The Yankees swept the Blue Jays in three games and will look to keep the good times rolling in the first game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Tonight's lineup: Gardner 7 Jeter 6 Ellsbury 8 Teixeira 3 McCann 2 Beltran DH Ichiro 9 Roberts 4 Solarte 5 Kuroda 1
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 20, 2014Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Jacoby Ellsbury are at the top of the lineup. Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran make up the middle of the order. Ichiro Suzuki, Brian Roberts follow, with Yangervis Solarte back in the lineup batting ninth and looking to get back on track. If he can.
Alex Rodriguez has officially dropped his malpractice lawsuit against Yankees team doctor Chris Ahmad. This officially frees A-rod from his last ongoing legal battle that he has been involved in since first being suspended last season. He admits that he wants no legal distractions as he begins to get ready for the 2015 season. If 2014 is any indication, it looks like a 39-year-old Alex Rodriguez, coming off a year-long suspension, could still be of some use to the Yankees.
Cuban power hitter Yasmani Thomas has officially defected from his home country and will undergo the long process of becoming declared an MLB free agent over the next few months. At the age of 23 and with five years of time spent playing professional ball in Cuba, Thomas will be exempt from international bonus pools. Ben Badler of Baseball America describes him as "a righthanded-hitting corner outfielder, Tomas can hit towering home runs thanks to the strength from his thickly-built 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame. Tomas has 70 raw power on the 20-80 scale." Badler also mentioned that Thomas has some flaws in his bat, with an uppercut swing that allowed pitchers in the WBC to take advantage of his tendency to strikeout.
It might take until 2015 for Thomas to ultimately sign, but the Yankees really need to go after this guy. They are already spending big on players that will accrue penalties, so they shouldn't let someone go who could not only cost much less, but would also be able to help the big league team much sooner.