According to every trade deadline rumor going down to the wire, from "soft buy" to "desperate for relievers," the Yankees seem intent on building a team that can mix and match in a way that makes sense from Aug. 1 forward. Unfortunately, those intentions can't prevent the rest of July from feeling like an interminable slog; with or without the injured Aaron Judge, this team can't seem to match its run prevention with its run scoring. Nothing ever lines up, and their almost-league-worst record since mid-June has been well earned.
Despite widespread season-ending surgery fears, the Yankees instead changed the narrative on Saturday by announcing that Judge was suffering from a flexor strain, and might even return to DH duties in the minimum 10 days.