Moments before this afternoon’s trade deadline the Red Sox made a move to get former top catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, which is interesting considering Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek are both impending free agents.
Given his recent health problems and uncertain future behind the plate acquiring Saltalamacchia shouldn’t be seen as a long-term answer at catcher, but he’s still just 25 years old and if nothing else makes for an intriguing flier.
In return for Saltamacchia the Rangers get prospects Chris McGuiness and Roman Mendez plus a player to be named later or cash. McGuiness is a first baseman and 13th-round pick in last year’s draft who has hit pretty well so far at Single-A, while Mendez is a 19-year-old reliever from the Dominican Republic with a big-time fastball.
Saltalamacchia’s stock has dropped considerably over the past two years as he struggled to stay on the field and failed to show much offensively when he was in the lineup, but if the Red Sox can get him back on track physically (and mentally) the switch-hitter could still be a long-term fit somewhere. For now, he’ll play at Triple-A.
Aaron Judge hits 18th homer of season, Yankees beat Mariners 10-2
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SEATTLE (AP) Aaron Judge homered for the third time in two games, Anthony Volpe and Greg Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.
It was the 18th of the season for Judge, who hit a pair of homers in the series opener on Monday night.
While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.
Allen, filling in for injured center fielder Harrison Bader, hit his first of the season leading off the fourth inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also had a key two-run single in the first inning as the Yankees took advantage of an error to give starter Nestor Cortes a 3-0 advantage before he took the mound.
Kiner-Falefa had another two-run single in the ninth. New York has scored at least 10 runs in three straight games for the first time since Sept. 15-17, 2020.
Cortes (5-2) mostly cruised through five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts. Ty France and Teoscar Hernández had RBI doubles in the fifth inning. Judge nearly stole another hit from Hernández after robbing him of a homer on Monday, but his diving attempt at Hernández’s liner fell for a double.
Gilbert (3-3) lasted just four innings for the second time this season. The five earned runs allowed were a season-high and the four strikeouts matched a season-low.
SEE YA LATER
Seattle catcher Tom Murphy and manager Scott Servais were both ejected by plate umpire Brian Walsh in the sixth inning. Murphy was ejected after yelling toward first base umpire C.B. Bucknor following a check-swing that was called a strike. Servais argued the decision to eject Murphy and was quickly tossed by Walsh. It was the second ejection this season for Servais.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: Bader (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL after leaving Monday’s game in the third inning injuring his right hamstring running out an infield single. OF Franchy Cordero was recalled.
Mariners: McCaughan was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to add a long reliever to the bullpen. RHP Juan Then was optioned to Tacoma. It was Seattle’s first roster move in 24 days.
UP NEXT
Yankees: RHP Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.58) took the loss despite allowing only one earned run over five innings in his last start against Baltimore. Schmidt has gone at least five inning in five of his last seven starts.
Mariners: RHP George Kirby (5-4, 3.43) was knocked around for seven earned runs and four home runs allowed in his last start against Pittsburgh. Both matched career highs.
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