About Yesterday: A Windy City Win. Yankees 2, Cubs 0

About Yesterday: A Windy City Win. Yankees 2- Cubs 0

By Tim Kabel

August 1, 2026

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The Yankees bounced back from a pair of losses in extra-innings to the White Sox with a 2-0 shutout of the Cubs yesterday afternoon. Will Warren was dominant, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing no runs on four hits. He struck out seven and didn't walk anyone. Paul Blackburn also bounced back from his recent bad outing with 1.1 scoreless, hitless innings of relief. He struck out three. David Bednar earned his 23rd save.

On the offensive side, the Yankees didn't do a lot. They scored two runs on four hits, two of which were home runs. But it was enough. While it is a concern that the Yankees continue to put up anemic offensive numbers, if the pitching is good enough, they can still win. Unfortunately, that puts a lot of pressure on the pitchers. Of late, Warren had not been up to the challenge. Yesterday, he was.

One of the home runs came from Amed Rosario in the fourth inning. It was his tenth home run of the season. The other home run came from Spencer Jones in the 5th inning. It was his fourth of the year and it was off a left-handed pitcher. Normally, Jones doesn't even get to face left-handed pitchers.

It was a nice win and a good start to the series against the Cubs. The Yankees are now 5-3 on the road trip and are guaranteed of doing no worse than going.500 for the road trip. Since June 1st, the Yankees are 26-25. Although it is above .500, it is still mediocre. These days, everything has to go right for the Yankees to win a game. As we all know, things don't go right every day. The Yankees have very little margin for error at this point. They need to make some decisions about what to do with the roster as the trade deadline approaches.

Okay, there isn't much more to say about a 2-0 shutout. Let's turn our attention to the trade deadline. As you are reading this, there are two days left before the trade deadline which is at 6:00 PM on Monday. Almost every year, we think the Yankees are going to do a lot. Some years they do and some years they don't.

Let me give you my take on who will be moved and who won't. Let's start with the catching position and work our way around the field. Austin Wells has been hitting better lately but it's a case of too little, too late. He is batting .162 for the season with 7 home runs and 14 RBIs. The Yankees need a major upgrade at the catching position. In my opinion, it should be someone who is preferably a right-handed hitter and who will be with the team for a few years at least. It doesn't appear that the Twins are going to trade Ryan Jeffers. Honestly, I would not have wanted the Yankees to get him. He would cost a lot in prospects, and he will be a free agent at the end of the year. These days there are no guarantees that the Yankees will re-sign or sign any free agents. Years ago, it was a foregone conclusion that if the Yankees wanted someone, they would sign him. Now, it is touch and go right down to the last minute. More often than not, the Yankees come up short. Ideally, I would like to see the Yankees acquire Hunter Goodman. That will cost a lot in prospects. Now, if they acquire Goodman, Wells needs to go. The Yankees cannot have him functioning as a backup. I'm sure he would say the right things and would attempt to handle it well but there would be pitchers who would prefer to pitch to him, and it could become a nightmare. A clean break would be the best thing. If they do acquire Goodman or another right-handed hitting catcher, Ali Sanchez could be sent to the minors and J C Escarra could be recalled to be the backup.

Ben Rice is on the verge of becoming a star and needs to be part of the present and the future for this team. He's not going anywhere. Paul Goldschmidt should stay for the rest of this season as either a first baseman or a DH. He can also be a solid right-handed pinch hitter. The problem is that he needs to be used in moderation so that he doesn't wear down. 

There are rumors that the Yankees are looking to possibly acquire a second baseman. They have been linked to Luis Arraez of the Giants and either or both Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez of the Marlins. If the Yankees acquired Lopez, they could move one of their own shortstops to second base. I think the Yankees need to make several trades.

Arraez would be much less expensive than either Lopez or Edward and the Yankees don't have unlimited resources to trade. Now, if the Yankees do acquire Arraez, they need to immediately trade Jazz Chisholm, Junior. It would be a nightmare to have him on the team with Arraez becoming the second baseman. They could potentially get some prospects back for Jazz to replenish their farm system after any other deals they make.

When it comes to shortstop, the Yankees currently have Jose Caballero as the nominal starting shortstop. However, Anthony Volpe sneaks his way in there fairly often. They also have George Lombard, Junior looming in Scranton. There has been a lot of folks clamoring to bring him up once the dust settles from the trade deadline. I endorse that idea. Caballero can play other roles on this team and is a very useful player. He is not a superstar. He can also be a pain in the neck. But he is talented. Now that he is limited in playing his mind games with the pitchers as far as engagement goes, he will be less of a headache hopefully. I think Volpe needs to be traded. He can be part of a package for one of the major players the Yankees acquire.

Ryan McMahon is not the answer at third base. He is batting.207 for the year with 9 home runs and 26 RBI. Everyone talks about his outstanding defense. It is not good enough to make up for his offensive inadequacies. If he were on a team that could carry his anemic production that would be a different story. But with several other players not hitting well, the Yankees can't afford to keep him. He should be traded for whatever the Yankees can get. It probably won't be much. It certainly won't equal what they traded for him last year, but he needs to go. He is not someone the Yankees can keep around as a pinch hitter. Like Volpe, he might be part of a package for something larger. Once McMahon is traded, Caballero could take over as the everyday third baseman at least for the rest of this season. Oswaldo Cabrera could be recalled to be the backup at several positions.

The Yankees should also promote George Lombard Junior to be the starting shortstop for the rest of this season and moving forward. It is time. He is already a superior defender to Volpe, and he should be here. At the very least, he will get his feet wet so that next year will not be as much of an adjustment for him.

Turning to the outfield, with Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger on the shelf, the outfield has been depleted. It is unclear when either Bellinger or Judge will return. There has been a lot made about the Yankees needing to trade either Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones. Some people have even suggested that the Yankees trade them both. I don't think they can do that because there aren't that many options out there that would be much better, and those options would cost resources that the Yankees don't necessarily have.

I believe that Spencer Jones playing against Shota Imanaga yesterday was partially to showcase him. I think that was a good idea. However, I think it should have showcased him to the Yankees. What I'm about to write will probably shock a lot of people. It will probably even shock me. I am bracing myself as I write it. I think the Yankees should keep Spencer Jones and trade Jasson Dominguez. Now, I have made it clear over the past couple of years that I love Jasson Dominguez. I do. I just think that Jones has the greater potential to be a star. Yes, he strikes out a lot. However, he has been getting better in the Major Leagues with increased opportunities to play. I think the Yankees could use Dominguez as part of a package to acquire Hunter Goodman or Mason Miller. That being said, the Yankees will still need some depth in the outfield while waiting for Cody Bellinger and possibly Aaron Judge.

Trent Grisham has reverted to his pre-2025 form. He is batting .214 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs. I know he had 2 hits on Thursday, but he had a total of 14 hits in July. I counted them twice to make sure I didn't miss one. He accumulated those hits in 85 at bats. That is a .165 batting average. Grisham will be a free agent at the end of the year. Under no circumstances should the Yankees bring him back. If they can pick up an outfield prospect in exchange for Jazz Chisholm or Anthony Volpe, they should do that and trade Grisham. If not, he can simply stay there for the rest of the season. Maybe another team thinks that they can catch lightning in a bottle and Grisham can get on a hot streak and be productive down the stretch toward the playoffs. If the Yankees keep Spencer Jones, but trade Dominguez, they will either need to keep Grisham or replace him, hopefully with a younger outfield prospect. Regardless, the Yankees will need to fill an outfield spot with either Max Schuemann or Amed Rosario or someone from the minors until Cody Bellinger returns.

While I think that Spencer Jones’ performance over the season and particularly what he did in yesterday's game should sway the Yankees to keep him, I think I do not feel the same way regarding Will Warren. Unless the Yankees totally collapse, they will make the playoffs. The four starters in the rotation during the playoffs will most likely be Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon. That makes either or both Will Warren and Ryan Weathers expendable. There are teams looking for controllable young starters. In particular, the Padres are reportedly looking for a young starter in exchange for Mason Miller and the Rockies may be similarly inclined in order to trade Hunter Goodman. I think that Warren would be the better choice to trade. That doesn't mean that I think necessarily that Ryan Weathers is a better pitcher than Will Warren. I don't. However, I don't think Brian Cashman wants to trade away Ryan Weathers after just acquiring him for four prospects in the spring. Also, whichever of the two pitchers is not traded would most likely go to the bullpen down the stretch and into the playoffs. I think Weathers might be better suited for that as Warren struggled in that role last year in the playoffs and on the one attempt he made recently. Consequently, Will Warren's outstanding effort yesterday may have punched his ticket out of town.

As far as the bullpen is concerned, if the Yankees do acquire Mason Miller, they can shift David Bednar into a set-up role. However, he will be a free agent at the end of the year. It is possible that he may want to stay with the Yankees. That remains to be seen. There are also rumors that the Yankees are interested in reuniting with Luke Weaver. If they did that, they could trade Bednar for prospects, perhaps including a young outfielder. Trading Bednar is not a necessity and should only be done if they can acquire Weaver or someone else without surrendering too many prospects. The Yankees should also include Jake Bird and Camilo Doval in trades as they are not reliable pitchers and could use a fresh start.

There are a lot of moving parts to what I just proposed. There are also several minor league prospects who will need to be included in the trades. Dax Kilby, Elmer Rodriguez, and Carlos Lagrange may have to be traded away. There are other prospects who might need to go as well. The Yankees have done this over the years. I don't necessarily have a problem with it as long as they are being used to acquire players who will be with the Yankees for more than just two months.

We have two days to see what the Yankees do. Maybe they will do some of the things I suggested. Maybe they will do none of them. Maybe they will reacquire Frankie Montas and Austin Slater. Who knows? Maybe they will trade Spencer Jones for the modern-day equivalent of Ken Phelps. Anything is possible. Those are my thoughts on what the Yankees should do. What are yours?

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Today, the Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Cubs at 7:15 PM at Wrigley Field. Max Fried, (4-3, 3.23 ERA) will pitch for the Yankees. David Peterson, (6-7, 5.80 ERA) will pitch for the Cubs.