MLB Trade Rumors and News: Yankees roster takes another hit with Judge to the IL

The MLB Daily Dish is a daily feature we’re running here at MLBDD that rounds up roster-impacting news, rumors, and analysis. Have feedback or have something that should be the shared? Hit us up at @mlbdailydish on Twitter or @MLBDailyDish on Instagram.

• Say it ain’t so, Yankees fans. Aaron Judge has suffered a ‘significant’ oblique strain and will miss time on the injured list. So wait...who is even left on the team? Oh my goodness, it’s Jacoby Ellsbury. This has been his plan all along.
• Good news, Cleveland fans! Francisco Lindor has been activated from the IL a lot sooner than thought. The catch? Cleveland has designated Hanley Ramirez for assignment, but that feels like a small price to pay for the All-Star infielder to be back in action.
• Oakland has gotten a steady amount of power production out of Khris Davis over the last couple of seasons and he is off to a hot start in 2019. Recognizing this, the Athletics inked Davis to a two year, $33.5 million deal.
• The White Sox’s Tim Anderson had perhaps one of the best bat flips of the year after hitting a home run against the Royals on Wednesday, but it also led to a benches-clearing brawl in the sixth inning.
• After been designated for assignment but Boston last week and sent out into the great waiver pasture, the Diamondbacks have acquired Blake Swihart. Also part of the deal for Arizona was some international bonus pool money in exchange for outfielder Marcus Wilson. Sounds like a steal, if I do say so myself.
• To your prayer circles, rosaries, or sacrificial alters, Mets’ fans: Jacob deGrom was scheduled to have an MRI on his right elbow on Saturday after he complained to Mickey Callaway about the joint “barking”, but the idea was canned after the young pitcher felt fine after receiving some treatment and having a catch. So basically, whatever all of you are doing and whoever you’re praying to, keep doing that because it’s working.
• Blake Snell has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured toe. Thankfully for the Rays, he’s expected to miss just one start, but losing a reigning Cy Young winner for any length of time is a disappointment no matter what. To make matters worse, Snell apparently suffered the injury while trying to move a decorative stand in his bathroom after getting out of the shower.
• In the latest unfortunate development in the sad story that has become Greg Bird’s career, the left-handed hitting first baseman will miss an indefinite period of time after suffering a left plantar fascia tear. Luke Voit and Mike Ford will hold down first base in his absence.
• The Braves inked another one of their young stars to an extremely team-friendly deal, as Ozzie Albies signed a seven-year, $35 million extension with two club options. This deal has raised a ton of eyebrows across the league, to say the least.
• Now that the Cardinals already locked up Paul Goldschmidt for the forseeable future, they turned their eyes to Matt Carpenter and agreed to terms with him on an extension that will keep him in St. Louis until at least 2021 with a vesting option for 2022. His option vests if he its 1,100 plate appearances total between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
• This Yu Darvish fastball hit a dude’s beans at 99 MPH, then took out the umpire.
• Most Yankees fans’ expectations for Luis Severino had already been lowered substantially after he was shut down with a shoulder injury during spring training. They dropped down another notch earlier this month, as the team announced that the 24-year-old starter won’t start throwing again for at least six more weeks due to a new injury — a Grade 2 lat strain.
• Our own Andersen Pickard writes that MLB’s decision to shorten mid-inning breaks could have serious consequences for the league from a business standpoint.
• The Braves reached a deal with their 21-year-old franchise cornerstone that could keep him Atlanta for the next decade, announcing a new eight-year, $100 million contract for Ronald Acuna Jr. that contains two club options. If the Earth is still spinning by that point and the Braves pick up both of those options, he has the chance to remain in ATL through the 2028 season. So now that Acuña is a Brave for the long haul, how will Atlanta build around him?
• We can’t stop being reminded of Christian Yelich and just ho freaking dominant this guy is.
• Randal Grichuk became arguably the most unlikely player yet to receive a lucrative long-term extension this spring, agreeing to a new five-year, $52 million deal with the Blue Jays.
• In hopes of fixing their absolute mess of an outfield situation, the Giants acquired Kevin Pillar from Toronto in exchange for a three-player package that included recently-DFA’d infielder Alen Hanson and reliever Derek Law plus pitching prospect Juan De Paula.
• Here’s a hot serving of truth: The unwritten rules of baseball will never “let the kids play”.
• Not only is MLB implementing some rule changes over the next couple of years, but they are also workshopping other changes in the independent Atlantic League to see how things work or don’t work. Our own Stephen Tolbert took a look at these potential changes to see what impacts they could have on games.
• While it seems like a clear-cut, no-brainer deal for almost any team in need of a pitcher, Stephen Tolbert breaks down the tricky part about signing Dallas Keuchel.
• Let’s take a moment to be shocked and surprised: MLB’s revised roster rules could end up punishing the players. That’s thanks to a new limit on pitchers — while it’s yet to be confirmed, multiple reports have stated that come 2020, teams will only be allowed to carry 13 pitchers on their big-league roster — and a significant reduction on September call-ups.