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If you’ve been around the internet in the past week or so, you may have seen the spread of a series of quick and fun little sports games. Seemingly starting with 82-0 and the NBA, games have been sprouting up where you have to try and make the best possible starting lineup after a random generator spits out a franchise and a decade. However, the conceit is that you have no idea what team and decade may come next. You have to balance picking the best possible player while trying not to leave yourself in a spot where you have to take a complete scrub with your final picks.

There has been a baseball version that’s popped up as well, 162-0. Playing that version of those games got me thinking about what would be the best possible team you could make using only the Yankees. So, here’s an effort to try and find out.

Some rules I made for myself include not repeating any players or decades. For example, I wasn’t going to put both 1920s and 1930s Babe Ruth on the team, nor was I just going to stack the team with a bunch of Murderers’ Row era stars and ignore other decades. I also decided to keep some sense of positional realness. Aaron Judge technically has played a handful of games in left field over his career, but I wasn’t going to put him over there just for the sake of stacking the team. The same deal applied to the designated hitter spot, I wanted to pick someone who has spent a good amount of time playing DH.

With that in mind, here’s my team.

Catcher: 1960s Elston Howard
Yankees stats in that decade: 959 games, .278/.329/.435, 109 HR, 111 wRC+, 24.7 fWAR

I strongly considered 1970s Thurman Munson for this spot, while a bunch of the other candidates (Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Jorge Posada) had their decades locked up by other players. Howard’s still a very good choice though, as he was very good in the ‘60s, including his AL MVP win in 1963.

First Base: 1930s Lou Gehrig
Yankees stats in that decade: 1397 games, .343/.453/.638, 347 HR, 173 wRC+, 76.0 fWAR

Yeah, no, there was only one real choice for the ‘30s. The Yankees had other good players that decade and have had other good first baseman, but Gehrig in the ‘30s had one of the single best decades in baseball history.

Second Base: 1980s Willie Randolph
Yankees stats in that decade: 1135 games, .276/.378/.355, 35 HR, 111 wRC+, 32.0 fWAR

Both the 1980s and second base were one of the last spots I filled up, but Randolph’s a pretty solid choice considering that. At least according to FanGraphs WAR, he was actually the best Yankee position player of the decade.

Shortstop: 2000s Derek Jeter
Yankees stats in that decade: 1500 games, .317/.387/.456, 161 HR, 125 wRC+, 46.1 fWAR

Over the course of his career and the discourse that came with it, Jeter somehow simultaneously became one of the most underrated and overrated players at the same time. However, there’s nothing to argue about over what he did in the 2000s.

Third Base: 1970s Graig Nettles
Yankees stats in that decade: 1092 games, .255/.329/.437, 181 HR, 116 wRC+, 40.4 fWAR

You can make an argument for Nettles being one of the most overlooked players in all of baseball history considering his stats compared to how little of a Hall of Fame look he got. I considering a couple different alignments and a couple different third baseman, but than you look at what Nettles did in the ‘70s and it became a pretty obvious pick, at least in my opinion.

Left Field: 1940s Charlie Keller
Yankees stats in that decade: 953 games, .281/.406/.521, 173 HR, 152 wRC+, 39.7 fWAR

Left field is an interesting one, as most of the Yankees’ most legendary outfielders have mostly patrolled center and right. If I was being laxer on the rules, I could’ve shoved one of them over here, but I wanted an out and out left fielder, and “King Kong Keller” was probably my best choice there.

Center Field: 1950s Mickey Mantle
Yankees stats in that decade: 1246 games, .311/.425/.569, 280 HR, 172 wRC+, 67.9 fWAR

Again, there are other good choices for center field and for the 1950s, but when you just look at what the Mick did, I had to pick him.

Right Field: 1920s Babe Ruth
Yankees stats in that decade: 1399 games, .355/.488/.740, 467 HR, 202 wRC+, 106.7 fWAR

The current Yankee captain and the decade so far that Aaron Judge has had is maybe the one player I felt most bad about leaving out, but c’mon, it’s Babe Ruth.

Designated Hitter: 2020s Giancarlo Stanton
Yankees stats in that decade: 588 games, .237/.317/.486, 148 HR, 122 wRC+, 6.9 fWAR

As I mentioned, I didn’t want to just shove the next best player in at DH and wanted to pick someone with a legitimate amount of time at the position. Big G’s 2020s stats over that period somewhat pale in comparison to the rest of the entries on this team, but when healthy, the man has hit.

Starting Pitcher: 1990s Andy Pettitte
Yankees stats in that decade: 165 games, 1044.1 IP, 3.92 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 81-46, 20.9 fWAR

For as much success as the 1990s Yankees had, picking a representative from them was somewhat tough, as their strength was having very few holes as opposed to having a Babe Ruth level star. In the end, I decided to go with Pettitte to be this team’s starter on the mound.

Relief Pitcher: 2010s Dellin Betances
Yankees stats in that decade: 358 games, 381.2 IP, 2.36 ERA, 2.31 FIP, 36 saves, 11.3 fWAR

The Yankees obviously have the greatest reliever ever in Mariano Rivera, but I used his best decades elsewhere and he didn’t pitch long enough into the 2010s to take the spot. Plus, it shouldn’t be forgotten how absolutely unhittable Betances was in his prime.

That’s my team, but I want to see your configurations. Let us know your all-time Yankees lineup picking one player per decade.

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

Earlier this week, I gave you a choice of four Cubs who had gotten off to rough starts this year and asked you which one you thought would turn things around first.

Now, there were a couple things not quite right about the four choices. First, I left Nico Hoerner off the survey, and probably should have included him because though Nico got off to a good start, he’s been in a slump for a while now. And I did include Michael Busch, who had a terrible start but then had a pretty good May.

Also, Josh did a BCB After Dark survey on a similar topic and you can read the results here.

With those caveats, here are the results from this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey:

Given what I just wrote about Busch above, yes, that is probably the correct answer. At the end of April Busch was hitting .193/.295/.281 (22-for-114) with just two home runs in 30 games. Since then: .301/.436/.522 (41-for-136) with six home runs in 39 games, including the big three-run blast Friday night in San Francisco. Given that Busch hit 34 home runs in 2025 — and four in eight postseason games — I’d still like to see him up the power output. Hopefully that will happen.

Nico Hoerner has also been in an extended slump — just .207/.289/.251 (37-for-179) over his last 45 games so, yes, it would be nice to see him turn things around, too.

Here are the results of the national questions asked in the SB Nation Reacts survey.

That’s a really interesting vote. Alvarez has been kind of under-the-radar this year because the Astros have struggled. But, he is currently leading MLB in SLG and OPS, and tops the AL with 22 home runs.

This seems pretty accurate. We’re only at the beginning stages of MLB/MLBPA negotiations, there’s been just one offer made from each side and there hasn’t really been any response to either in terms of modifying anyone’s requests or demands (other than the usual blustering). It’s still nearly six months until the CBA expires so crunch time is a ways away.

Yes. This is definitely a concern. And unless either side budges on what they’re asking for, owners will almost certainly lock players out when the CBA expires Dec. 1. That doesn’t mean that games will be lost in 2027 — not yet, anyway. Nevertheless, it’s worth keeping track of what’s happening in these negotiations as the summer goes by, and I’ll report any developments here.

This edition of SB Nation Reacts is sponsored by FanDuel.

Hoping to even the series in a duel of average-ish pitching, Atlanta is batting Mauricio Dubon at leadoff, starting Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop, and DHing Jorge Mateo, with Sandy Leon starting at catcher…whoof. This lineup desperately needs the return of Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuna. Austin Riley remembering how to hit like a star player and Sean Murphy returning sure would help too.

I will update this once the Mets post their lineup.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, June 13, 4:10 p.m. EDT

Location: Citi Field, Queens, NY

TV: BravesVision

Streaming: MLBTV

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

The St. Louis Cardinals continue their weekend in Minneapolis as it’s game 2 versus the Minnesota Twins Saturday. Matthew Liberatore will make the start for the Cardinals while LHP Connor Prielipp will be on the mound for the Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm central time at Target Field and the broadcast will be handled by Cardinals.tv. Note that JJ Wetherholt has the day off and Masyn Winn is leading off Saturday.

Shohei Ohtani returned to the lineup after missing a game with left knee inflammation as the Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar is batting leadoff for their Saturday, June 13 matchup against the Chicago White Sox.

Ohtani was pulled from the team’s game Thursday at Pittsburgh and underwent an MRI on his knee Friday in Chicago. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters the scan came back clean and he expected, for now, Ohtani would make his next scheduled pitching start Wednesday.

Roberts initially said there was also pain in the back of Ohtani’s knee, but walked that assessment back. The Dodgers lost the first game of the three-game series 8-6 Friday night.

After what was for him a pedestrian start at the plate, Ohtani has been on a one-month tear since May 12, with seven homers and a .412/.508/.753 line in 118 plate appearances. He's also posted a 1.06 ERA in 11 starts, which would lead the National League if Ohtani had two more innings pitched to qualify.

Now in his third year with the Dodgers, Ohtani won a World Series and an MVP award in each of the first two seasons of his record-setting $700 million deal.

Dodgers lineup today vs. White Sox

Today’s #Dodgers lineup at White Sox: pic.twitter.com/dVBnxFeaex

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 13, 2026

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The Toronto Blue Jays have been the kryptonite of New York Yankees star right-hander Cam Schlittler in his young career. 

The Jays’ bats profile well to continue that dominance this afternoon, making Schlittler Over 5.5 hits allowed an attractive play at +120.

Read on for my Blue Jays vs. Yankees Predictions and MLB Picks for this Saturday, June 13 matchup. 

Yankees vs Blue Jays predictions

Yankees vs Blue Jays best bet: Cam Schlitter Over 5.5 hits (+120)

Cam Schlittler is having a Cy Young worthy season, but has struggled against the Toronto Blue Jays throughout his career, which has led to his market being mispriced. 

I expect the Jays to go over 5.5 hits on Schlittler today. 

Toronto’s current lineup owns a .339 batting average, earning 28 hits against the New York Yankees starter through four games, profiling well against his aggressive strike-throwing style and pitch mix.

Schlittler has a high zone rate and uses a mix of four-seamers, cutters, and sinkers. 

As a team, the Blue Jays own a .272 average (8th) with a 41% hard-hit rate (5th) against these pitches.

Schlittler has eclipsed this hit total in 3-of-4 career starts against Toronto, with the lone other start only lasting 1 2/3 innings, where he still gave up five hits.

I’d play Schlitter Over 5.5 hits down to +110. 

COVERS INTEL: Toronto is averaging 13.2 H/9 against Schlittler in his career. 

Yankees vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

We'll continue to bank on a productive day for the Blue Jay bats in today’s SGP with Ernie Clement and Jesus Sanchez hitting props.

Clement has 18 hits over his last 12 games, eclipsing this total in 10 of them. He profiles well against Schlittler as a contact hitter, and it has led him to being 4-for-9 against the Yankee starter in his career.  

For the last leg of this SGP, I’ll bet on Sanchez Over 0.5 hits. He owns a .330 average and a .370 BABIP against Schlittler’s pitch mix. He’s also eclipsed this total in four of his last five starts and is 3-for-5 career against the Yankees starter. 

Yankees vs Blue Jays SGP

• Schlittler Over 5.5 hits
• Clement Over  0.5 hits
• Sanchez Over 0.5 hits

Yankees vs Blue Jays home run pick: Kazuma Okamoto (+475)

Kazuma Okamoto leads the Jays with 14 homers this season and hits Schlittler's pitch mix well with a 60% hard-hit rate, to go along with a 9.7% barrel rate. 

This positions him well for success today as the Yankee starter does get barreled up quite often, while also ranking in the 33rd percentile in hard-hit rate.

However, despite giving up the hard contact, Schlittler does keep the ball in the yard, allowing only four home runs in his 14 starts this season. 

Therefore, I’ll be making this a half-unit wager today.

Yankees vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: New York -125 | Toronto +105
• Run line: New York -1.5 (+140) | Toronto +1.5 (-160)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5 

Yankees vs Blue Jays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the Game Total Over in 10 of their last 16 games at home (+4.70 Units / 27% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Yankees vs Blue Jays and game info

Yankees vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Yankees vs Blue Jays weather

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CHICAGO — After battling knee inflammation the past couple days, Shohei Ohtani was back in the Dodgers’ lineup Saturday.

With a bang, too.

After being removed early from Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh because of a swollen knee, then sitting out Friday’s series-opener against the White Sox to get treatment on the issue, Ohtani not only returned to his customary spot as DH and leadoff hitter in the Dodgers’ batting order, but needed just two pitches to hit a leadoff home run deep to right field.

The blast was Ohtani’s 14th of the season, his fifth of the leadoff variety, and marked the third-straight game he’s played in which he’s gone deep.

So much for concern over his previously ailing knee.

“Today,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before first pitch, “he feels great.”

From the start, Roberts had insisted Ohtani’s injury was minor. He believed it was unrelated to the knee surgery the two-way star had in 2019 to address a rare congenital condition.

Still, the fact Ohtani had to leave one game, then miss another, raised some concerns about a potentially more severe issue.

“We took him out of the game the other night just for precautionary reasons,” Roberts said. “[But we have] all the confidence that he can go out there and hit, feel good, not regress at all.”

There was no obvious indication on Thursday night that Ohtani was dealing with discomfort, which included some swelling in the back of his knee, not any one incident that Ohtani could pinpoint to the training staff for having caused it.

Roberts said the club decided to be “proactive” by taking Ohtani out of Thursday’s game.

The same calculus applied to his off day on Friday, even though imaging on Ohtani’s knee had come back clean.

After Friday’s loss at Rate Field, Roberts said he was optimistic about having Ohtani back in the lineup Saturday. Earlier in the day, he said he still expects the superstar to make his next scheduled pitching start next Wednesday, as well.

“The swelling [in his knee] is gone,” Roberts said.

Now, the Dodgers will be hoping the issue is in the past.

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Injuries and ineffectiveness continue to plague a former ace.

Braves righty Spencer Strider landed on the IL on Saturday with right elbow inflammation, the team announced, one day after allowing seven runs in three-plus innings to the Mets in a 7-5 loss.

Strider had been slated for an MRI on Friday and exited after a noticeable dip in velocity. This is his second stint on the injured list this year, and he exits the 26-man roster with a 5.31 ERA.

“It doesn’t look great as we stand here, right now,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said Friday night, according to MLB.com.

Strider exited Friday’s game with right arm soreness after walking the leadoff batter in the fourth inning, having already allowed six runs at that point.

While his velocity has dipped since over the past two years, Strider averaged a single-game career-low 93.7 mph with his four-seam fastball Friday.

“[Strider] talked about how his shoulder and elbow weren’t feeling very good. And he wasn’t even aware of the drop in velocity,” Weiss told reporters, per MLB.com. “(When we got out there to the mound), he said, ‘What is it?’ Yeah, at that point, there’s no point to go on.”

This is the latest blow in a rough three-season stretch for a pitcher who had once been one of the sport’s premier fireballers.

Strider went 32-10 with a 3.37 ERA across his first three seasons from 2021-23, including a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting in 2023.

He needed Tommy John surgery after just two starts in 2024, and he returned last year to make 23 starts.

His fastball dipped from 97.2 mph in 2023 to 95.5 mph in 2025, per Baseball Savant, resulting in a dip from his league-leading 13.5 strikeouts-per-nine-innings mark in 2023 to 9.4.

Strider posted a 4.45 ERA, his worst ERA for any full season.

This season began with Strider opening the year on the injured list after suffering a left oblique muscle strain, and he provided eight overall ineffective starts after returning.

The team recalled Anthony Molina to fill his roster spot.

“He’s been through a lot … in the past few years trying to work his way back,” Weiss said, per MLB.com. “And we’ve seen some glimpses of it. He’s done a nice job for us this year, and there was a lot of hope. We saw him in the outing he had in L.A., [he] was just lights out. He looked just like old Spencer.”

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Fresh off an opening-game victory, the Chicago White Sox look to protect home field once again on Saturday afternoon at Rate Field.

Standing in their way is a massive pitching mismatch, as the Los Angeles Dodgers hand the ball to the stellar Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Given the clear edge on the mound for L.A., my Dodgers vs. White Sox predictions favor the road favorites to cover the spread.

Read on for more analysis and to get my free MLB picks for Saturday, June 13.

Who will win Dodgers vs White Sox today: Dodgers -1.5 (-117)

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto is getting batters to chase on 34.3% of their swings while maintaining a walk rate of just 5.1%. He’s also generating a 47.3% ground ball rate, which plays well against a Chicago White Sox lineup that hits grounders 44.2% of the time.

White Sox starter Sean Burke has a 5.40 ERA over his last six starts, and will have trouble turning things around against a Dodgers lineup leading the majors with a .345 wOBA. The Dodgers are the pick to cover the run line, and I’d take them to do so at -130 or better.

COVERS INTEL: The White Sox lead the majors in whiff rate at 27.9%, a troubling number against Yamamoto, who is getting batters to whiff on 29.5% of their swings.

Dodgers vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (-113)

With two teams that have powerful offenses, the total is a bit high at 8.5 runs today. Yamamoto has only allowed a total of three runs over his last four starts (spanning 27.1 innings), and Burke should at least compete against the Dodgers thanks to his arsenal of pitches.

Burke relies on his four-seam fastball and curveball, throwing them a combined 59% of the time. Los Angeles only pulls those pitches in the air 17.2% of the time against righties, which will limit the damage their lineup can do. I’m taking the Under today at -120 or better.

Dodgers vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -186 | White Sox +178
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (-117) | White Sox +1.5 (+113)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (+108) | Under 8.5 (-113)

Dodgers vs White Sox trend

The Dodgers are 3-0 in Yamamoto’s last three starts, winning each game by at least four runs. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. White Sox.

How to watch Dodgers vs White Sox and game info

Dodgers vs White Sox latest injuries

Dodgers vs White Sox weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

You are still singularly focused on Cincinnati Reds baseball, and for that I applaud you (to a degree).

They’ve lost key player after key player to injuries. They’ve nosedived from first place to dead last in the National League Central. They’ve found ways to lose that will make you absolutely rip out every hair on your head that you haven’t ripped out while watching them over previous years.

Yet here you are, loyal Reds fan. Here you are reading about a Saturday afternoon game between the Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks that’s taking place during the first weekend of the world’s biggest sporting event.

That’s fandom.

The Reds, to their limited credit, appear to have shaken the lineup a little bit after last night’s frustration. Not anything super serious – there were no promotions or demotions – just a handful of tinkers that manager Terry Francona surely hopes can light a fire under this underperforming group.

Edwin Arroyo will hit leadoff tonight and play shortstop, as Matt McLain – who’s still hitting 9th – swaps over to 2B for the game. Noelvi Marte, who homered last night, will get a start in CF this afernoon. Spencer Steer will slide out to RF, and Blake Dunn will start on the pine tonight after last night’s unbelievably forgettable 9th inning.

All that will be behind Rhett Lowder, who’ll start having allowed 13 BB and 11 ER across 7.1 IP over his last three starts combined. Woof!

First pitch is set for 4:10 PM ET, and it’s back on Reds.tv after Friday’s Apple TV coverage.

Here’s how the Reds will line up to start:

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The Kansas City Royals are short favorites against the Houston Astros on Saturday night, and I’m laying the small moneyline price.

Noah Cameron gives Kansas City the cleaner starting-pitching profile, while Mike Burrows’ low-strikeout, contact-heavy profile gives the Royals enough scoring upside. 

Here are my Astros vs. Royals predictions and MLB picks for June 13.

Who will win Astros vs Royals today: Royals moneyline (-125)

This is a matchup of two pitchers that are trending in different directions. I'm backing the Kansas City Royals, who have the better pitcher by a sizable gap in this matchup. I'd play them to -135.

Houston Astros SP Mike Burrows has a4.72 xERA and a .338 xwOBA, which creates too many balls in play against a lineup with real top-end damage from Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone.

Royals SP Noah Cameron is not dominant, but his 3.98 xERA and 6.2% walk rate are cleaner than Burrows’ profile.

COVERS INTEL:Burrows is bottom-fourth percentile in fastball run value, and Kansas City’s two best bats both own 52%+ hard-hit rates.

Astros vs Royals Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (+100)

I have slightly more conviction on the Over than a side and would play to 10 at even money.

Although I expect Kansas City to eventually get the win, it won't come without trouble. Cameron has allowed a 41.0% hard-hit rate and 9.3% barrel rate, which is dangerous against an Astros lineup with plenty of power, particularly considering the current form of Yordan Alvarez. 

Burrows is the bigger trigger for a variety of reasons, the most pressing being his bottom 20th percentile of most hard-hit metrics paired with looming negative regression.

Astros vs Royals odds

• Moneyline: Astros +105 | Royals -125
• Run line: Astros +1.5 | Royals -1.5 
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 | Under 9.5

Astros vs Royals trend

The Royals have covered the F5 Run Line in 7 of their last 11 games (+2.85 Units / 22% ROI)

How to watch Astros vs Royals and game info

Astros vs Royals latest injuries

Astros vs Royals weather

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