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NEW YORK — Zack Britton might have played his last game in pinstripes Friday night, as the New York Yankees returned the veteran left-handed reliever to the injured list after he struggled in his attempt to come back early from Tommy John surgery.

After being removed from New York’s 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles the night before because of left arm fatigue, manager Aaron Boone announced Saturday morning that Britton would go back on the injured list, in effect ending his 2022 season just over a week after he was activated off the IL.

“He’s doing pretty well, actually. Basically, it’s just something that we are kind of running out of time here,” Boone explained. “And having a little bit of fatigue last night, it’s one of those things that you don’t want to power through that and reach for more and then do some damage. He’s in a good spot heading into the offseason, so just continuing with that.”

Britton, who has 154 career saves in 11 major league seasons with the Yankees and Orioles, is eligible for free agency after the World Series. The southpaw went through a taxing rehab in his attempt to return to play less than a year after undergoing left elbow reconstruction surgery and having a bone chip removed Sept. 9, 2021. Britton was activated from the 60-day injured list Sept. 22.

Boone restated before the Saturday game against Baltimore that the elbow checked out fine and he praised Britton’s determination in his comeback attempt.

“I’m just appreciative of how hard he’s worked to get to this point, to give himself a chance, obviously, coming back quick by Tommy John’s standards,” Boone said. “The rehab’s gone really well. It’s just that final sharpness, and at this point in the season he’s just kind of up against [the clock] there. He worked his tail off to put himself in this position and give himself an opportunity and I certainly admire that.”

Britton and the Yankees are already engaged in preliminary conversations about a possible return to the team next season, sources told ESPN. He is in the final season of a three-year, $39 million deal with New York.

The Yankees selected Jacob Barnes’ contract and he will take Britton’s spot in the bullpen, but that will likely be a short-term solution for the team, which expects the return of several bullpen arms soon. Wandy Peralta (back), Miguel Castro (shoulder) and Albert Abreu (elbow) could be options for the Yankees for their last regular-season series, a four-game set against the Texas Rangers in Arlington that begins Monday.

Boone added that the Yankees will finish out the regular season one man short in the pen because they will keep Clay Holmes off the IL in order for him to be postseason-eligible. Holmes has been shut down for several days with right rotator cuff inflammation, for which he received a cortisone shot Thursday. Boone said Holmes won’t pitch again until the American League Division Series starts Oct. 11.

“Based on the injury, I think it’ll be a week of no-throw. I think we’re day five right now. So, he should start to ramp up early this week,” Boone said. “If that goes well, that should put him in line to be in play for the division series.”

Holmes said Friday night that the situation was “nothing too worrisome” and that working out at the Yankees’ alternate site will be enough for him to be postseason-ready.

“Some rest and build back up, and things will be good there for the division series,” Holmes said.

With the three-game wild-card format in its inaugural postseason, the Yankees will have five days off heading into the ALDS. They now have a plan in place for an alternate workout site to keep hitters and pitchers game-ready, hosted by the Somerset Patriots, the club’s Double-A affiliate.

“We have the alternate site lined up, where we have I think eight or nine pitchers. They’ll work out and kind of house in Somerset,” Boone explained. “On the days they’re scheduled to go we’ll have live pitchers there to go along with our own pitchers that will get into some live scenarios probably as well. Friday, Saturday, Sunday [Oct. 7-9] will be a lot of live scenarios for hitters and for pitchers. We have a pretty good plan laid out to try and keep guys sharp.”

One of the hitters who will probably benefit the most from the alternate site is Matt Carpenter. He is close to being fully recovered from the left foot fracture he suffered during an at-bat in Seattle on Aug. 9 and has progressed enough that he expects to be an option for the Yankees as they close out the season in Arlington. Carpenter, a Texas native, lives in nearby Fort Worth.

Boone said he hopes Carpenter will be an available bat off the bench in the postseason. Carpenter has been hitting in the cage and taking live batting practice this week.

“That’s exciting to think about,” Boone said about the possibility of Carpenter being a part of the postseason roster. “He’s doing really well. The hitting is going well. And he ran on the field today. And with the week ahead and what we have lined up, pitching-wise, with the offsite. Hopefully, he should be able to rack up a lot of live at-bats over the next week or 10 days to put himself in a good spot basis. Hitting has gone really well. Running today, I know that went well, so he’s in a pretty good place.”

Carpenter agreed to a one-year contract with the Yankees at the end of May, a week after he was released from the Rangers’ minor league system. In 47 games with the Yankees, Carpenter was one of their biggest contributors at the plate, hitting .305 with 19 homers, 35 RBIs and a 1.138 OPS.

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Ichiro shows funny side, joins CC, Wagner in HOF

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Ichiro shows funny side, joins CC, Wagner in HOF

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player to be enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, one of five new members of baseball’s hallowed institution.

After enduring the baseball tradition known as a rain delay, the five speeches went off without a hitch as the deluge subsided and the weather became hot and humid. Joining Suzuki were pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, and sluggers Dick Allen and Dave Parker, both of whom were enshrined posthumously.

“For the third time, I am a rookie,” Suzuki said, delivering his comments in English despite his long preference for conducting his public appearances in Japanese with the aid of an interpreter.

For the American audience, this provided a rare glimpse into Suzuki’s playful side. Teammates long spoke of his sense of humor behind the closed doors of the clubhouse — something the public rarely saw — but it was on full display Sunday.

When Hall voting was announced, Suzuki fell one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous selection for the Hall. He thanked the writers for their support — with an exception.

“Three-thousand [career] hits or 262 hits in one season are achievements recognized by the writers,” Suzuki said. “Except, oh, one of you.”

After the laughter subsided, Suzuki mentioned the gracious comments he made when balloting results were announced, when he offered to invite the writer who didn’t vote for him home for dinner to learn his reasoning. Turns out, it’s too late.

“The offer to the one writer to have dinner at my home has now … expired!” Suzuki said.

Suzuki’s attention to detail and unmatched work ethic have continued into the present day, more than five years since he played his last big league game. That was central to his message Sunday, at least when he wasn’t landing a joke.

“If you consistently do the little things, there’s no limit to what you can achieve,” Suzuki said. “Look at me. I’m 5-11 and 170 pounds. When I came to America, many people said I was too skinny to compete with bigger major leaguers.”

After becoming one of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball, hitting .353 over nine seasons for the Orix BlueWave, Suzuki exploded on the scene as a 27-year-old rookie for the Seattle Mariners, batting .350 and winning the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Chants of “Ichiro!” that once were omnipresent at Mariners games erupted from the crowd sprawled across the grounds of the complex while the all-time single-season hits leader (262 in 2004) posed with his plaque alongside commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark.

Despite his late start in MLB, Suzuki finished with 3,089 hits in the majors and 4,367 including his time in Japan. Suzuki listed some of his feats, such as the hit total, and his 10 Gold Gloves.

“Not bad,” he said.

Sabathia’s weekend got off to a mildly rough start when his wife’s car broke down shortly after the family caravan departed for Cooperstown. They arrived in plenty of time though, and Sabathia was greeted warmly by numerous Yankees fans who made the trip.

After breaking in with Cleveland at age 20, Sabathia rocketed to stardom with a 17-5 rookie season. Alas, that came in 2001, the same year that Suzuki landed in the American League.

“Thank you most of all to the great players sitting behind me,” Sabathia said. “I am so proud and humbled to join you as a Hall of Famer, even Ichiro, who stole my Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.”

Sabathia focused the bulk of his comments on the support he has received over the years from his friends and family, especially his wife, Amber.

“The first time we met was at a house party when I was a junior in high school,” Sabathia said. “We spent the whole night talking, and that conversation has been going on for 29 years.”

Parker, 74, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on June 28, less than a month before the induction ceremony. Representing him at the dais was his son, Dave Parker II, and though the moment was bittersweet, it was hardly somber.

Parker II finished the speech with a moving poem written by his father that, for a few minutes, made it feel as if the player nicknamed “The Cobra” were present.

“Thanks for staying by my side,” Parker’s poem concluded. “I told y’all Cooperstown would be my last rap, so the star of Dave will be in the sky tonight. Watch it glow. But I didn’t lie in my documentary — I told you I wouldn’t show.”

Parker finished with 2,712 hits and 339 homers, won two Gold Gloves on the strength of his legendary right-field arm and was named NL MVP in 1978. He spent his first 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and entered the Hall representing the Bucs.

Wagner, whose 422 career saves ranks eighth on the all-time list, delivered an emotional but humorous speech about a small-town guy with a small-for-a-pitcher 5-foot-10 stature who made it big.

“I feel like my baseball life has come full circle,” Wagner said. “I was a fan before I could play. Back when baseball wasn’t so available on TV, every Saturday morning I watched Johnny Bench and so many of the other greats on a show ‘The Baseball Bunch.'”

In one of the moments of baseball serendipity that only Cooperstown can provide, the telecast flashed to Bench, sitting a few feet away from where Wagner was speaking.

Allen’s widow, Willa, delivered a touching tribute to her late husband, who died in 2020 after years of feeling overlooked for his outstanding career. The 1964 NL Rookie of the Year for the Phillies, Allen won the 1972 AL MVP for the Chicago White Sox.

“Baseball was his first love,” Willa said. “He used to say, ‘I’d have played for nothing,’ and I believe he meant it. But of course, if you compare today’s salary, he played almost for nothing.”

Willa focused on the softer side of a player who in his time was perhaps unfairly characterized for a contentious relationship with the media.

“He was devoted to people, not just fans, but especially his teammates,” Willa said. “If he heard someone was sick or going through a tough time, he’ll turn to me and say, ‘Willa, they have to hear from us.'”

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Braves get starting pitcher Fedde from Cardinals

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Braves get starting pitcher Fedde from Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves acquired veteran starting pitcher Erick Fedde from the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash, both teams announced Sunday.

As part of the deal, the Cardinals will cover the majority of what remains of Fedde’s $7.5 million salary for 2025, a source told ESPN.

Fedde, 32, is a free agent at season’s end, making him a surprising pickup for a Braves team that was swept by the Texas Rangers over the weekend and is 16 games below .500, trailing the first-place New York Mets by 16½ games.

But the Braves have sustained a slew of injuries to their starting rotation of late, with AJ Smith-Shawver (torn ulnar collateral ligament), Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured elbow), Chris Sale (fractured ribcage) and, more recently, Grant Holmes (elbow inflammation) landing on the injured list since the start of June.

Fedde reestablished himself in South Korea in 2023, parlaying a dominant season into a two-year, $15 million contract to return stateside with the Chicago White Sox. Fedde continued that success in 2024, posting a 3.30 ERA in 177⅓ innings with the White Sox and Cardinals.

This year, though, it has been a struggle for a crafty right-hander who doesn’t generate a lot of strikeouts. Twenty starts in, Fedde is 3-10 with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

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Dodgers go to 6-man rotation amid Ohtani return

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Dodgers go to 6-man rotation amid Ohtani return

BOSTON — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to start on the mound Wednesday as he continues his buildup from elbow surgery that kept him from pitching all last season.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before the Dodgers faced the Boston Red Sox in the finale of their three-game series that the plan is for Ohtani to work four innings at Cincinnati, with an off day to recover before hitting in a game.

With the Japanese superstar working his way back along with left-hander Blake Snell, who pitched 4⅔ innings on Saturday in his fourth rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers will be using a six-man rotation.

They currently have Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan in the rotation.

“Shohei is going to go on Wednesday and then he’ll probably pitch the following Wednesday, so that probably lends itself to the six-man,” Roberts said.

In Ohtani’s last start, he allowed one run and four hits in three innings against Minnesota on July 22. He struck out three and walked one, throwing 46 pitches, 30 for strikes.

Roberts said this season is sort of a rehab year in the big leagues and doesn’t foresee the team extending Ohtani’s workload deep into games for a while.

“I think this whole year on the pitching side is sort of rehab, maintenance,” he said. “We’re not going to have the reins off where we’re going to say: ‘Hey you can go 110 pitches.’ I don’t see that happening for quite some time. I think that staying at four [innings] for a bit, then build up to five and we’ll see where we can go from there.”

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