that this season. Last year was his first full year with Baltimore after being acquired from Miami in 2024, and in 109.2 IP he pitched to a brilliant 1.81 ERA and 2.82 FIP to earn some mid-ballot Cy Young Award votes. This year, though, he owns a 4.99 ERA and 3.99 FIP through 79.1 IP, his K/9 down significantly while his H/9 is up over 60% from 2025.

That’s a similar story for Reds starter Brady Singer, really. His strikeouts are down, his hits allowed are way up, and the front-facing 5.12 ERA seems to be a pretty good representation of just how bad he’s been. He allowed 19 homers all last season (in 169.2 IP) and has already yielded 19 in just 77.1 IP in 2026.

Maybe, just maybe, the Reds have the chops to make a run from their current 40-46 position in the NL Central’s cellar. They’ll get Hunter Greene back this weekend, which is huge, and they did finally manage to slay the Milwaukee dragon for a day in their most recent game to prove that no, in fact there is not a tangible curse preventing them from ever beating a good team again.

We’ll find out tonight at GABP!

The St. Louis Cardinals will travel to Wrigley Field for an All-American 4th of July weekend as they’ll challenge their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Andre Pallante will try to give the Cardinals another strong start. He’ll be facing LHP David Peterson. First pitch is scheduled for 3:15pm central time and the game TV broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv. A heads up that Saturday’s game will be on Fox while the Sunday Cards/Cubs game will be on Peacock.

Continued success raises the bar in a way that leads you to acknowledge Shohei Ohtani is in the middle of his most difficult run of form on the mound this season, when he has still averaged the equivalent of a quality start across his latest three outings—allowing a combined six earned runs in 18.2 innings of work. Always thinking about the big picture with their most prized asset, the Dodgers—currently in the middle of a run with 13 straight games without an off day—decided to push back Ohtani a couple of days, giving him more time to recover in between starts.

In the short term, that decision has already seen the negative impact of a blowout loss in a bullpen game preventing a sweep of the A’s in West Sacramento. Now, we’ll see how Ohtani does, particularly how he does with Dalton Rushing behind the plate and not the currently injured Will Smith, a change that has caused some disruption, to say the least. Chuckie Robinson has started two of the last five games behind the plate, and given the recent problems, it would not be a shock had the Dodgers chosen to give Robinson an opportunity with Ohtani starting. Instead, they opted to keep their young lefty bat in the lineup while trying to work through some of these defensive issues.

For the Padres and Michael King, it’s time to try and stop the bleeding on a team that has been hemorrhaging runs as of late. Across their last two games alone, the Padres have allowed an absurd 35 runs, a dozen to the Dodgers on Thursday after 23 to the Cubs. Just to put it into context, even though they have allowed seven runs in each of their previous two games, you’d have to accumulate the Dodgers’ last eight appearances to reach a figure that San Diego has let across in just 18 innings of baseball.

Friday’s game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Padres
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The San Diego Padres suffered several scares regarding starting pitcher Randy Vasquez after their 12–7 road defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 2, with the most frightening one happening after the game.

News broke postgame that Vasquez had fainted while he was escorted to the X-ray room to get his right ankle checked.

Vasquez started for San Diego Thursday, giving up four earned runs in three innings pitched after staying in the game despite Mookie Betts hitting him in the ankle with a comeback in the first inning.

He reportedly lost consciousness while walking to the X-ray room, and was thankfully caught by a team trainer before falling to the ground. He was then taken to a local hospital for precautionary testing.

The 27-year-old Vasquez was said to be in stable condition and responsive at the hospital. And Padres manager Craig Stammen provided a positive update regarding his status Friday morning.

“The only thing I got [on Vasquez] this morning was that he’s all clear, and that they were heading back to the hotel. So that’s great news in what could’ve been a really scary situation,” Stammen said, per a July 3 X post from MLB Network Radio.

“But glad Randy is doing well, and X-rays were negative, and all tests came back pretty clean. So we’re in good shape,” Stammen added.

It’s great to hear that Vasquez is doing well after having fainted. And while there’s no definitive update on his ankle, the fact that he remains in the game for several more innings after the comeback hit him and that the X-rays came back negative is a good sign.

Vasquez has a 6–6 record with a 4.71 ERA through 16 starts (of 17 appearances) this season. The Padres will hope he’s available and healthy to make his next start.

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The Yankees made a flurry of roster moves on Friday, most notably, placing star LHP Carlos Rodon on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation. 

The move is retroactive to June 30, two days after he last pitched against the Boston Red Sox on June 28. Rodon allowed just one hit in the outing, striking out six and walking four over 5.0 IP.

Over nine starts this season, Rodon has gone 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA and 52 strikeouts through 46.1 IP.

Prior to Friday's game, Rodon said that his UCL is intact and he's dealing with heavy inflammation in the elbow, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.

Additionally, New York reinstated both Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon from the 10-day injured list. Grisham has been out since June 12 with a right hamstring strain, while McMahon was out since June 21 due to a throat infection.

The team also optioned Oswaldo Cabrera to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after bringing him up with McMahon sidelined. He went hitless with four strikeouts in nine at-bats over three games.

The Yanks will look to snap their seven-game losing streak on Friday night in the Bronx when they open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins.

On what was supposed to be a day of injury relief around the Yankees, yet another concern emerged for a club struggling both with health and performance.

The Yankees officially activated Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon on Friday but placed Carlos Rodón on the 15-day injured list with what the lefty called “heavy inflammation” — but nothing worse — in his pitching elbow.

Rodón had been bothered by the elbow “on and off” for “the last couple weeks,” he said, and was having issues with recovery that escalated this week.

He underwent an MRI exam on Thursday that found the inflammation and, most notably, found a UCL that was still intact.

“I think it’s a pretty big exhale,” Rodón said before the Yankees opened a series against the Twins in The Bronx.

Rodón will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection and be shut down for a time — “at least a few days, maybe a week,” manager Aaron Boone said — before building up again.

Neither team nor player offered a timetable, but it is possible he returns within the month if the inflammation clears and recovery goes as planned.

At least at the moment, there is no long-term concern regarding Rodón’s elbow, which underwent a procedure in the offseason to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur.

Still, the Yankees will be without another capable starting pitcher — the 2025 All-Star has pitched to a 3.30 ERA in nine starts this season — at a time when they lugged a season-high, seven-game losing streak into play.

Even with an elbow that became increasingly tricky to handle, Rodón allowed two unearned runs on one hit in five innings on Sunday in Boston.

“I really feel like Carlos was throwing the ball well and doing some really good things,” Boone said. “Hopefully this is something that gets cleaned up and gets him in a better place so that he can return for the stretch drive and be even more of a factor for us.”

Also available for the stretch drive, the Yankees hope, will be Max Fried, who has been building up from a bone bruise in his elbow and is now facing hitters again.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

But as the Yankees stand today, the club’s rotation has hit its first adversity with Cam Schlittler coming off his worst major league start, Gerrit Cole proving human, Ryan Weathers’ ERA spiking from 3.14 to 4.08 in his past six starts and Will Warren letting up 13 runs in his past 16 ²/₃ innings.

They lack a true fifth starter and plan to summon Brendan Beck from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to either start or pitch several innings out of the bullpen on Saturday.

In his major league debut on May 7, the righty prospect allowed two runs in three innings during a win over the Rangers.

The higher-ranked Elmer Rodríguez was not an option after pitching Thursday, and Luis Gil (shoulder inflammation) has yet to begin a rehab assignment.

Hitting has loomed as the team’s biggest issue — the Yankees have badly missed Aaron Judge, who still does not know when he will receive further imaging much less when he can return, and the absence of Giancarlo Stanton has grown more significant.

The club hoped Grisham and even McMahon could provide a spark in the lineup and in the field.

But the rotation, which had been the Yankees’ greatest strength until just a couple weeks ago, added a bit more uncertainty Friday.

“I want to be back as soon as I can, whenever I’m ready,” Rodón said.