New York Yankees acquire LHP Andrew Heaney from Los Angeles Angels for minor leaguers

he New York Yankees acquired Los Angeles Angels starter Andrew Heaney on Friday, adding a pitcher after making two big trades for sluggers.

The Yankees got the 30-year-old lefty and cash for minor league right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero.

New York began the day at 53-48, fourth in the AL wild-card race for two spots. As Friday’s trade deadline approached, the Yankees got All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo from Texas and star first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs.

Heaney was 6-7 with a 5.27 ERA in 18 starts for the Angels this year. He is 30-36 with a 4.57 ERA in eight seasons with Miami and Los Angeles. He posted his first big league win against the Yankees in 2015.

Yankees To Acquire Anthony Rizzo | MLBTR

5:47 pm: In exchange, Chicago will pick up two prospects — outfielder Kevin Alcantara and right-hander Alexander Vizcaino –– Curry reports. He adds that the Cubs will retain the entirety of Rizzo’s remaining salary.

New York Yankees set to acquire Joey Gallo from Texas Rangers for six minor leaguers, sources say

The New York Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire outfielder Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday night.

The deal is pending a medical review.

The Rangers will receive right-handers Glenn Otto and Randy Vasquez, second baseman Ezequiel Duran, shortstop Josh Smith, second baseman/outfielder Trevor Hauver and outfielder Everson Pereira from New York, sources told Passan.

Gallo was a late scratch from the Rangers’ lineup ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, with speculation that a trade was in the works.

New York Yankees trade relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to Cincinnati Reds

The New York Yankees traded relievers Luis Cessa and Justin Wilson to the Cincinnati Reds late Tuesday night for a player to be named.

The move could signal the Yankees are pursuing a big addition to their bullpen and were looking to create room.

The deal was announced hours after New York won 4-3 at Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati finished off a 7-4 road victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

The Yankees also made a bullpen move Monday, acquiring reliever Clay Holmes from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielders Hoy Park and Diego Castillo.

The 29-year-old Cessa went 3-1 with a 2.82 ERA in 29 relief appearances for the Yankees this season.

Wilson, 33, was 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA in 21 outings. The left-hander missed a combined 34 games during two stints on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation (March 29 to April 9) and a strained right hamstring (May 29 to June 30). He signed a one-year contract in February with a player option for 2022.

New York Yankees acquire reliever Clay Holmes from Pittsburgh Pirates for 2 minor league infielders

The New York Yankees, facing some important decisions with Friday’s trade deadline looming, on Monday acquired right-handed reliever Clay Holmes from the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league infielders Diego Castillo and Hoy Park.

Holmes, 28, is 3-2 in 44 relief appearances with 44 strikeouts and 35 walks in 42 innings. He has held right-handed batters to a .173 average (17-for-98). Holmes is 5-7 with a 5.57 ERA over 91 games, including four starts, in four major league seasons.

Park, 25, appeared in one major league game, on July 16 against Boston. He is batting .307 with 10 doubles, 11 homers and 32 RBIs for Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boston Red Sox end Domingo German’s no-hit bid in 8th inning, storm back to beat New York Yankees

Domingo German was simply dominating the Boston Red Sox. Never more so than in the seventh inning, when the New York Yankees right-hander struck out stars J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and rookie Jarren Duran.

As German walked off the mound then with a no-hitter intact and a solid lead, there was no way to envision what was on deck.

Held hitless into the eighth by German and looking feeble, Alex Verdugo and the Red Sox suddenly erupted for five runs to shake Fenway Park and storm past New York 5-4 on Sunday.

The old ballpark was almost silent all afternoon, until Verdugo opened the eighth with a long double for Boston’s first hit, and he raised his arms in celebration at second base.

By the time Kike Hernandez slid home headfirst on Xander Bogaerts’ sacrifice fly with the go-ahead run to cap the rally, fans were fired up.

“I felt like just getting that hit out of the way had everybody just take that big deep breath, didn’t have to worry about getting no-hit anymore,’’ Verdugo said. “That inning was crazy. From going no-hit to seven innings to putting five up in the eighth, that’s one of the craziest comebacks I’ve ever been a part of.’‘

Former New York Yankees star Joe Pepitone sues Hall of Fame to get valued bat teammate Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run with

Mantle was nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career when he smacked a pitch from Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles into the right-field bleachers at old Yankee Stadium in May 1967. The lawsuit says Mantle wanted to use a lighter bat than his signature model in order to generate bat speed, and Pepitone obliged after hitting a home run the previous inning.

Yankees, MLB ban fan for life after throwing baseball at Red Sox’s Alex Verdugo

The New York Yankees have banned the fan who threw a baseball and hit Red Sox left fielder Alex Verdugo from Yankee Stadium for life, a team spokesman said Sunday afternoon.

Major League Baseball has also banned the fan from its other 29 ballparks, the spokesman added.

“While the Yankees appreciate the spirit and passion of our fans in our various rivalries—especially with the Red Sox – reckless, disorderly and dangerous behavior that puts the safety of players, field staff or fellow fans in jeopardy will not be tolerated,” the Yankees said in a statement. “There is absolutely no place for it at Yankee Stadium. The safety of everyone at Yankee Stadium, including guests in the stands and players on the field, will always be the top priority for the Yankees organization every time we open our doors.”

The Yankees plan to meet with authorities later Sunday night to provide them with all information they have about the incident, the spokesman said.

‘Embarrassed’ Suzyn Waldman frustrated with Yankees’ broadcasting situation

Suzyn Waldman was embarrassed. She couldn’t sleep. And the root of it all was that she was in The Bronx, at Yankee Stadium, broadcasting on WFAN the Yankees-Blue Jays game that was being played in Buffalo.

In the ninth inning Wednesday, when the controversial foul tip-or-no foul tip play with Gary Sanchez behind the plate happened, Waldman was looking down at her notes for a moment – and didn’t see it. That’s the life of calling games off a monitor.

“I didn’t sleep all night,” Waldman told The Post. “I was really embarrassed.”

While it is true Waldman could have been looking at her notes, even if she were in Buffalo, she would have been able to see for herself the rhythm of the game. In her mind, being present would have helped.

This isn’t the only reason why the vaccinated 74-year-old Waldman and 82-year-old John Sterling — and while we are at it, the YES announcers as well — should be on the road soon, but it is an example of what is gained by announcers being at the ballpark.

In person, the game is presented better with more details. Anyone in the business and fans should hear it. Bean counters, be damned.

Analytics boss answers all with MLB buzzing about Yankees obsession

The strongest complaint about the Yankees — one that I believe — is that there has been a loss of feel in assembling a roster. I am no enemy of analytics. They are vital and even the angriest Yankees fan should not lose perspective that it helped — among many other items — the Yanks score Luis Cessa and Chad Green for Justin Wilson. But is there too much concentration on obtaining the best paint colors at the expense of making sure those colors work in unison on a canvas?

For the 2021 Yankees, each individual decision can be explained and, often, the individual decision is a winning one. However, once assembled, particularly regarding the positional group, there are too few lefty hitters, too little athleticism and limited baseball smarts.

“To that, a lot of this is the same team that has had success,” Fishman said of a lineup that was top four each season in runs from 2017-20 and scored the most overall in that period and was central to a playoff team each season. “So this was individual players who were brought together and they are not having success this year, but they had success in the past. This was a lineup that produced runs the last couple of years and isn’t this year. So the same argument can be used, it is individual players brought in together, but it worked together as a productive lineup. And it hasn’t been a productive lineup this year.

Yankees acquire Tim Locastro from Diamondbacks as season crumbles

The Yankees are starting small in an attempt to turn their miserable 41-39 season around.

The team announced it obtained Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Locastro for Double-A right-hander Keegan Curtis.

Locastro will take some of the weight off Aaron Judge, as he can make starts in center field against left-handers.

In addition, the 28-year-old is a major speed threat. In 2019, he stole 17 bases in 91 games. He holds the record of most stolen bases without being caught to start a career at 29.

New York GM Brian Cashman blunt about state of struggling Yankees

- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman isn’t beating around the bush about the performance of the Bronx Bombers.

“We suck right now,” Cashman said ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. “As bad as we can be.”

However, for the third time this season, Cashman offered support behind manager Aaron Boone and the coaching staff.

“This is not an Aaron Boone problem,” Cashman said. “This is not a coaching staff problem.”

Cashman shifted the blame away from Boone toward himself.

“It’s easy from my chair to say, ‘Let me throw something overboard to just satisfy the masses.’ It’s harder to actually stick with what you’ve got because you believe in it,” he said. “These people care. They’re working their ass off. They’re really good at what they do. We’re not getting the results. I’m the head of baseball operations. That’s more on me than them.”

Yankees are a broken team, so why is Brian Cashman doing nothing?

Something drastic is going to happen soon. Can’t you feel it? Will it be Aaron Boone getting banged? Have you noticed the manager hasn’t received a recent vote of confidence after getting one after the Yankees started 5-10?

Interesting.

If Boone survives, and you can argue he shouldn’t be the No. 1 fall guy, then Cashman has to at least try for a quick fix even if it means overpaying for immediate help by selling the farm while making Jasson Dominguez the only untouchable.

Everything you hear coming out of Yankees land is how they’re built to win championships, yet it’s obvious from the outside looking in that Cashman has put together a flawed team that has a flawed blueprint. Sooner or later, you’ll get eaten up for loading lineups with nine right-handed sluggers who are being preached analytics, and these Yankees have become shark bait to a lot of pitching.

It’s painfully obvious that the Yankees need a center fielder with Aaron Hicks done for the season after more underachieving and Brett Gardner looking 37 going on 47 a lot of the time. The 20-45 Diamondbacks will be blowing up their team before the July 31 trade deadline and have a 27-year-old, switch-hitting center fielder with an affordable contract available. Why hasn’t Cashman traded for Ketel Marte, a .347 hitter this season who has a 31-homer campaign on his resume?

Seriously, call the Diamondbacks and offer them a great return, two or three elite prospects and Clint Frazier if that’s what it takes. Look at all the ranked prospects that the Yankees have traded over the last 10 years and try naming just one who turned into a star.

The real reasons Yankees bats are struggling

It’s not strikeouts, not really. Ten teams have struck out as much as or more than the Yankees, among them the Rays, arguably baseball’s best team, and the Giants, baseball’s biggest surprise team. (The celebrated 1927 Yankees struck out a ton by the standards of the time, anyway.) It’s not an overreliance on the “three true outcomes” of strikeouts, walks and homers, because while the Yankees do those things the fifth-most often, the top three teams (Rays, Giants, Brewers) would all be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

It’s not injuries, mostly. Sure, they’ve had their share—Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks most prominently—but to date, the Yankees have missed out on just over 5% of their projected preseason Wins Above Replacement, less than 16 other teams. It’s not platoon splits; they’ve performed equally against lefties and righties….

It is that they’ve done a poor job of scoring the runners they put on—worst in baseball at that, importantly—and while that’s obviously bad, that’s a bit more about describing what has happened than predicting what will happen. That might be a little about the fact that no team has had more runners thrown out on the bases (28, most in baseball) and no team has taken a lower rate of extra bases (30%, lowest in baseball). This is not a good baserunning team, not that it was ever expected to be.

Still, since a lot of those underlying indicators—good hard-hit rate, good plate decisions, high walk rate—are strong, this feels like less of a team-wide approach issue than it does a collection of underperforming players. (Most of them, anyway. Aaron Judge has been outstanding.) Given that the pitching has also been outstanding, the lineup is responsible for almost all of the 2021 team’s struggles.

New York Yankees’ Corey Kluber throws 6th no-hitter in MLB this season, stopping Texas Rangers

New York Yankees right-hander Corey Kluber threw the sixth no-hitter this season in Major League Baseball on Wednesday night, striking out nine in a 2-0 win against the Texas Rangers.

The 35-year-old’s 101-pitch gem came one night after Detroit Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull accomplished the feat against the Seattle Mariners.

It was the Yankees’ first no-hitter since July 18, 1999, when David Cone threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos.

“It’s all kind of emotions. It’s excitement, obviously, but also relief because it’s over,” Kluber said after the game on YES Network. “We were fortunate in that they hit them right at people.”

Including Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, the Yankees have thrown 12 no-hitters. This was the club’s first road no-hitter since July 12, 1951, when Allie Reynolds did it at Cleveland.

New York Yankees 3B coach Phil Nevin, 1B coach Reggie Willits positive for COVID-19

New York Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin and first-base coach Reggie Willits have tested positive for the coronavirus, the team said Tuesday.

Nevin’s status was announced before Tuesday night’s road game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Willits’ positive case and that of a staff member were confirmed after the Yankees’ 3-1 win. Manager Aaron Boone also said the team is waiting for more results.

Two additional cases are considered inconclusive but are expected to be ruled as positives, a source told ESPN, which would bring to five the number of coaches and support staff members who are positive. ESPN earlier reported that there were five positive cases among the coaching staff.

“We’re doing all we can to stay healthy. A little bit of a skeleton staff but nothing we can’t handle,” Boone said before Tuesday’s game.

A team spokesman said Nevin, Willits and the staff member are fully vaccinated.

Astros complain to MLB about taunting, Yankees security bans Oscar the Grouch costume, report says

Sports Illustrated reports the Houston Astros complained to Major League Baseball about taunting by fans this season. This report comes at a time when New York Yankees fans are absolutely crushing the Astros at Yankee Stadium….

But according to SI, one Yankees fan, David Taub, went too far after spending $85 on an Oscar the Grouch costume. Oscar, the lovable, grumpy Sesame Street character, lives in a trash can. You can see where Taub was going with this.

When he arrived wearing the costume and carrying a sign reading YOU AIN’T STEALING THIS COSTUME TRASHTROS, he drew laughs and cameras. Unfortunately, he also drew attention from security. “Our policy changed,” he said the guard told him. Taub said the guard added that the Astros had complained to MLB about fans in other cities, and MLB had told the Yankees to tighten their rules. (Officials from the Astros and the commissioner’s office said they were unaware of any such complaints or directives.) So Taub climbed a hill across the street from the ballpark, balled the costume up and buried it amid a cluster of rocks. He flipped the sign over and scrawled MY FRIEND HAD A SIGN LIKE THIS BUT THE TRASHTROS STOLE IT.

San Francisco Giants acquire OF Mike Tauchman in trade with New York Yankees

The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Mike Tauchman from the New York Yankees on Tuesday for left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later.

The 30-year-old Tauchman, a veteran of five major league seasons, had a breakout year for the Yankees in 2019 when he set career bests with a .277 average, 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. But he hasn’t been able to replicate those stats since, slashing .242/.342/.305 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and .214/.267/.286 in 16 plate appearances this season. He hasn’t hit a home run since the 2019 season.

With Clint Frazier and Brett Gardner splitting time in left field, there was little opportunity for Tauchman to find a spot in the Yankees’ lineup.

Last-place New York Yankees off to worst 15-game start since 1997

Gerrit Cole shook his head, disgusted. Aaron Hicks put hands on hips and bowed his head. By the end of the afternoon, pretty much all of the New York Yankees were appalled, along with their loudly booing fans.

Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking double off Cole in the seventh inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 win on Sunday and a three-game sweep that extended the Yankees’ losing streak to five games. New York fell to an American League-worst 5-10, its poorest start since 1997.

“I’m frustrated, personally frustrated,” said reigning AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, who concluded the Yankees were “tight and pressing.”

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” he said. “No one’s going to throw softer or throw easier for us. We’ve got to find it within ourselves to continue to get better and play the way we’re capable of.”

New York Yankees’ Jay Bruce to retire after Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays

Jay Bruce had seen enough. Having made the New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster, he couldn’t stomach his poor start to the season.

So the three-time All-Star outfielder decided to retire at age 34 after Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.

“Just the consistent underperformance for me,” he said. “Felt like I wasn’t able to do it at a level that was acceptable for myself.”

Bruce informed Yankees manager Aaron Boone of his decision during a 20-minute meeting in the manager’s office on Friday, then made a public announcement before Sunday’s game.

Bruce went to spring training with the Yankees on a minor league contract and made the major league roster as a first baseman when Luke Voit suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, earning a $1.35 million one-year deal.

He is hitting .118 with one homer and three RBIs in 39 plate appearances, and he remained active for Sunday’s game. He started the first eight games at first base but just two of the next seven.

‘Bust’ reality staring down Yankees in unnerving scenario

“The Yankees are sort of at a point like we had, you realize you have to break through,” said John Hart, the general manager of those Cleveland squads.

Over the past four years the Yankees have averaged a major-league best at nearly 5 1/2 runs per game. They have made the playoffs in each of those seasons, getting eliminated twice by the eventual champion and twice by the World Series loser. But the Yanks remain without a title since 2009 and by Bronx math that is an eternity.

There are two ways that this can go for the Yankees, circa now. They can follow the past two champs — the Nationals and Dodgers — who went through years of being viewed as October dogs. Sometimes you have to kick and kick at the door before it bursts open. The Dodgers, the other coastal superpower, won eight straight NL West titles and not until the eighth did they finally capture their first title since 1988 — or in Los Angeles math an eternity-plus.

Or the Yanks can be those Cleveland teams, so powerful that annually they believed this was the season.

“Every year after ‘94 we felt we had a team that could win it all, absolutely,” Hart said.

Yankee Stadium, Citi Field will open at 20 percent capacity to begin 2021 season

The Yankees are “hopeful that testing requirements can be eased by mid-May 2021” and plan to continue to use Yankee Stadium as a COVID-19 vaccination site during the regular season. Citi Field is also currently being used as a COVID-19 vaccination site.

Fans will have to adhere to these guidelines in order to attend games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field:

Take a COVID-19 test with negative results or provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination
Each fan will be required to have their temperature checked upon entry
All fans two years and older must wear a face mask, even if they received a COVID-19 vaccine
Seating will be in pods that will range from 1-8 guests to encourage social distancing (pods will be 1-6 fans at Citi Field)

In an effort to be contactless, all tickets for games at both stadiums are going to be mobile. In addition, all concession and retail sales at the stadiums will be cashless and fans will have to use credit or debit cards for purchases.

Yankees reliever Zack Britton to undergo elbow surgery and likely will miss start of 2021 MLB season

New York Yankees reliever Zack Britton will likely miss the start of the 2021 MLB season because of an elbow issue. Britton, who underwent an MRI on Monday, first experienced the sensation after a weekend bullpen session. The Yankees announced Tuesday that Britton is expected to return to New York on Wednesday to have arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip from his left elbow.

The team has said there’s no known timetable for his return. With Opening Day just over three weeks away, it seems very likely he opens the season on the injured list.

Britton hadn’t yet made an appearance this spring, as he’s instead had to make up for time lost during the offseason. Britton endured a bout with COVID-19 in January that set him back.

Yankees should be nearing their Domingo German breaking point

Imagine you’re Aaron Boone, or Brian Cashman, or Hal Steinbrenner.

It’s Wednesday night and you’re getting ready for the annual holiday that is the first pitchers and catchers workouts the next morning. You’ve got scores of COVID-specific details to handle plus the standard desire to launch your desired championship run with the right first step.

Then you get alerted that Domingo German, already on thin ice, has set Instagram aflame again.

At what point do you decide the right-hander’s upside doesn’t merit the agita he creates? The Yankees should be approaching that point. They must, for the good of everyone else they employ.

After all, when your team’s player representative, Zack Britton, one of the more affable humans to ever roam the Earth, proclaims, “Sometimes you don’t get to control who your teammates are and that’s the situation,” as he did Thursday about his fellow pitcher, that speaks volumes about German’s status here.

Yankees and Brett Gardner agree to one-year deal with options for 2022

Sources tell SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino that the Yankees and Gardner have reached a deal on a one-year contract worth $4 million with club and team options for 2022.

Martino notes that setting up the contract as a one-year deal with an option actually lowers the luxury tax number for the Yankees, which made it preferable to a straight one-year deal.

A 13-year veteran, Gardner reached free agency last offseason before ultimately signing back with the Yankees on a one-year deal worth $12.5 million.

And even if Clint Frazier is the Bombers’ everyday left fielder as Aaron Boone recently stated, having Gardner would give the Yankees a great insurance policy and fourth outfielder, along with a needed left-handed bat. Having both Gardner and Mike Tauchman could give the Yankees a lot of flexibility with their outfield depth.