Yankees news: Boone has no plans to bench DJ LeMahieu.

Boone resolved to continue teasing LeMahieu; trade targets for third base at the deadline; Stanton’s return schedule Revisions to the Soto extension discussions Cody Morris categorically

Dan Martin of the New York Post: Aaron Boone does not intend to bench DJ LeMahieu in spite of his severe at-bat difficulties. LeMahieu, according to Boone, has earned the right to continue playing:

“We need to continue tracking him down and find out.” He deserves it, and given our current roster situation, we must give him the chance to establish himself. And if we succeed in doing so, we’ll know we have a really talented player on our hands. He will keep receiving opportunities here.

Setting aside the debate over how precisely LeMahieu “earned” the right to continue struggling, it’s a ridiculous position for a team that has made clear that it wants to win a championship to allow a damaged veteran to continue damaging the team with no sign that things will ever get better. LeMahieu’s.472 OPS is the fifth lowest among hitters with at least 140 plate appearances, and his.149 wOBA versus pitches over the middle of the plate puts him far and away worst

Chris Kirschner | The Athletic ($): There are other trade candidates the Yankees might look at, should they decide to make the inevitable realization that it is not sustainable to continue providing LeMahieu playing time. The two most alluring choices are also the most implausible: Matt Chapman because of the draft selection the Giants gave up to sign him over the winter, and Isaac Paredes because of the Yankees and Rays’ intra-division animosity.

The next-best choice is the Angels’ Luis Rengifo, but to be honest, I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. He has an unsustainable high BABIP and the sixth-highest gap between wOBA and xwOBA, which is very predictive of an impending sharp decline in performance. Then, in an ironic move, Kirschner suggests that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a viable third base prospect. The Yankees don’t have to go back down that route, even though he does have a 117 wRC+ with the Blue Jays.

Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media: In an update on his recuperation from a hamstring strain, Giancarlo Stanton stated that he and the organization would decide by the end of the following week if he is prepared to rejoin the Major League squad right away or if he has to play a few games in the lower leagues. Stanton is not guaranteed a MiLB rehab assignment because he is a full-time DH and does not require field reps. With Stanton having 18 home runs, 45 RBI, and the third-best wRC+ (124) among starters on offense, his return would be a major boost to the lineup. Stanton has been on the injured list for about a month, with the team going 7-14 during that time.

Matt Lavine of Newsweek: Although it was reasonable to speculate that the Yankees front office would use the All-Star break as an opportunity to resume talks with Scott Boras and Juan Soto about extensions, the two parties haven’t spoken recently. Though Soto has expressed his happiness in New York on multiple occasions, it has always seemed likely that he will test free agency. As such, don’t bet on him giving the Yankees a discount. The 25-year-old superstar is having a walk-off season to remember, with 23 home runs, the league’s third-highest wRC+ (184) and fourth-highest fWAR (5.8).

NBA Trade Speculation | Nick Deeds: On Saturday, the Yankees declared that Cody Morris, a right-handed reliever, had been outright sent to Triple-A. He was marked for assignment in order to provide space on the 40-man roster for Scott Effross. Morris, 27, was traded to the Yankees by the Guardians for Estevan Florial during the offseason, but he has yet to play in the major leagues. In 36 innings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he has struck out 42 batters, but his 16 percent walk rate renders him useless in the majors.