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PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Judge was back in the visiting dugout at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday night and had a front-row seat to an 11-4 loss to the Phillies.

If the Yankees end up getting Judge back and make a run in the postseason, Sunday night’s lineup might be amusing to some.

If they don’t, it could be looked at as a low point for a team that sure seems in need of some reinforcements before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, which is a week from Monday.

By then, we’ll have a better idea of what the Yankees will look like down the stretch, but until Judge and — maybe — Giancarlo Stanton get back from the IL, it’s hard to expect anything from this lineup.

That’s even more true now that Cody Bellinger has joined Judge and Stanton on the IL with left hamstring tightness.

“That’s above my pay grade,” Judge said when asked what he thought of where the team’s needs were as the deadline approaches. “We’ve got a good team where we’re at. That’s our job as players, to give the front office the ability to get the final pieces. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”

At this point, though, the current version of the Yankees can be a tough watch.

Look at the middle of Sunday night’s depleted lineup:

Amed Rosario, a key part of the Yankees’ strong second half last season, entered Sunday in a 1-for-18 rut with 11 strikeouts in that span.

And yet, he was forced to hit third against Philadelphia lefty Cristopher Sánchez.

Then there was Jasson Domínguez, now further entrenched as the regular right fielder with both Judge and Bellinger sidelined.

Domínguez hit cleanup and was followed by Anthony Volpe.

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Volpe delivered a pair of doubles, but they were his first extra-base hits in a month and he made an ugly throwing error to open the bottom of the sixth that set up Philadelphia’s five-run inning that iced the game.

George Lombard Jr. seems closer to the majors every day.

He’s 12-for-26 with four extra-base hits in eight games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since returning from an IL stint due to sprained fingers, although he made a throwing error Sunday.

And Max Schuemann, out of place in left field, dove for a ball far out of his reach on Alec Bohm’s three-run double in the third.

José Caballero went hitless again in the ugly loss.

Asked before the game if he believed the Yankees needed another bat by the deadline, Aaron Boone said, “We’ll see. I know we want to try to improve our club. I know the front office is grinding away at that. I know we’re gonna try … You never know what’s gonna be out there.”

As The Post has reported, they are in the market for a righty-hitting outfielder and catcher, as well as help in the bullpen.

Despite their issues, the Yankees head to Chicago to play the White Sox for four games and then the Cubs for three, firmly in postseason contention.

But it won’t be easy without Judge and Co.

“Keep moving forward,’’ Judge said of the team’s mentality. “We’ve got a lot of depth with guys in the minor leagues that are ready to go.”

He also noted, “There’s no replacing Bellinger.”

Or Judge, as the Yankees continue to be reminded.

COOPERSTOWN — Maybe the Yankees, who still can tell you what he did in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, and the Mets can blame one of their own for Andruw Jones.

One of the first names Jones mentioned during his Hall of Fame induction was Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens, a Yankees utility player from 1989-93 and assistant hitting coach in 2022, plus a Mets bench coach in 2020.

Jones, the first Hall of Famer from Curaçao, wanted to thank Meulens, who was the first native of Curaçao to play in Major League Baseball.

“ ‘Bam Bam’ opened the door for many others to chase their dream of being a professional,” Jones said during a speech finally given after nine years on the ballot. “When I made it in Atlanta, I knew I could inspire a lot of people from Curaçao to reach the major leagues.”

He has watched the likes of Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, Jonathan Schoop, Andrelton Simmons, Kenley Jansen and plenty more reach MLB from a Dutch Caribbean island more than 2,000 miles away from here, where Jones put the finishing touches on a 17-year career Sunday.

The longtime Braves star center fielder was introduced by John Smoltz and spoke while Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones sat behind him, fixtures on Braves teams that owned the NL East and lost to the Yankees in the 1996 and 1999 World Series.

Jones thanked “Larry Wayne” Jones, his “brother from another mother,” for pushing for his induction.

“The Jones boys are in Cooperstown now,” Andruw Jones said.

Hanging over Jones’ moment was that his longtime manager was not present.

Bobby Cox, himself a Hall of Famer, died in May at 84.

“Nobody in the Braves organization had a bigger impact on me than manager Bobby Cox,” said Jones, who homered in his first two World Series at-bats (against Andy Pettitte and Brian Boehringer), becoming the youngest to ever homer in the Fall Classic. “He put a 19-year-old in the World Series in the lineup and believed in me.

“Bobby had confidence in me and helped me become the best player I could be. He commanded respect, created a winning culture. You play hard. You play to win, and you always give an honest effort. Simple rules to play the game.”

Jones, one of the greatest center fielders ever and a powerful bat, played with Atlanta from 1996-2007 and then bounced around.

In his speech, he thanked both Joe Torre (who managed him with the Dodgers) and Joe Girardi (his manager with the Yankees in 2011-12).

The Mets bullpen spared Freddy Peralta’s blushes Sunday as it produced five scoreless innings to silence the Dodgers down the stretch.

Despite what has turned into a lost season for the team, the bullpen’s ERA ranks in the top half of MLB and the Mets needed that stinginess after Peralta racked up 93 pitches in just four innings.

Cionel Pérez steadied the ship (and got the win) with six key outs, before Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams all produced scot-free innings as well.

Weaver did particularly well to make an off-balance throw while falling down to throw out Teoscar Hernández from an infield chopper.

Perez, whom the Mets initially signed to a minor league deal in May, has given the team some good innings in relief, with a 4.38 ERA and 31 strikeouts (following three more Sunday).

“He was a huge kind of midseason pickup. Our scouts identified him — been the right kind of guy in every way,” interim manager Andy Green said after the game. “Really attacked the zone.”

Green also praised the 30-year-old for getting All-Star Freddie Freeman to strike out swinging on a low fastball, and ultimately getting the Mets through the middle innings after another rocky start from Peralta.

“We needed them [the six outs] at that point in time,” Green said.

It remains to be seen how different the Mets bullpen will look after the trade deadline.

Weaver and Raley have had extremely strong years (with 1.93 and 2.10 ERAs, respectively), and Green hinted after the game that there could be “more conservative” bullpen decisions made in the near future.

“If those guys [the bullpen overall] are feeling great, they will still pitch,” he said. “But we will be conservative to some degree and make good decisions for them, put them in a good position. I think we always do that from a medical staff perspective.”

For now, Green, the Mets and their bullpen will focus on winning the next two home series against the Braves and Marlins.

PHILADELPHIA — On most nights lately, pitching has kept the Yankees in the game long enough for a struggling lineup to muster a run or two.

So of course, on a night when a lineup that looked like it came out of the Grapefruit League actually scratched across three runs against one of the toughest pitchers in the game, it was pitching that let the Yankees down.

Will Warren turned in a clunker, putting the Yankees in a big hole early that they began to climb out of before Ryan Yarbrough buried them again on the way to an 11-4 loss to the Phillies on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park.

“It was pretty s–tty overall,” Warren said after giving up six runs in three-plus innings.

Unable to complete the sweep, the Yankees (59-46) flew to Chicago for a week in the Windy City against the White Sox and Cubs that leads into the trade deadline, which they hope to use to help bolster a hurting roster that is now three games back of the Rays for first place in the AL East.

The Yankees began life without Cody Bellinger on Sunday, after he joined Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

But the lineup — which scored three runs in six innings against Phillies ace lefty Cristopher Sánchez — was not as big of an issue as Warren, who continued a rough stretch.

Warren had pitched to a 3.22 ERA across his first 12 starts through the end of May.

But his eight starts since then have been much rockier, pitching to a 6.57 ERA — 27 earned runs in 37 innings with 50 hits against him.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Warren said when asked about his recent slide. “I’m going to figure that out. Going out there and doing exactly what happened tonight, it’s pretty frustrating. … I’m confident when I take the mound that I can get it done. It’s a matter of executing. I have the stuff. It’s really just finding the groove. We’re going to get back to work and find it sooner than later.”

After the Yankees turned the early 6-0 deficit into a 6-3 game by the fifth inning — a rally capped off by Anthony Volpe’s second double of the night — Yarbrough erased any chance of them finishing off the comeback by the sixth. A rally that started with Volpe throwing a ball away on what was ruled a single with an error turned into the Phillies (57-49) scoring five runs against Yarbrough to blow things open.

“Ultimately we didn’t play well enough tonight to hold them down enough, obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said.

The Yankees did not play their crispest defense behind Warren, which did not help his cause. That started from the very first batter in the bottom of the first, when Trea Turner roped a ball to the gap in right-center field that Trent Grisham could not cut off before it bounced all the way to the wall, resulting in a triple.

Kyle Schwarber came up next and hit a sacrifice fly for the 1-0 lead.

In the second inning, Warren left a 94 mph fastball over the heart of the plate and Bryson Stott crushed it for a home run to put the Phillies ahead 2-0.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

Things then went off the rails in the third inning, which Warren started by quickly retiring the first two batters. But he followed by walking Schwarber, giving up a double to Bryce Harper and then intentionally walking Brandon Marsh (after falling behind 2-0) to load the bases.

That brought up Alec Bohm, who engaged in a nine-pitch battle that ended with a sinking liner to left field that a diving Max Schuemann (starting for Bellinger) had no chance on, resulting in a bases-clearing double for the 5-0 lead.

Stott capped off the rally with a single that made it 6-0, as Warren threw first-pitch strikes to just seven of the 17 batters he faced, which usually left him pitching from behind.

“Struggling controlling the zone and getting ahead,” Boone said. “It seemed like he was 1-0 to most guys. They got in some leverage counts and made him pay a little bit. Stuff was OK, but they were on the offensive, I think, because he was behind in counts a lot.”

Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott combined for nine RBI as the Philadelphia Phillies (57-49) staved off the sweep with an 11-4 rout of the New York Yankees (59-46) on Sunday Night Baseball.

Cristopher Sanchez was his dominant self most of the night, striking out six across six innings, but gave up all three of his earned runs in the top of the fifth, which contained three hits, a walk, a pick-off error and a wild pitch.

Sanchez’s 13th win ties his career high set last season, which came on September 10th.

The Phillies got on the board first against Yanks’ righty, Will Warren, thanks to a lead-off triple by Trea Turner in the first inning and a sacrifice fly by Kyle Schwarber.

Bryson Stott doubled the lead in the second with a one-out solo shot, his eighth of the year.

With two outs in the bottom of the third, the Phils loaded the bases with a walk to Schwarber, a double by Bryce Harper and an intention walk to Brandon Marsh to set up the righty-righty matchup between Warren and Alec Bohm. Bohm worked a full count and nine-pitch at-bat before lacing a double to right-center to clear the bases. Stott worked another full count and singled home Bohm to blow open the six-run advantage.

Phils would tack on five more runs in the bottom of the sixth against Yanks’ lefty, Ryan Yarbrough, with four straight singles to begin the frame and a two-out RBI hit-by-pitch to Bohm and two-RBI double by Stott to close out the home scoring.

Tim Mayza surrendered a leadoff homer to Ben Rice on the first pitch of the seventh inning but combined with Chase Shugart, who went two scoreless, to preserve the victory.

The Phillies begin a three-game stint in Miami tomorrow night as Zack Wheeler is slated to face Tyler Phillips.

It was always going to be a difficult task to complete the sweep facing the Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez. However, it doesn’t matter who the opposing pitcher is when your own starter coughs up six runs in the first three innings. Will Warren was positively wretched from the start, and the half-dozen runs on his card means he has now given up 31 runs (27 earned) in his last 37.2 innings since the start of June. It’s the type of start that will send the team on the plane to Chicago with a bit of a sour taste despite having won the series in Philly, as they get rolled in the series finale, 11-4.

The slug was noticeably absent from the Phillies lineup in the first two games, but facing Will Warren brought it back starting with the first batter they sent to the plate. Trea Turner led off the bottom of the first with a triple that was aided by a Trent Grisham misread in center and scored the game’s opening run on a Kyle Schwarber sac fly. Already, it began to feel uneasy given the way both teams have struggled to score this series and the way Cristopher Sánchez was throwing the ball all season and especially through the opening innings tonight.

The damage continued in the second, Bryson Stott crushing a one out, center-cut 1-0 fastball on a line into the seats in right for a solo shot to make it 2-0, Phillies. It always felt like Warren was on the edge of disaster, and indeed his start imploded fully in the third. He walked Schwarber with two outs and then gave up a double to Bryce Harper to put runners on second and third. The Yankees opted to intentionally walk Brandon Marsh to load the bases and bring the struggling Alec Bohm to the plate. Warren got to 1-2 without much trouble, but then threw a pair of non-competitive pitches to force him back into the zone in a full count, and Bohm crushed a hanging sweeper to the wall in left-center to clear the bases, Stott then driving him home with a single to make it 6-0.

Much of Warren’s success early in the season came from the unique look of his up-shoot fastball thrown from a low arm slot combined with his conviction to throw the heater in the zone frequently and in any count. However, once the league read the book on his heater and figured out its deceptive movement, it became a mediocre offering at just 93 mph, one that he throws way too much for its below average raw characteristics and imprecise command. Five of the six hits as well as the sac fly came against either the four-seamer or sinker, yet Warren threw the pair of subpar pitches a combined 63 percent of the time. He departed after giving up a leadoff single in the fourth, his final line standing at six runs on six hits and two walks in three-plus innings.

To their credit, the offense did not throw in the towel despite Warren’s stinker and Sánchez’s early dominance. They loaded the bases in the fourth as Amed Rosario reached on a fielding error by Trea Turner, Anthony Volpe doubled, and Max Schuemann fought back from 1-2 to draw a two-out walk, only for José Caballero to bounce a chopper to strand all three ducks on the pond.

This was enough to crack the seal on Sánchez as he faced the order for the third time in the fifth. Ali Sánchez led off with a single, Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk, and Ben Rice hit a into a soft forceout to put runners on the corners. A Sánchez throwing error on a pickoff attempt scored Sánchez and advanced Rice to second, followed by a Rosario single that moved Rice up a base, Rosario advancing to second on the throw from the outfield. Jasson Domínguez grounded out weakly enough to bring Rice home, and Volpe roped a double to left to bring him home. Volpe had gone without an extra-base hit since June 26th, so it was nice to see him collect a pair of doubles in consecutive innings. A wild pitch allowed Volpe to advance to within 90 feet of scoring, but he was stranded at third by a Grisham grounder.

In the sixth, it was time for the Yankees defense to let them down. Bryan De La Cruz led off with a routine grounder to Volpe, but he rushed the throw and yanked it 15 feet wide of first allowing De La Cruz to advance to second. Justin Crawford laid a bunt down the third base line and Rosario spiked his throw to first into the dirt, and instead of two outs and no one on it was runners on the corners with no outs. A Turner single to left plated De La Cruz as the Phillies’ seventh run and a Schwarber single to center loaded the bases. Ryan Yarbrough struck out Harper and Marsh, but plunked Bohm to force home another run. That set up the death blow from Stott as he lined his team’s second bases-clearing double into the corner in right to push the Phillies into double digits, 11-3.

You have to look for the silver linings after that outburst put the final nail in the Yankees’ coffin. You can find one in the seventh, Rice perhaps putting a halt to his 1-for-20 skid with his 31st home run of the year, a solo shot into the bullpen in right-center off old friend Tim Mayza. He would also add a double in the ninth.

The offense managed to double their run output in the series by matching the four they scored in the first two games, but there was never a real chance to overcome the deficit created by Warren and deepened by Yarbrough. 11-4 is your final score, the Yankees falling to three games back of the Rays after Tampa completed the sweep of Cleveland.

The Yankees fly to Chicago for seven straight games — four against the White Sox followed by three at the Cubs. Max Fried gets the series opener against the Southsiders tomorrow night facing Noah Schultz. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. EST with the broadcast returning to YES.

Box Score

It was a day to remember for Munetaka Murakami.

On Sunday, July 26, the Chicago White Sox honored the rookie sensation with a bobblehead giveaway and he put on a show in his team's 12-3 home win over the Houston Astros. Murakami was responsible for half those runs with a career-high 6 RBI and two home runs in the victory.

The box for today’s Munetaka Murakami bobblehead giveaway is elite 🔥 pic.twitter.com/f5MewXf4Qx

— Mune On 35th (@SoxOn35th) July 26, 2026

The festivities started off in a wholesome way when the first baseman's parents threw out the first pitch. His dad lobbed the ball to a catcher who was sitting just to the side of home plate and the ball sank and bounced. His mom, on the other hand, threw a perfect arc to a catcher squatting behind the base. The two posed for a photo with their son before Chicago's starting pitcher Erick Fedde took the mound.

Munetaka Murakami's parents threw out the first pitch today to celebrate his bobblehead day 🥹 pic.twitter.com/onxO9ea5vI

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2026

The Astros jumped to an early lead off a solo home run from Jeremy Peña. But then, batting second in the bottom of the first inning, Murakami blasted his own home run. He took a slider over the plate and sent the ball flying into left field, allowing Sam Antonacci to score as well and putting the White Sox up 2-1.

Munetaka Murakami homers on his bobblehead day 😤 pic.twitter.com/sKg47fBQFr

— MLB (@MLB) July 26, 2026

To show his versatility, Murakami swatted the ball to right field for his second home run of the game in the eighth inning. He took a high pitch, boosted the ball away and put two fingers in the air as he rounded the bases.

Mune Mania™️ continues! pic.twitter.com/PnAScmfvRi

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 26, 2026

The Japanese-born player got another RBI in the third inning with a ground out that sent Drew Romo home and had a two-run single in the seventh inning.

"It feels amazing and really, super excited right now," Murakami said through an interpreter after the game before his teammates splashed him with a bucket of orange Gatorade.

The game was on the same day as the Baseball Hall of Fame's induction for the class of 2026 where Carlos Beltrán Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent were enshrined.

Murakami was selected to the All-Star Game in his first season as a replacement for Minnesota Twins' outfielder Byron Buxton. He also participated in the Home Run Derby. Despite missing 35 games before the All-Star break due to a hamstring injury, the 26-year-old has impressed with 22 home runs, 48 RBI, .378 OBP and .921 OPS.

The White Sox are leading the AL Central with a 55-49 record and are looking to compete strong next year, too. They used the No. 1 pick in the July 11 draft on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and then reportedly gave him a record signing bonus of $10.35 million.

COOPERSTOWN — Jeff Kent’s day in Cooperstown finally came Sunday.

The legendary second baseman was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones.

All three members of the 2026 Hall of Fame class have experienced playing in New York, though only Beltrán sports a New York cap on his plaque.

In his speech, Kent reflected on his time with the Mets, which spanned four seasons from 1992 to 1996.

Kent was traded to the Mets from Toronto as a rookie, learning of the deal in the middle of the night before a doubleheader.

“What a whirlwind that was. New York was something that I was not prepared for,” Kent said. “You learn about pressure and accountability and responsibility fast in that city. And if you don’t, it’ll chew you up. But I am, without a doubt, grateful for every minute of it.”

Kent’s speech featured mentions of several other Hall of Famers, one of whom he shared a locker with upon arriving in Queens.

“My locker mate those first couple of years was Eddie Murray. Eddie Murray didn’t know what to make of me,” Kent said. “I had a habit of running my mouth when I was a young kid. Eddie didn’t run his mouth, showed up prepared and performed every single day. One day, I asked Eddie, ‘How do you stay so calm when the bases are loaded?’

“He told me he focused on the one, not the three RBI sitting out there, but just the one on third base. That lesson of keeping things simple stayed with me forever. Your emotions will get the better of you in this game. Players who control them the best are the ones who last,” Kent recalled.

Another Hall of Famer who got a mention in Kent’s speech?

The late Tommy Lasorda, with whom Kent shares a Los Angeles connection. Kent returned home to Southern California to wrap his career with four seasons as a Dodger.

“I learned a long time ago from Tommy Lasorda, one of the best motivators in the game, a simple truth that I lived by for my whole career: ‘The money lies in the RBIs,’ ” Kent said.

“If I was gonna win, I knew I needed to produce runs,” he continued. “That became my focus, and as a middle infielder of my era, I’m proud that I set the bar for my production.”

After the induction ceremony, Kent said that while he hadn’t heard the saying from Lasorda personally, it stuck with him.

“[At] Cal Berkeley, our manager made us sit around home plate … on the loudspeaker, he played a motivational tape of Tommy Lasorda,” Kent said. “And in that speech … I got out of that, and the money lies in the RBIs. That stuck in my brain forever.”

Kent’s illustrious career took him to many places, and Cooperstown is now at the end of that list.

The competitive souls of the 2026 Cleveland Guardians were weighed in Tampa this weekend and found wanting. It’s time for the organization to adjust, accordingly.

We have been covering potential trade targets for the Guardians (two of whom are now injured, of course) and we will continue to do so, but it’s probably time for the Guardians to consider becoming sellers. How much did they ever intend to be buyers we may never know, but the Guardians simply don’t have an offense ready for prime time in the playoffs, even in a weak American League. The Guardians are 23rd in wRC+ at 94, last in hard hit rate at 31.5%, second to last in barrel rate at 6.2%, and second to last in ISO at .141. The Rays are right around Cleveland in all these metrics and yet absolutely destroyed the Guardians beating them 5 out of 6 times this year. The Guardians have a 108 wRC+ against AL Central rivals and teams under .500 and an 81 wRC+ against opponents outside their division who are over .500. They simply are not good enough to beat a good team in a seven-game series.

Will this change? Well, things changing relies on significant steps forward from Travis Bazzana, Chase DeLauter, and Angel Martinez, on Jose Ramirez regaining his usual form before too long as he recovers from hamate surgery, and on Kyle Manzardo pulling his head out of his you know what. Additionally, Ralphy Velazquez, or Angel Genao, or Cooper Ingle will need to find their way to a breakout that translates at the major league level. OR, the Guardians will have to find a way to trade for a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat who I just don’t see on the market.

Perhaps the new CBA will provide a way to inspire Paul Dolan and/or David Blitzer to spend on free agent hitters, but I would not hold my breath. More likely, the team needs to develop and produce their own major leauge hitters. Juneiker Caceres, Nolan Schubart, Aaron Walton, Jaison Chourio and Welbyn Francisca are showing excellent progress at various paces throughout the minor league system. Instead of trying to add major league talent, one could argue that the Guardians should look to find more bat darts to throw at the target of fixing this problem, as well as some pitching depth that is never sufficient.

What do the Guardians have to sell? Here are some possibilities:
Steven Kwan – Kwan has finally found his way back to being a valuable hitter, with his wRC+ reaching 94 as of today. With his exceptional defense, I suspect there would be a contender willing to give some good value for Kwan. I am still not opposed to something like 6/$72 extension for Kwan, but, assuming that’s off the table, they should look to get the most out of his remaining value and not wait for an offseason that may be hugely affected by a coming lockout and potential lost games to do it.
Hunter Gaddis, Collin Holderman, or Erik Sabrowski – For different reasons, each of these high leverage relievers may be worth dangling. Gaddis has put a lot of mileage on his arm, also, and doesn’t strikeout quite as many hitters as one would like. Holderman’s breakout is new and could be fleeting. Sabrowski has extensive injury issues and his elbow may be a ticking time bomb. In a market where everyone is looking for relief help, any of these three could net a prospect with real potential to be a good, everyday player and I’m not opposed to the idea.
Kyle Manzardo – Manzardo has been terrible but he still has many encouragine metrics. I would not put it past a good hitting development group pushing to acquire Manzardo and fix him, willing to give up a prospect or two of interest.
Austin Hedges – No one wants to hear this, I suppose, but Hedges as a good hitter is probably worth a lot to some contending team in need of a backup who seems capable of helping a little at the plate. And the Guardians seemingly already acquired Hedges’ replacement in Patrick Bailey.
Bo Naylor – Someone, somewhere believes they can fix Bo Naylor and will offer a low-A prospect of lottery ticket value, I’m sure of it. Naylor doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting another shot in Cleveland, for whatever the reason.

To be clear, the team can cut Gabriel Arias, Rhys Hoskins, and/or David Fry and you’d hear no complaints from me. If there is a trade out there for any of the the three, go for it. Be my guest.

I would not look to trade any of Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams or Parker Messick. It’s doubtful a team will offer enough to make Joey Cantillo or Slade Cecconi good pieces to deal. The one name who should be considered as a remote possibility is Cade Smith. If someone wants to offer a franchise-altering return for Smith (multiple top 100 prospects+), I think it’s something I’d consider. Reliever value is volatile and Smith is 27 years old and set to put 220 innings on his arm in three years. Under control through 2029, there is no need to move him now… but it is a conversation worth having in case there is Mason Miller-to-the-Padres-type return out there, somewhere.

I know everyone is tired of hoping that prospects will pan out. But, the Guardians have given us little choice but to hope that the plan will finally begin to bear fruit in 2028 and beyond. Finding more potential options to give this plan a chance at succeeding by trading off pieces of value from a team that simply doesn’t have the juice probably makes sense. I will not complain if this is the route they take… nor will I complain if they try to add a veteran bat or two, or a veteran arm. I don’t know if that’s wisdom… or indifference. I would say, if pushed on the issue, I think it makes more sense to shop Kwan, Hedges and one of Gaddis/Sabrowski/Holderman and turn their attention to 2028 and beyond for a real run at a World Series… after they have hired some new hitting development folks from another organization, but that’s another article entirely.

The Colorado Rockies feel distant from baseball’s oldest legends because, frankly, they should. The club didn’t take the field until 1993. Honus Wagner debuted in 1897 and last played in 1917. Satchel Paige’s career stretches back into an era that Major League Baseball spent decades pretending did not fully exist. Mickey Mantle belongs to baseball cards, post-war Yankee dominance, and bad knees.

The Rockies belong to the Blake Street Bombers, purple pinstripes, altitude, and Rocktober. Baseball is most definitely organized into distinct eras, but it is ultimately interconnected by the people.

Careers overlap. Young players share clubhouses with old legends. A veteran who barely passed through Denver can become a bridge to a past that feels impossibly distant.

Welcome to Purple Row After Dark.

Here is the game: Start with someone who wore a Rockies uniform, then move backward through Baseball Reference roster pages one shared team at a time. For this exercise, each shared Baseball Reference season roster counts as one link. This is not meant to litigate exact active-roster overlap by date. That would strip away some of the mystique and romance of the exercise.

Player-to-manager or player-to-coach connections are allowed if they happened on the same major-league team, but teammate-to-teammate is the cleanest version. No broadcasters, family links, ownership links, front office-only links, or spring training loopholes. Shorter chains are better. Stranger chains are strongly encouraged.

The obvious place to start is with the stars:

Dale Murphy > Phil Niekro > Warren Spahn

Murphy played for the 1993 Rockies. He also played with Niekro on the 1976 Atlanta Braves, and Niekro played with Spahn on the 1964 Milwaukee Braves. Just like that, a player from the first Rockies roster connects to one of the greatest left-handed pitchers who ever lived.

That is the normal version. Clean names. Easy path.

But some paths are more scenic.

Take Daryl Boston, an outfielder on the inaugural 1993 Rockies. Boston can take us back to the Deadball Era through a museum walk of baseball names:

Daryl Boston > Tom Seaver > Tommy Davis > Gil Hodges > Arky Vaughan > Pie Traynor > Walter Schmidt > Honus Wagner

Boston played with Seaver on the 1984-86 Chicago White Sox. Seaver played with Davis on the 1967 New York Mets. Davis played with Hodges on the 1959-61 Los Angeles Dodgers. Hodges played with Vaughan on the 1947-48 Dodgers. Vaughan played with Traynor on the 1930s Pittsburgh Pirates. Traynor played with Schmidt on the early 1920s Pirates. Schmidt played with Wagner on the 1916-17 Pirates.

Seven links later, we are playing ball with the Flying Dutchman — 76 years before the Rockies ever took the field.

A winding road, no doubt, but the same doorway can lead somewhere else much faster. Baseball is funny that way.

Boston also played with Harold Baines on the 1984-89 White Sox. Baines played with Minnie Miñoso during Miñoso’s 1980 White Sox cameo. Miñoso played with Satchel Paige on the 1949 Cleveland Indians.

Boston > Harold Baines > Minnie Miñoso > Satchel Paige

That is three links from the inaugural Rockies roster to Satchel Paige.

This is what makes roster wandering more than a trivia exercise. The Rockies are young, but they are woven into the same fabric as the old legends. The players who passed through Denver brought their own histories with them, connecting LoDo to different eras, clubhouses, and worlds.

So here is the challenge: find your own Rockies connection to a baseball legend.

Want a place to start? Try connecting Mickey Moniak to Mickey Mantle (Moniak already connected himself). Then see if you can keep going to Mickey Cochrane, the Hall of Fame catcher Mantle was named after.

Tonight, Purple Row After Dark is going back in time. Happy traveling.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks! 

Swept, sure. Six times now. But to sweep?  Nah, it just ain’t to be. 

The San Francisco Giants are now 0-5 with the chance to sweep a 3+ game series after their 4-3 loss to the Angels. It’s not just their opponents or their own self-sabotage keeping the broom in the cupboard — the umpires are doing their part as well. 

With the tying run at second in the 9th, home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt decided an inside fastball was close enough and called Heliot Ramos out on strikes to end the game.

Now, of course, in this brave new world of ABS and challenges, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. A light tap on the head and any pitch-calling injustice can be swiftly adjusted within seconds — if one of the team’s challenges remained. If one doesn’t, then you’re living in baseball’s stone ages, which these 2026 Giants might be. 

Willy Adames had burned the team’s last challenge earlier in the 9th on a 3-0 sinker from reliever Sam Bachman. The pitch’s natural movement appeared to take the ball out of the zone. It entered the catcher’s glove wide of the corner. Bachman had heaved some big misses earlier in the AB and when he walked Jesus Rodriguez. Given the scenario — 9th inning, no outs, down by three, and another baserunner would bring the tying run to the plate — it wasn’t a bad challenge in terms of strategy. It was a bad challenge, a terrible one, in the sense that he was wrong. Upon review, a fiber of a seam scraped the inside corner. Wendelstedt reported — with the biggest sh*t-eating grin on his face, I’m sure — that the call was confirmed, San Francisco has no more challenges remaining, hehe. That first strike got Bachman back into the at-bat and he’d eventually get Adames to ground into a fielder’s choice forceout. 

The no more challenges thing immediately became an issue in the next at-bat. Bachman got lost on his way to the plate again, and Wendelstedt went out of his way to reorient him. In a 3-0 count, a change-up that fell well below the zone was called a strike, and Cavanaugh, powerless to protest, could only tap his helmet quizzically.

Given a second life in the AB, Bachman worked the count full but ended up walking the rookie catcher anyway (Cavanaugh, 2-for-2 with 2 BB) bringing the Giants tying run to the plate. 

Manager Kirk Suzuki swapped the errant Bachman with the inexperienced lefty, Mitch Farris, who, despite his surname, had never pitched in a save situation before (my thinking: Farris → Ferris → Save Ferris). Farris got pinch hitter Daniel Susac to lineout on his first pitch and then had his heart jump into his throat on his second pitch to Luis Arraez when his 352 drive teased a game-tying 3-run home run for 95% of its time in the air. Missing a friendly push from the wind, the ball kicked high off the brick wall in right for a 2-run double. 

The Angels were on the ropes. They had lost a MLB-leading 8 games so far when leading after the 8th inning with an inexperienced arm on the hill without a split advantage. Ramos, who had been scuffling as of late, put up a fight too. He fouled off three pitches, then in a 1-2 count and fully in swing-mode, spat on a change-up in the dirt. He didn’t get baited by the subsequent fastball either. He read it out of the hands well — maybe low, definitely inside, and he kept his bat on his shoulder. Who knows what he would’ve done with it, but Ramos had earned another pitch.

He didn’t get one. 

While Adames’s failed challenge drew the quickest criticism because it was the most recent, the reason that challenge was San Francisco’s last was thanks to a bad challenge by Grant McCray way back in the 5th inning. 

Down 4-0, Angels’ starter José Soriano with runners on first and second and nobody out, McCray saw a 1-0 fastball as off the plate and away. When Wendelstedt called it as strike one, McCray challenged it immediately.

Besides the fact that he was wrong, there’s some problems with McCray’s thinking here.

First off, the difference between a 1-1 count and a 2-0 count doesn’t do much in terms of swinging the outcome of the at-bat. Reversing the call here doesn’t save McCray from being called out, nor does it directly guarantee he reaches first.

Secondly, McCray is hitting out of the 9-spot. Sunday was just his second start of the year, his eighth game, his seventh plate appearance, and he’s yet to record a hit. No offense, but the likelihood of his bat providing no offense is high. While I get why a manager might not want to restrict any player from challenging specific balls and strikes, an unproven, bench piece should probably be discouraged from making split-second decisions in the heat of the moment. Save those challenges for the powerhouse guys!

McCray got it wrong in the 5th, and the full consequences of that failed challenge wasn’t known until four innings later.  

While Ramos got the bat, and challenge, taken out of his hands, that final strike-3 didn’t sink the Giants. They were swinging from behind, hanging on by their fingernails, living in the fairy land of conditional ifs because while they had no trouble creating opportunities (like in the 9th), they struggled to capitalize on them (like in the 9th).

Their lead-off batter reached base in 8 of the game’s 9 innings, but only once did the batter after him reach base. Their first hit with a runner in scoring position was Arraez’s 9th inning double.

Credit is due to Angels starter José Soriano and his bowling ball arsenal of sinker, splitter, knuckle curve, who allowed one run (unearned) over 5 innings pitched. He surrendered just three hits, one of those being a sun-double by Adames. While he walked three, he buckled down when it mattered with well-located offerings eliciting weak batted balls and unproductive outs. 

A perfectly placed splitter in the 3rd got Bryce Eldridge swinging to end the inning and strand two runners. In the 5th, after the first two Giants reached base, he struck out McCray (again, thanks to a well-located sinker) then got Arraez to roll weakly to second for what should’ve been a double play if not for a throwing error by shortstop Zach Neto. Looking back on the quality of contact, it’s not surprising that the only run they managed against Soriano was thrown in rather than batted in.  

Even though he got hung with the loss and gave up four runs, the recently called-up Carson Whisenhunt held his own for the most part. He struck out 7 over 5 innings, including five in a row at one point. He had already bagged 15 whiffs by the end of the 3rd, the majority of those flails came on his signature change-up. By the end of his outing, 65% of the swings on the offspeed came up empty. 

As dominant as he was at times, Whisenhunt’s youth showed through at crucial points. In the 1st, after Mike Trout doubled, the veteran advanced to third when Whisenhunt sailed a fastball. The wild pitch allowed Trout to cross the plate on a groundout to short.

Then in the 4th, Jorge Soler socked the first pitch of the frame over the wall in center field. The knock rattled Whisenhunt. The old adage that solo homers won’t beat you remains true — but what will beat a pitcher is walking the next batter after a solo homer, then giving up another bomb. Whisenhunt struggled locating his slider and fastball against Nolan Schanuel. Uncomfortable with his secondary offerings, he predictably went back to his change-up after the walk, and Jo Adell launched one 446 feet.  

Adrian Houser took over in 6th and did an excellent job working around some errors to keep the Angels’ lead at three, but three runs was all they needed.

Milwaukee, with the second best record in the National League, comes to town tomorrow.

Sweep probably isn’t likely. Swept though?

Tyrone Taylor continues to drive up his trade value.

The center fielder crushed a three-run homer against Dodgers right-hander Evan Phillips on Sunday and has quietly been on a tear since returning from the IL late last month.

In that 18-game span, Taylor has produced a 1.327 OPS as he’s put a tough spring and a right hip flexor strain behind him.

“A lot of belief, swinging with aggression, swinging with intent to do damage, not letting a bad swing impact his next swing,” interim manager Andy Green said of Taylor’s recent stretch. “It’s been fun to watch him… the next couple days against lefties too. So he’s earned obviously more playing time, and he’s been huge for us.”

With the Mets at 44-62 despite Sunday’s 8-3 win, it seems a good bet that they’ll cash in on the in-form 32-year-old. The career .237 hitter indicated he hadn’t made any drastic changes since coming off the IL.

“Nothing too crazy,” he said.

Amid the mounting trade chatter, though, Taylor said that he was not thinking about the trade deadline and is instead trying to remain “present.”

Green echoed the sentiment despite the possibility that his roster may look quite a bit different in the coming days.

“We’re here today, we played to win a baseball game,” Green said. “We’ll do the same thing tomorrow.”

Taylor’s bomb against LA was his fifth home run of the month, and there is plenty for prospective trade partners to like about him.

His reliable glove in the outfield has been coupled with his domination of lefty pitchers this season, to the tune of a .292/.303/.569 slash line with 11 RBIs. He also started the bulk of games for the 2024 Mets team that made it to the NLCS.

Sunday may have been one of his final games for the Mets, but he’s certainly made it an easy sales pitch for David Stearns.