Daily News | Gary Phillips: Outfielder Spencer Jones was placed on the seven-day IL with an intercostal injury, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed Wednesday. Boone was able to provide little more information, indicating he was unsure how the injury occurred or how long it was likely to keep Jones out of action. The Yankees’ number-two prospect had been performing well at Double-A to start the year, getting on base at a .372 clip while swatting nine home runs.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: In better injury news, Giancarlo Stanton indicated his first live BP Tuesday went well, a key step on his road back from his ailing tennis elbows. He saw 10 pitches during the session, which came against reliever Jake Cousins, who’s working back from an elbow injury of his own. Given he won’t need to get up to speed in the field, the Yankees DH and his manager both indicated he may not need a rehab stint before returning from the IL. Stanton is first eligible to return on May 27th.

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MLB.com | Thomas Harrigan: How has the Yankees’ offense gotten off to such a hot start, leading baseball with 60 homers? One reason is simple — crushing fastballs. The Yankees slugged .603 against heaters in March and April, the highest in the season’s opening month since pitch tracking was introduced in 2008. They’ve spread the love around, too, destroying cutters, four-seamer, and sinkers alike. While, of course, Aaron Judge leads the way, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice are each top-10 in baseball in slugging against fastballs. The Orioles and Rays had some success throwing more off-speed pitches to the Bombers in recent series; time will tell if that tactic proves successful in the long run.

Yahoo Sports | Jake Elman: Reliever Jonathan Loáisiga’s rehab assignment was shifted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Wednesday, the next step in a long recovery process from elbow surgery that limited him to four innings in 2024. Barring a setback, the 30-year-old, who allowed one run in 3.1 rehab innings at Low-A Tampa, should be ready to rejoin an embattled Yankees’ bullpen in the near future. The Nicaragua native has spent parts of seven seasons in pinstripes, including a breakout 2021 in which he pitched to a 2.17 ERA in 70.2 innings.

FanGraphs | Michael Baumann: With the Yankees leading the league in several major offensive categories to start the year, Baumann makes the case that, next to the Herculean efforts of Aaron Judge, the offense’s success has come on the strength of a breakout from Ben Rice. He outlines how the fringe catching prospect has developed into an elite hitter, using an exceptionally open stance to develop a dynamic combination of bat speed and plate discipline. Considering the peripherals supporting his hot start, it seems Rice is less a flash in the pan (akin to Mike Ford, Greg Bird, and Tyler Austin) and more a sustainably excellent big-league hitter.

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