New York

Yankees

No word yet on who else is getting bumped, but this is one of two roster spots the Yankees are freeing up, since both Clarke Schmidt and Ian Hamilton are coming off the IL on Saturday. Marinaccio has often drawn the short straw this season, spending the bulk of the year in Triple-A despite a reasonable 3.86 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. He has to be very excited to be running out of options with the conclusion of the season.

Gil’s velocity was down about two mph today after his brief absence due to a back strain, but it obviously didn’t cause him any problems. He still had 15 missed swings and a 31% CSW in the 89-pitch outing. The strong showing will probably quiet the calls to send him to the pen, at least for now. It’s still possible he’ll wind up there at the end of the month and in the postseason. Next up for him, though, will be a start Wednesday against the Royals.

A three-run lead would have made this an easy day for Aaron Boone to send Clay Holmes out to regain some confidence. Instead, Holmes remained in the pen, and Weaver finished things off after Jake Cousins and Tommy Kahnle set him up with scoreless innings. Weaver had some help from umpire Jordan Baker, who apparently wanted this one over with and gave him four free strikes to the three batters he retired. Weaver appears to be worth grabbing if you’re chasing saves.

Wells caught and hit cleanup today after missing the previous two games with a hand contusion.

Maciejewski was designated for assignment to make room for Anthony Rizzo on the Yankees 40-man roster. He allowed two runs and struck out seven batters in seven innings over four appearances with New York this year. Maciejewski will need to be added back to the 40-man roster before he can return to the majors. He’ll serve as minor league depth for the Yankees in the meantime.

While the Yankees can’t be blamed for choosing a win-now solution at this point in their contention window, it still remains puzzling that the organization is steadfast in its belief that Verdugo over Jasson Dominguez is the right choice. Verdugo is hardly having a great season. He’s hitting .235 with 11 home runs and 56 RBI. Dominguez is hitting .313 with an .868 OPS in 41 games at Triple-A. He gave the team a jolt in his brief stint in the majors last season with four home runs in eight games. Cashman reiterated to reporters that when Dominguez is called up he has to play everyday. Verdugo is in left field and batting ninth for Friday afternoon’s game against the Cubs.

Domínguez put the metaphorical cherry on top of an impressive three-hit performance by crushing a 413-foot moonshot to right field. The 21-year-old phenom has notched at least two hits in 10 of his last 16 contests. The Martian would most likely represent an offensive upgrade for New York over veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo and he’s certainly doing everything he can to force their hand. It’s time.

Poteet has been out since mid-June recovering from a triceps strain and figures to be an option for New York in a multi-inning relief role down the home stretch.

The team reported earlier this week that Gil was going to be activated to make the start on Friday against the Cubs, but now the move is official. Scott Effross was sent to Triple-A to make room.

Effross threw 23 pitches on Wednesday, and the Yankees needed to send a pitcher to the minors with Luis Gil set to be activated from the IL for Friday’s game, so Effross was their answer. The veteran has allowed two runs in two innings with the Yankees this season.