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The Braves are exiting a June that was absolutely miserable, but they finally hit a handful of homers on Friday night, hosting the Mets. They’ve got another favorable matchup here, with Chris Sale on the mound and facing the imminently hittable Sean Manaea for New York. We’ve got a national TV matchup on the 250th anniversary of this great country’s founding. The Braves have lived up to expectations, despite their horrid June, but FOX will be a bit disappointed in the Mets, relative to what they expected before the season when this matchup was scheduled.

Chris Sale has been brilliant of late, and really all year, but the struggles of Atlanta’s offense have prevented the team from capitalizing on that in the form of wins since May. One would think that this would be a game that the Braves could put some runs up against Manaea at home, perhaps building on the power they showed Friday, but this is the type of game they have frequently been losing lately. Sale may figure out a way to score a run off the pitching mound out of pure fury if he doesn’t get any run support today.

Manaea has been ever so slightly above average in most things other than ERA this year, getting the opener treatment frequently and starting only 4 games. His elite extension props up a pretty uninspiring arsenal of primarily a four-seamer, sinker, and sweeper, with a cutter and changeup sprinkled in. His four-seamer and sinker have a lot of arm-side run, while the rest of his pitches have quite average movement with well-below-average velocity. He’s perhaps been getting some HR/FB rate luck this season, so hopefully he gets some regression in favor of Atlanta’s bats.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, July 4, 8:08 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: FOX

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan

The Atlanta Braves have made handful of moves this July 4th, with the team placing struggling shortstop Ha-Seong Kim on the injured list with right middle finger inflammation. Taking his place on the roster is utility man Kyle Farmer, who was activated from the IL.

Additionally, the team re-called pitcher JR Ritchie and opted reliever Anthony Molina back to Gwinnett.

Kim’s roster spot has become increasingly precarious as his struggled continued to mount after a late start to the season. He’s hit an unfathomable .239 OPS in 27 games with Atlanta. Shortstop Jim Jarvis was recalled from Gwinnett and started in his first game in Atlanta, with Jorge Mateo getting the call at short in last night’s contest.

Farmer, who saw limited action earlier this season on the end of Atlanta’s bench, does give the team roster flexibility with his ability to play infield, outfield and catch – something he worked on while rehabbing. His ability to the the team’s 3rd catcher – he spend time behind the plate early in his MLB career – provides late-inning flexibility.

Ritchie returns as a rotation and long-man in the bullpen option, but doesn’t resolve the team’s bullpen issues, which is short at least one dedicated reliever. Molina has pitched three times for Atlanta in 2026.

1911
Ty Cobb brought a 40-game hit streak into a game facing Ed Walsh, and the White Sox sace shut him down at 0-for-4 in a 7-3 win over the Tigers. Walsh earned his 14th win and chiseled his ERA down to 0.55 (!). Interestingly, he gave up 10 hits in his complete-game win — just none to the Detroit center fielder.

1928
With the White Sox floundering at 32-42, but more importantly after squabbling with owner Charles Comiskey over his salary, Ray Schalk resigned as White Sox manager.

Lena Blackburne took over and managed at a .500 clip for the rest of the season, spurring the team to a 72-82 finish. The 1929 season was not so kind, however, as the White Sox sputtered to a 59-93 record. Blackburne, an ex-infielder for the White Sox, even inserted himself into a game that season, getting one out — as a pitcher!

Blackburne would begin the most famous phase of his baseball career the next year, as the purveyor of rubbing mud from the Delaware River, which he sold to MLB to rub the shine off of new baseballs (and which to this day is the mud used to treat league baseballs).

Schalk finished his career with a 102-125 record and -0.1 mWAR as a manager. Blackburne turned in a 99-133 tally, and -4.7 mWAR.

How about even MORE manager news? Well also on this very day, future White Sox skipper Chuck Tanner was born.

1939
In the category of great feats by players you’ve never heard of, this one ranks near the top. White Sox third baseman Eric McNair finished the best run of at least 10 plate appearances in club history: 12-of-13 (.923) with a home run and five RBIs.

McNair started the run in an 8-3 win over the Browns on July 3, going 5-for-5 with five singles. The win kicked off a five-game winning streak and pushed the club back over .500, at 33-32.

In the opener of the July 4 doubleheader, McNair led off the third inning with a solo homer (a blast to left that curved around the foul pole and caused St. Louis to protest the game, feeling the third-sacker’s blast was a foul ball) and then singled three more times. Not only did that run McNair’s streak to 9-for-9, he drove in three runs in Chicago’s 7-3 win.

The nightcap dispensed with any tension over McNair’s streak, as he was retired in his first at-bat. From there, however, the righty slapped another three singles, including an RBI single as part of a five-run flurry in the top of the ninth that flipped the game from a 3-2 deficit to 7-3 margin.

1960
Bill Veeck’s exploding scoreboard was featured in a night shot on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The headine read: Fireworks at Comiskey Park.

1972
White Sox catcher Ed Herrmann was involved in three double plays, which tied the record for most involving a catcher in a single game. (In fact, he tied former teammate J.C. Martin for the honor.) The three included Herrmann in the middle of a pitcher-catcher-first base double play, a strike out-caught stealing twin killing, and an out at home/out at second double play. The Sox turned five double plays in the game against Baltimore — but lost, 2-1!

1978
At the urging of new manager Larry Doby, the White Sox brought up Tony La Russa to become the club’s new first-base coach. La Russa cut his teeth managing Knoxville with success in the minor leagues, and was deemed ready by Doby and others to take the next step. 

La Russa would soon be named White Sox manager and led the Sox to the 1983 Western Division title, then win numerous pennants and championships as a manager of the A’s and Cardinals. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014 with 2,728 wins over 33 seasons.

In 2021, he came out of retirement to lead the White Sox to a division title, and moved into second place all-time on the managerial wins list. He was forced to resign from the club in September 2022 due to a heart condition.

2000
Ray Durham and José Valentín led off the White Sox half of the first inning in Kansas City with back-to-back home runs. It was the second time in team history a game started that way, and the first since 1937. The game also marked the major league debut for Jon Garland, who only lasted three innings in a 10-7 loss. 

The loss was the end of a 12-game road winning streak. The last 10 of those 12 road wins came against teams with records of at least .500, making the White Sox the only team since 1900 to accomplish that feat.  

2022
Fundamentals win (or lose) games, and for years the White Sox had suffered because they don’t execute those fundamentals. On this night, though, what they did made the record book.

In the seventh inning of a tie game against the Twins, AJ Pollock hit a long drive to right-center field that was caught on the warning track by Byron Buxton, who immediately threw the ball back to the infield.

What happened next had never happened before in the history of baseball.

Adam Engel and Yoán Moncada both lost track of the ball, assuming it hit the wall and was in play. Engelwas already at third base but had never tagged up, whileMoncada was right motoring right behind him in hopes of scoring from first. As Buxton’s throw bounced in to the infield, Twins third baseman Gio Urshela was in perfect position between third and second base to field the ball and tag Moncada for the second out, then run to touch second base to put Engel out.

It was an 8-5 scored triple play — the first in baseball history. The White Sox would lose a key game, 6-3, in 10 innings, with the triple play helping to cost them an important win.

2025
Colson Montgomery was one of Chicago’s top prospects, and his major league debut in Colorado was one for the record books. 

In his first plate appearance, which came in the second inning, he was awarded first base because of catcher’s interference. That made him the first player in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to do so in his first MLB plate appearance, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Then in the last of the second, Montgomery made a full-out diving catch, with his back to home plate, of a flare off the bat of Ryan Ritter that saved a run.  After making the incredible catch, Montgomery — a 6´3´´, 230-pound shortstop — turned from his face-down position in the outfield grass and showed that he had the baseball:

Quite a first game from the youngster.

Also on this day Bobby Jenks, a larger-than-life figure with a triple-digit fastball, died at the age of 44 from a form of stomach cancer.

Jenks closed out the White Sox first World Series title in 88 years, then went on to save 173 games in a six-year South Side career. But on this day he became the first member of the 2005 club to pass away.

Jenks was called up from Double-A in July 2005 and stabilized Chicago’s bullpen down the stretch. He became an All-Star in 2006 and 2007 and at one point retired 41 consecutive batters, which tied the major league record at that time. He posted a 3.40 ERA across 329 relief appearances, and those 173 saves are the second-most in franchise history behind Bobby Thigpen (201).

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The Toronto Blue Jays look to make it two in a row when they face the heavily favored Logan Gilbert and the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of a three-game set.

Shane Bieber has always had electric stuff, and my Blue Jays vs. Mariners predictions expect him to rack up the punchouts against the swing-and-miss Mariners. 

Find out more in my MLB picks for Saturday, July 4.

Blue Jays vs Mariners predictions

Blue Jays vs Mariners best bet: Shane Bieber Over 4.5 strikeouts (-155)

Toronto Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber is in an ideal spot to rack up multiple punchouts against the Seattle Mariners today. Over the last 14 days, Seattle’s lineup has been highly prone to chasing, posting a glaring 27.0% strikeout rate.

Bieber’s lifetime rate of over one strikeout per inning, combined with a five-pitch mix that generates heavy horizontal and vertical movement, gives him multiple paths to exploit this matchup.

Facing a Mariners lineup currently whiffing at a top-five rate, five strikeouts projects as a very attainable floor.

COVERS INTEL: The Mariners are striking out at a 27% clip across the last 14 days, sporting a 77 wRC+. 

Blue Jays vs Mariners same-game parlay (SGP)

Bieber should exploit a lost Seattle lineup that is striking out at a 27% clip. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays, anchored by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., look to ruthlessly hammer a vulnerable Logan Gilbert, who is coming off a tough outing in Cleveland.

With both bullpens sporting unstable peripherals and constant late-inning traffic expected, the game projects to eclipse 7.5 total runs, with Toronto securing a moneyline victory.

Blue Jays vs Mariners SGP

• Shane Bieber Over 4.5 strikeouts
• Blue Jays moneyline
• Over 7.5

Blue Jays vs Mariners home run pick: Vladimir Guerrero Over 0.5 home runs (+575)

Guerrero should leave the yard against Gilbert today. Vladdy completely dominates this head-to-head matchup, boasting a massive 1.309 OPS and two career home runs off the Mariners' right-hander.

Gilbert is highly vulnerable following a shaky four-earned-run shellacking against Cleveland, making him target practice for Guerrero’s elite hard-hit ability.

Blue Jays vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Blue Jays +140 | Mariners -169
• Run line: Blue Jays +1.5 (-149) | Mariners -1.5 (+124)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-110) | Under 7.5 (-110)

Blue Jays vs Mariners trend

Toronto has hit the moneyline in 12 of its last 21 road games (+4.75 Units / 21% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. Mariners.

How to watch Blue Jays vs Mariners and game info

Blue Jays vs Mariners latest injuries

Blue Jays vs Mariners weather

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Yankees southpaw starting pitcher Max Fried, who was placed on the IL on May 16 with a bone bruise in his throwing elbow, is expected to throw a live session Sunday.

He will be kept on a limit of 35 pitches during that session.

Manager Aaron Boone said that Fried would need at least one more live pitching session during the coming week week before potentially heading out for a minor league rehab start.

"For him, it’s just a matter of building up some volume from a pitch count standpoint,” Boone said.

Fried told the media at his locker today that he feels "completely normal" and "healthy."

The exact timetable for Fried's return to New York's starting rotation hasn't been outlined yet, but it seems that the Yankees are hoping that he will be able to take the mound again at some point in August.

The Texas Rangers have placed reliever Jakob Junis on the injured list due to a hip impingement, the team announced today. To take his place on the active roster, the Rangers have activated reliever Chris Martin from the 15 day injured list.

In addition, the Rangers announced that Jalen Beeks has a strained flexor tendon in his elbow and will undergo season-ending surgery to repair that.

So more problems for the Rangers bullpen. Beeks, who was one of the myriad of relievers signed to one year deals this offseason, had a 3.81 ERA in 26 innings over 29 games before landing on the injured list in mid-June. The Rangers will not be getting him back, which puts the Ranger bullpen in an even more precarious position over the final half of the season, especially with Robert Garcia, the Rangers’ other setup/middle relief lefty, currently on the 60 day injured list.

Junis has been the primary setup guy for the Rangers for most of the season, although he’s allowed runs in three of his last four outings. The beat writers are reporting that Junis is expected to return after the minimum time on the injured list, which would have him back after the All Star Break.

Replacing Junis on the active roster is Chris Martin. The veteran righthander has had a pair of stints on the i.l. so far this season, and hasn’t been particularly effective when he’s been healthy, putting up a 7.84 ERA and 6.40 FIP in 10.1 innings over 12 appearances.

Even Shohei Ohtani has his limits.

The greatest two-way player in baseball history will take a break this Saturday, July 4, sidelined by biceps soreness that forced Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to remove him for a pinch hitter the night before.

And Roberts says that skipping Ohtani's final start before the All-Star break is "on the table."

Ohtani was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning of L.A.'s victory over the San Diego Padres on July 3. While the Dodgers have preserved some of Ohtani's energy by not using him at DH on nights he pitches this season, they opted to give him double duty in this one.

And as a pitcher, he did fine, struggling with his command early but ultimately striking out nine and posting a quality start, throwing a season-high 110 pitches in six innings. But after his final at-bat in the bottom of the sixth, Ohtani felt something in his right triceps, a pain he said he'd experienced earlier in the season.

It didn't take Roberts long to declare Ohtani out as the DH for Saturday's game.

"He's a quick healer, and finds a way to get back," Roberts told reporters after Teoscar Hernandez's grand slam provided a 4-3 victory. "But I do think that for us to read and react and hear what his body is telling him is really important, given the toll it takes on his body to be a two-way player."

Ohtani posted a 1.79 ERA in 85 ⅔ innings over 14 starts, with 95 strikeouts to 26 walks. At the plate, he's hit 18 homers in 81 games – well off the pace of his career-high 55 homers last season – while posting a .927 OPS, ranking fourth in the NL. He's nonetheless on pace for his first sub-1.000 OPS season since 2022.

The Dodgers finish the symbolic first half with one more game Sunday against San Diego, followed by series against Colorado and Arizona to cap the 10-game homestand before the All-Star break.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shohei Ohtani injury update: Triceps injury knocks him out of lineup, clouds pitching plans

Major League Baseball’s social media pages are usually where fans go for moonshot homers, milestone chases and highlight-reel catches.

Last week, the league used them for something a little less celebratory: making its case in the early days of a brewing labor fight with the players union.

As collective bargaining talks heat up ahead of the current CBA’s expiration on Dec. 1, MLB has begun pushing messages about its salary-cap and salary-floor proposal through its official fan-facing accounts — the same feeds typically used to showcase the sport’s best moments and star players.

On Facebook, X and Instagram, MLB framed the league’s massive payroll disparity as the biggest issue baseball fans want fixed, arguing in a lengthy post that too many fans begin seasons “without hope of their team competing for a World Series title.”

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The messaging pointed to the league’s proposed cap-and-floor system as a solution that would “level the playing field,” with the Dodgers and Mets approaching $400 million payrolls while clubs such as the Guardians and Marlins sit below $100 million.

The argument was familiar and expected, but the delivery was different. The league was not merely issuing a press release or leaking its position through reporters. It was putting its labor case directly in front of fans on its social platforms.

Public jockeying has gone both ways. The MLBPA also has taken its case directly to fans in recent months, releasing exhaustive details of its own CBA proposal and arguing that the league’s cap plan would suppress player salaries. But MLB’s use of its main league accounts stands out because those platforms are designed less for labor messaging than for marketing the game itself.

MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin told The Post the league has “a responsibility to communicate directly with fans through every available channel.”

“A salary cap and salary floor, as used by every other major U.S. professional sports league, would create a more level playing field and give every club a fair chance to compete,” Caplin said.

The MLBPA pushed back strongly on the league’s messaging.

“With the All-Star Game approaching, and what should be a celebration of our game, MLB seems to be spending most of its efforts on a political ad-style campaign trying to mislead fans into thinking that the game they love is broken to justify a system that would put more money in the owners’ pockets,” interim MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer said in a statement to The Post.

Labor experts said MLB’s social media push marks a meaningful shift in the league’s approach to labor talks.

“This approach is unusual but probably inevitable, given how people consume information,” said Michael LeRoy, a labor and employment relations professor at the University of Illinois. “Commissioner [Rob] Manfred is likely forging new ground here.”

LeRoy said the tactic is “night-and-day different” from a commissioner’s letter or formal bargaining statement, adding that unions are likely to view such messaging as “a ploy” and an indication of “bargaining through tweets and social media posts.”

Forbes contributor Maury Brown, who covers the business of baseball, also noted the distinction between the league using its main social media channels and more traditional avenues.

“If you thought MLB might pull back some in order to prevent a protracted lockout, here they are using the league’s social media channel — not their Communications account — to push the cap system and concessions they accepted to make it happen,” Brown wrote on X. “This has never happened with any prior labor negotiations in the social media age.”

MLB has appealed directly to fans during labor fights before, including when Manfred issued a letter after CBA talks dragged into March in 2022. But the use of everyday league social feeds during active bargaining represents a different, more immediate kind of public pressure campaign, experts said.

Eugene Freedman, a union-side labor lawyer, said MLB’s approach also stands out because of the league’s complicated history of publicly framing labor disputes involving its own players.

“I think MLB is different than many of the other sports in how it negatively portrays its players — its product — both during and outside CBA negotiations,” Freedman told The Post. “The NBA especially has for decades promoted its most prominent players as the game itself.”

That makes MLB’s use of its fan-facing accounts especially notable, experts said, because those platforms are built around the players whose compensation and working conditions are at the center of the dispute.

For MLB, that means a labor message about payroll disparity can appear in the same space as a walk-off home run or a tribute to one of the sport’s biggest stars.

As MLB and the players’ union move toward another high-stakes CBA fight, the league’s social media strategy offers an early glimpse at how public — and how direct — this round could become.

All-Star rosters will be announced this evening, and the Home Run Derby is starting to take shape. So far, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero is the only player to confirm their participation, but Hunter Goodman was seen taking batting practice from his dad yesterday:

Does this mean Goodman is preparing to participate in the Derby? Earlier this week, he said he’d like his dad to pitch to him if he does participate…

Of Rockies fans, 72% believe that Goodman should, given the historic nature of his 2026 campaign (on the heels of his historic 2025 campaign).

We’ll find out in the coming days if he’s selected to the Midsummer Classic, and in what role. But in the meantime, do you agree with these results? Will it be a snub if he isn’t asked?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

José Caballero, the Yankees shortstop/utility man acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline last season, takes a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: What did your 100th career stolen base last year mean to you?

A: It means a lot because growing up and trying to become professional, I had a big injury on my leg, and they were doubting me if I could run again. So that’s why running means a lot to me because I wanted to show the doubters that I could do it.

Q: What was the injury?

A: I broke my tibia and fibula when I was 16. I tried to catch a fly ball and one of my teammates at the time slid into me.

Q: Was that scary for you in terms of your future?

A: It was, for sure. In Latin America, that’s when you sign professional, at least that’s when they’re looking for you. It was a really tough time for a kid like I was. I just turned 16 like a week before it happened. In the process of coming back on the rehab and things, scouts and people that know about baseball were doubting about my running skill just because they didn’t know how I would come back. It was a big surgery as well — actually it was three surgeries on it, so people were concerned about it. … So it means a lot to become a big leaguer that is known by his speed.

Q: How long were you sidelined for?

A: A year.

Q: That must have been torture for you.

A It was. I would go to the field and see all the scouts and all the people trying to recruit my teammates, and I was just on the sideline. It was pretty tough.

Q: What drives you?

A: Doubts.

Q: Why are there still doubters?

A: Because haters will alway hate. Doubters will alway doubt, let’s say it that way.

Q: If I were on another team, would I not like you?

A: I can see why you wouldn’t like me, but if you’re just playing the game and understand that I’m just trying to win a game … everyone has their way. Just because he’s different doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy.

Q: What do you think opposing teams think of you?

A: That I’m annoying. And that’s OK (laugh). I’m not trying to annoy anyone, but if that gives me an advantage like I always say, I will continue to do that.

Q: What do you think you do that makes them annoyed?

A: I always play the game different. … I look for the smallest details, I guess, to irritate others. But if you don’t pay attention to it you wouldn’t get irritated. But if you are irritated I’m winning and trying to take advantage of the minimum of the game, because it’s a hard game, it’s a mental game, so I try to play the mental game a lot.

Q: Aaron Boone said about you: “He thinks he’s the best player on the field.”

A: That’s who I am, man. I think if you don’t believe in yourself no one will believe in you. It starts from your head. If you believe so, you become so, you know?

Q: Describe your on-field mentality.

A: A winning mentally. … Every time I’m on the field I want to win everything. Having an at-bat, that’s a war for me, like I’m trying to win that battle. It doesn’t matter how, I’m trying to find a way to win that battle.

Q: Do you like to get into the pitcher’s head?

A: I mean, if that’s gonna distract and that’s gonna give me a little advantage, I’ll take that for sure (smile).

Q: Do you have a favorite position?

A: Not really … to be in the lineup, that’s my favorite position.

Q: What do you think your best position is?

A: To be honest with you, I think I’m a better second baseman than every other position. But I have more fun playing short than second. … I don’t know [why]. I think you are more involved in the game.

Q: When you were at Tampa Bay, was Gerrit Cole wagging his finger at you one night?

A: I don’t think it was at me, I think it was more for my manager at the time, because he threw a ball way over my head that it hit the backstop. Kevin Cash was the manager at that time, and he went out to the field and he kind of like waved his finger at Gerrit saying like, “Don’t do that,” or so. So right after he struck me out, he waved his fingers at the dugout. I’m guessing it was to my manager.

Q: You never asked Gerrit about it?

A: No, not really. I didn’t feel the need (laugh).

Q: From your Instagram: “Dreams without goals are just dreams.”

A: That’s right. For me it was a dream to become a Yankee, to be here in the big leagues, and if I don’t try to be here, I don’t try to be a big-leaguer, if I don’t want to go through all those ups and downs, it comes with the dream. I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be making my dream. So it would have been just a kid’s dream. And now it’s reality.

Q: “If you have faith as a mustard seed you will say to this mountain: Move from here to there and it will pass and nothing will be impossible to you.”

A: That’s the definition of faith. Without the faith in God I wouldn’t be here. Faith in God and faith in what I’m doing and what I’m gonna become is what got me here, and it is what I have become.

Q: “If you stumble stand up, don’t stop your fight, that’s the only way you will have what you want so much.”

A: I’m pretty sure that was when I was going through all these bad things. It’s just about life, man. Everyone’s gonna hit some bumps, and the only way to get through it is just stand up and keep going the direction you wanted to go and don’t stop. It doesn’t matter how big the obstacles are, you have to have conviction what you want.

Q: “The only thing impossible in this life is what you don’t try.”

A: That’s right. I think it says it all. I’ve seen so many good players that sometimes they don’t have that much conviction, and I know how talented they were and they just didn’t push hard enough to become what they really wanted. It’s just how good you are to be back and show that you are better than the struggles.

Q: “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

A: Says it all. You have to fail. Everyone has to fail. If you go back to whoever made light one day, how many times he missed. You’re gonna miss. You’re gonna fail. It’s part of the process. It’s about how you overcome those fails, and how you take those fails. People say sometimes it’s not failure, it’s knowing a way not to do it. Every time I don’t get what I want to do, at least I know I learned that’s not the way to do it. Maybe next time I try a different way because I already know that that way doesn’t work.

Q: You said something about light?

A: Whoever made light for the first time, how many times he failed? It’s just part of the process.

Q: “You are NEVER a finished product.”

A: Never. You could always get better. You could always achieve something new. You can always chase something bigger.

Q: You had to overcome a lot of adversity through your career.

A:. I remember ’19 to all the way to ’22, I pretty much only played for one month straight. I would start playing and then two weeks later I would hurt myself, and then I would get back and two months later … I would hurt myself again and then the season will be over, and the next year starting the season I started on the IL again and then I came back and I played for like two, three weeks and I got hurt again. And then COVID hit so it’s another full year that I didn’t get to play baseball. Then after that, got a big injury [right knee ACL] that stopped me from playing five months. ’19 was two hand injuries, and ’20 was COVID and 2021 was the ACL then 2022 was two hand injuries as well. … I’m glad I’m way past that.

Q: The ABS challenge — you were the first one.

A: I love it. We need it in baseball, because we need to hold everyone accountable — umpires, pitchers, hitters — everyone needs to be engaged with the game. Me as a hitter or a defender, I want to have the chance to let you know that you miss a call, and if not, you can tell me, “Hey, you know what? You weren’t right, I was right.” It’s a good part of the game that I think it was missing, and I’m really happy that we have it now.

Q: Your helmet went to the Hall of Fame.

A: That’s right, that’s right!

Q: What was it like playing for your native Panama in the WBC?

A: It means a lot because I’m really proud of where I come from and represent all my family, all my friends, all my culture, all my teammates back in the days. And representing the whole country in the biggest stage for baseball is really amazing, because we know how hard it is for us to make it where we are, and to fly out of the country to have a better life or to have a better future. I know they were paying attention. It was a great moment.

Q: What did you think when you watched Mariano Rivera pitch?

A: That I wanted to be on the same field as him. And here I am.

Q: You were a Derek Jeter fan too though, right?

A: Yeah, but whoever got me to watching baseball it was Mariano, knowing that he was a Panamanian. In my head it was like seeing Mariano in the biggest stage and being the guy that he was, for me it was like, “Hey, it’s not impossible.” He was in some rough situations before getting out of Panama as well, so like, “It’s not impossible, you can do it too.”

Q: So he was an inspiration to you.

A: For sure. That’s the guy who got me watching baseball, big league games. That’s the guy who got me rooting for the Yankees. I play infield so I would look up to Jeter.

Q: Have you given Mariano your autograph yet?

A: No (smile), he has given me his though. In the first WBC that I was part of back in 2023. He was there, he threw the first pitch that day and I got a signed ball.

Q: When did the eye block start?

A: I’ve been using eye black for my whole career, minor leagues and even before that. The big leagues I choose one style to use, the two kind of like stripes around my face, that’s the way I go, but before it was just I needed eye black on my face.

Q: Why two stripes now?

A: One day I look in the mirror and I thought it was cool, so I stick with it (smile).

Q: Describe your wife Ana.

A: Good person to have beside me for sure. Has been with me in the toughest moments and in the best moments as well. I know I can rely on her whenever things are not going my way, and I know she’s gonna support me for sure.

Q: Your 5-year-old daughter Analia.

A: She’s wild — just like me, though (smile). She’s very electric. She loves competing as well. She likes to win in everything that we try to do. I’m trying to make her understand that sometimes [you] win, sometimes you lose — she doesn’t like losing though (smile). I have not much answer for that because I don’t like losing either.

Q: What do you think of the U.S. men’s soccer team?

A: They’re playing their game. It’s not like they are adjusting to the other team’s game. They have a plan to go into the game and they’re executing that.

Q: How good at soccer were you?

A: I was decent (smile). I was decent.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Jesus, [Lionel] Messi, Abraham from the Bible.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Fast and Furious.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Paul Walker.

Q: Favorite entertainer?

A: Kevin Hart.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Arroz con pollo [chicken and rice].

Q: Goals?

A: World Series. Win the World Series.

Q: What would you say to Yankees fans who are worried?

A: We’ll make it through. Some bad moments right now, but goals don’t get achieved without the struggles, or without obstacles.

Q: What’s it like being a Yankee?

A: It’s the best (smile). I love it.

Q: Is it different than you thought?

A: I don’t know how to explain this, but my little man is really happy. … My younger me is really happy (smile).

Q: You like to play in front of the New York fans?

A: I love it. … ’Cause they show up and they show love when they have to show love, they show some anger when things are not going the way they want.

Q: What did you think of the way New York embraced the Knicks?

A: That’s what it’s about, winning and giving them what they want, and make people happy is why we play these sports,

Q: Do you dream of New York in October and November cheering your team on to a World Series?

A: I dream of the parade after we win the World Series.

The MLB’s All-Star rosters aren’t officially announced until Saturday night, but it seems the city of Philadelphia may have tipped the league’s hand.

Ahead of the game being played on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park, some decorations have gone up around the city — and they aren’t exactly subtle.

As documented by X user @gerawaycar, a slew of massive banners of players have gone up in the city, with some obvious and less-obvious names featured.

Unsurprisingly, Dodgers reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, Pirates NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and Mets star Juan Soto are expected to get All-Star nods based on the photos.

Additionally, Angels outfielder Mike Trout seems as though he will be an All-Star for a 12th time despite his .234 batting average.

Yankees ace Cam Schlittler also looks set for his first All-Star nod, while Padres star closer Mason Miller looks primed for his second All-Star appearance.

The aforementioned X user posted an entire thread of her findings online and seemed incredulous that the All-Star Game details were seemingly released ahead of time.

“I think the city of Philadelphia just leaked some of the all stars,” she wrote with four crying emojis.

Either way, the AL and NL teams will be revealed officially at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

The Yankees have several All-Star hopefuls in Schlittler, first baseman Ben Rice, outfielder Cody Bellinger and perhaps Aaron Judge, although he will not compete in the game due to his injury.

Soto is the most-deserving candidate among the Mets, although reliever Luke Weaver has made a strong case. It’s usually difficult for setup men to earn spots, though.