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ESPN | Jeff Passan & David Purdum: For the second time since a Supreme Court decision liberalized sports gambling across the United States, an active MLB player is under investigation for betting on baseball. Cleveland righthander Luis Ortiz is on administrative leave pending the results of that investigation, after two pitches he threw tipped off betting integrity agents — which, to me, got an “lol”. First-pitch result prop bets are offered by some sportsbooks as microbets, and seem to be at least a plausible way for pitchers to balance off-field financial incentive without significant on-field risk.
New York Post | Jon Heyman ($): The Yankees seem to be acknowledging what many of us have known for a while: Jazz Chisholm Jr. is best at second base, and DJ LeMahieu is best not on the field at all. The club has reached out about the availability of a few players that man the hot corner, including Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pirates and the rehabbing Yoan Moncada with the Angels. The Rockies’ Ryan McMahon has also been discussed.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Congrats to George Lombard Jr., who has increasingly raised eyebrows throughout the MiLB this season and will now be a part of the Futures Game during the All-Star break. The 20-year old is still adjusting to his promotion to Double-A Somerset, but the potential is obvious and he’ll be competing with the best youngsters in the minors in a week and a half.
FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: We are in the official second half of the season, so it’s time to make some adjustments to the projections we saw back in March. To wit, Aaron Judge is still projected to notch an 11-win season, and while the Yankees aren’t quite as highly regarded as they were earlier in the year, ZiPS still pegs them to finish atop the division.
MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: The Yankees added some minor-league depth yesterday, inking Nicky Lopez, the former Royal, to an MiLB deal. He can’t really hit but he can move laterally at second base, so in some respects that could be an improvement. Lopez has played seven big-league seasons and spent time with the Angels and Cubs earlier in 2025.
Lastly, some rapid-fire items:
If you heard anything about last night’s game, it probably noted that Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt was removed with forearm tightness and will undergo an MRI.
Clayton Beeter had been promoted to the majors on July 2nd with the Yanks in need of a fresh arm. He got knocked around some in last night’s loss and has now been optioned back. Look for a new fresh!
32-year-old Triple-A reliever Colten Brewer opted out of his minor-league deal.
More from pinstripealley.com:
Yankees 9, Blue Jays 11: Yanks rally from 8-0 deficit, lose first place anyway
The live report from Spencer Jones’ Triple-A debut
What are the Yankees’ Trade Deadline priorities?
The hitting genius of Aaron Judge
I went to the best Yankees game ever and all I got was a broken face
Pinstripe Alley’s Top 100 Yankees
2000 Yankees Diary: The 25th Anniversary of MLB’s Last Three-peat
