MLB.com | Bryan Hoch, Adam Berry: The long and winding season is coming to a close, and the Yankees find themselves six games back of the Rays with just seven games remaining. The good news is that four of those remaining games will be against those Rays in the Bronx starting from Tuesday, giving the Yankees a very small chance to keep their division hopes alive. How small? Per FanGraphs, the Yankees have just a one percent chance of finishing first in the AL East. Given the way things have gone as of late, even that figure seems a tad optimistic, but as a wise man once said, it ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Hoch and Berry outline the key details of this crucial homestand for the Yankees. Of note is the starting pitching matchups; Tampa Bay will send out their two best starters in the opening doubleheader — Nick Martinez for Game 1 and Drew Rasmussen for Game 2 — but they’re slated to rely on Ian Seymour and Freddy Peralta for Wednesday and Thursday, which is a step down in quality. Meanwhile, the Yankees will counter with Carlos Rodón and Max Fried for the doubleheader, then Gerrit Cole for Game 3 and Cam Schlittler for Game 4. If the Yankees can come away with two wins on Tuesday — a big if, admittedly — a four-game sweep might not be out of their reach.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillps: Of course, in all likelihood, the Yankees will have to settle for a Wild Card matchup with the Red Sox for the second season in a row. Phillips takes a shot on predicting the Yankees’ 26-man roster for the WCS. The most impactful decision looks to be who to start in center field, with Trent Grisham progressing in his recovery from a hamstring strain, while Spencer Jones continues to hold his own in the big leagues. Personally, I’d rather see Jones out there, but we’ll have to see.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: ($) There’s one Yankee in particular who is licking their chops at the opportunity to stick it to the Rays in the upcoming homestand, and that’s José Caballero. Having been traded from those Rays to the Yankees at last year’s deadline, the feisty infielder has used that to fuel his competitive fire, saying, “For me, it’s just, ‘All right, I’m going to show you that I was good enough to stay in this game. I was good enough to make you pay for it.’ That’s all.” While Caballero hasn’t recaptured the magic that saw him post a 133 wRC+ over last season’s stretch run, he nonetheless has been a valuable role player in 2026, accumulating 1.5 WAR over 131 games so far. Here’s hoping he backs up the talk and stings those Rays.
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