FERNANDO CRUZ OUT!

The Yankees’ pitching problems just added another name to the list.

Fernando Cruz has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow discomfort, a concerning development for a bullpen already searching for stability.

The timing is especially troubling. Cruz surrendered the game-tying two-run homer to Jeremy Peña in Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss to Houston, and afterward was seen leaving the clubhouse with Yankees head athletic trainer Tim Lentych. Cruz had said he was healthy, but less than 24 hours later, he was headed to the IL.

And maybe the recent numbers were telling us something. Cruz has been hit hard since the All-Star break after being one of the Yankees’ most dependable bullpen weapons earlier in the season.

The Yankees signed veteran Michael Fulmer to a Major League deal to help fill the hole. But with September approaching, replacing Cruz’s swing-and-miss stuff won't be easy.

For a team trying to make a serious October run, another important arm going down is the last thing they needed.

TRADING LOMBARD FOR ABRAMS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

The Yankees have a shortstop problem. That much is undeniable.

What they do not have is a George Lombard Jr. problem.

That distinction matters as trade speculation begins connecting the Yankees to Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams. One proposal suggests there is a “pathway” to a deal if the Yankees construct a package involving Anthony Volpe AND Lombard.

That pathway should be barricaded immediately.

Abrams is an outstanding player having a spectacular season. Through July 27, he is batting .297 with a .367 on-base percentage, a .573 slugging percentage and a .940 OPS. He has 27 home runs, 82 RBIs and 114 hits. Among National League players, he ranks first in slugging, third in OPS and first in RBIs.

Those numbers are precisely why Washington would demand a staggering return.

The Nationals are not holding a clearance sale. Reports indicate that they are willing to listen, but they are not actively shopping Abrams. In a painfully thin shortstop market, Washington has every reason to demand an enormous overpayment for a 25-year-old All-Star performing like one of baseball’s premier offensive players.

That is where this proposal falls apart. Abrams is excellent, but the proposed price is ridiculous. The argument against trading for Abrams is not that he cannot play. He clearly can.

The argument is that the Yankees should not use their best opportunity to solve shortstop for the next decade as payment for someone else’s shortstop.

Lombard is only 21 years old, has already reached Triple-A and remains the most important position-player prospect in the Yankees’ system. He returned from the injured list in July and immediately collected nine hits in his first 17 at-bats, including four extra-base hits. Lombard has put himself into the major-league conversation.

That is not the type of prospect a smart organization includes merely because another team has made its asking price absurd.

Lombard is not an expendable lottery ticket buried in Class A. He is already knocking on the door. He possesses the athleticism, defensive ability, plate discipline and developing power to become the dynamic shortstop the Yankees have spent years trying to find. He's better than Volpe. The Yankees drafted him, developed him and moved him aggressively through their system. Now that he is approaching the majors, they are supposed to hand him away?

No.

Lombard should be considered off-limits. And the difference is the Volpe experiment has run its course. Volpe is a different conversation.

The Yankees have given him considerable time, patience and protection. At some point, potential must turn into sustained major-league production. New York cannot continue treating its shortstop position as a development laboratory while attempting to win a championship.

Volpe returned from shoulder surgery in 2026, but the organization’s public discussion has already shifted. José Caballero has entered the picture; Lombard is approaching the majors and questions regarding Volpe’s long-term grip on the position have become impossible to ignore.

There is nothing wrong with including Volpe in trade discussions. A change of organizations might benefit him, and the Yankees need to stop allowing draft status, popularity or past expectations to dictate their current decisions.

Volpe can go.

Lombard cannot.

Packaging the two together would be especially foolish. Volpe would be included as a distressed major-league asset while Lombard supplied the actual value Washington desired. The Yankees would essentially surrender their future shortstop to compensate for their present shortstop’s failure to establish himself.

That is backwards roster construction. The bottom line is the Yankees need to be smart. The proper solution is not to trade Lombard for a different long-term shortstop. It is to find someone capable of stabilizing the position for the remainder of 2026 without blocking Lombard in 2027 and beyond.

The Yankees need a rental.

That player does not have to be better than Abrams in a vacuum. Few available shortstops are. He needs to be a better acquisition for the Yankees because he would provide competent shortstop play without costing the organization its future.

Now look, the rental market is admittedly thin. MLB has described Abrams as the clear top shortstop potentially available because players such as Jeremy Peña, Zach Neto and Francisco Lindor are even less likely to be moved.

A thin market, however, is not permission to make a reckless trade. For me, the best answer is in the organization. There is also a possibility Yankees management appears reluctant to acknowledge:

Lombard himself might be the best shortstop option.

Bottom line, we need to move Volpe. Acquire a rental. Use Caballero if necessary. Promote Lombard when he is ready which is soon.

But under no circumstances should Brian Cashman trade George Lombard Jr. to solve a position Lombard is being developed to occupy.

The Yankees need a new shortstop now.

They should not sacrifice their next great one to get him.

BOONE HAS BACKED US IN THIS CORNER. PANIC FEELS LIKE THE ONLY WAY OUT

 The Yankees should have beat the Astros last night. They didn't. The end.

You want to look desperate? Go ahead, argue balls and strikes. You want to look like a total clown? Be my guest. But let’s get one thing straight — the Yankees should’ve won that game.

And before you say I’m being dramatic, here’s what I wrote yesterday in YANKS WIN, BUT GIVE OUTS TO ASTROS BECAUSE OF VOLPE about Anthony Volpe and the cost of “free outs”:

“...they can’t afford too many ‘Volpe moments’ dragging down the October run. We are giving outs away. In close games? We lose because of that.”

Well, guess what? Last night we lost. Last night was Exhibit A. And yeah, we’ll never know if Volpe actually connects on those swings — if those hits would’ve flipped the game — but I do know this: the best possible Yankees weren’t on the field. Williams? Really? Volpe? Again? It’s like Aaron Boone fills out his lineup card with a dartboard and a blindfold hoping to get a reach around late night after the game. it's creepy and bizarre and I don't get any of it.

Let’s talk about the game, though, and how they coughed it up.

The Yankees were up 4-1 after Ryan McMahon’s sac fly in the sixth. Then Jeremy Peña parked one in the seats, and suddenly the Astros had all the momentum. In the eighth, Boone decided to roll with Devin Williams — a guy whose “struggles” are becoming a personality trait at this point — and shocker, disaster struck. A 4-4 tie turned into chaos.

Williams and Boone both got tossed for chirping the ump over balls and strikes. Williams said afterward:

“I said, ‘I had four that you missed,’ and he threw me out for it. Never been ejected in my career.”

Translation: guilt by association. Boone has managed to turn himself into Public Enemy No. 1 among umpires. Stand next to him, you’re toast too.

Meanwhile, Anthony Volpe went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and still somehow kept his spot. Jose Caballero has been gathering dust on the bench.Makes no sense.

Oh, and Giancarlo Stanton? After his defensive adventures in left, maybe — just maybe — don’t roll him out there for a third straight game. But nope. Logic took the night off.

This wasn’t a game the Yankees “got squeezed.” This was a game lost because of panic, bad lineup choices, and a season-long pattern of mismanagement. Now, they’ve got their backs against the wall and a brutal stretch of games coming up.

And here’s the kicker: nobody in that front office ever admits they screwed up. They just let Boone roam free like Chucky on a Saturday night murder spree. Chaos.

It’s time to cut the head off the snake. Send Boone packing. Change the narrative. Because Yankees fans are done watching this team play catch-up.

MISSION MEN

The Yankees are proving the doubters wrong.  The doubters are people like me.  It's refreshing.  

It's what a competitor does.  Let's hope it continues because I am loving every minute of it.  

And just to be clear; My beef is not with the players. My beef is with the Yankees front office that are not giving this team what they need to deliver.  I am eating crow right now, but that's the name of the game with you're a critic.  But the truth is 2 games don't make a World Series team, but these 2 games do prove that these players will not quit. I appreciate it, love it, admire it.  

Empire Sports Media writes:

"The New York Yankees have won their first two games of the regular season against the Houston Astros... flying under the radar is the impact of Oswaldo Cabrera, their super-utility man who barely even cracked the roster after a disappointing spring training. Cabrera, 25, hit .213/.302/.362 this spring, including two homers and three RBIs over 20 games. "

Who knows why it's guys like Cabrera that are red hot.  I really don't care, as long as the Astros are destroyed.

The other part of this game that made sense to me? Capitalizing on mistakes from their opponent and playing small ball. Two things the Yankees rarely were able to execute last season. In other words, the Yankees aren't playing like the Yankees, they're playing like a small market team... or a team under someone like Bruce Bochy... or a team that typically is not managed by Aaron Boone. The Yankees are actually playing baseball.

The Houston Chronicle writes:

" Jeremy Peña fielded a slow bleeder from New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe in the eighth inning, his next decision came a millisecond too late. He tossed to Jose Altuve... but the toss was far behind the veteran infielder.... The error allowed Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who had singled at the top of the frame, to score from second, and Alex Verdugo to bypass second easily and advance to third. Volpe reached first to put runners at the corners."

"The second domino to fall in that eighth inning occurred after Yankees catcher Austin Wells laid a bunt on a safety squeeze to Astros reliever Parker Mushinski, who misfired to first and allowed Verdugo to score from third. Oswaldo Cabrera followed with a two-run single adding the third and fourth runs of the inning before the Astros called Brandon Bielak out of the bullpen. "

When in the past do we read about the Yankees doing the little things?  Think about it? This is a great start.

More to come today and hopefully a sweep.  I applaud these players... but don't think for a second that I'm not still annoyed at the Yankees front office for dragging their feet on pitching this offseason. I never forget.

Go Yanks.