This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy Baseball series.
Boston Red Sox (6-15) at New York Yankees (14-6)
Sunday, August 16th, 7:08 PM ET
Projected Starters
RHP Chris Mazza (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP J.A. Happ (0-1, 10.29 ERA)
Game Preview
The Yankees have been one of the teams in the American League this season and, with one-third of the season already completed, it's safe to say they have the look of a potential playoff team. The same can't be said about the Red Sox, however, as they've stumbled to a 6-15 record and might already be planning their 2021 season and beyond. To make things more complicated, Boston will send right-hander Chris Mazza to the mound in what'll be the first start of his MLB career – it's never easy to pitch in Yankee Stadium, let alone if you haven't done it before as a starter. The Yankees will start lefty J.A. Happ, who has struggled to start the season but could benefit from Boston's offensive struggles. The veteran already said he will be more aggressive Sunday, and that could lead to a higher strikeout count.
Injuries
Boston Red Sox
Andrew Benintendi - 10-Day IL - Ribs
8/12 9:28 PM EST - Benintendi (ribs) is expected to spend more than the 10-day minimum on the injured list, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. The 26-year-old landed on the IL earlier in the day with a strained right rib cage, and the severity of the strain will apparently require him to be sidelined for more than 10
Boston Red Sox (6-15) at New York Yankees (14-6)
Sunday, August 16th, 7:08 PM ET
Projected Starters
RHP Chris Mazza (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP J.A. Happ (0-1, 10.29 ERA)
Game Preview
The Yankees have been one of the teams in the American League this season and, with one-third of the season already completed, it's safe to say they have the look of a potential playoff team. The same can't be said about the Red Sox, however, as they've stumbled to a 6-15 record and might already be planning their 2021 season and beyond. To make things more complicated, Boston will send right-hander Chris Mazza to the mound in what'll be the first start of his MLB career – it's never easy to pitch in Yankee Stadium, let alone if you haven't done it before as a starter. The Yankees will start lefty J.A. Happ, who has struggled to start the season but could benefit from Boston's offensive struggles. The veteran already said he will be more aggressive Sunday, and that could lead to a higher strikeout count.
Injuries
Boston Red Sox
Andrew Benintendi - 10-Day IL - Ribs
8/12 9:28 PM EST - Benintendi (ribs) is expected to spend more than the 10-day minimum on the injured list, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. The 26-year-old landed on the IL earlier in the day with a strained right rib cage, and the severity of the strain will apparently require him to be sidelined for more than 10 days. Benintendi should be considered out indefinitely until the team provides a more specific recovery timeline. Alex Verdugo, Jackie Bradley and Kevin Pillar should handle to bulk of the outfield work for the Red Sox.
Darwinzon Hernandez - Covid-19 - Not Injury Related
8/13 4:12 PM EST - Hernandez (not injury related) could be activated following this weekend's series against the Yankees according to manager Ron Roenicke, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. Hernandez has been getting stretched out at Boston's alternate training site after missing a chunk of summer camp due to a positive COVID-19 test. The left-hander has been mentioned as a possible rotation option once he joins the big-league club, so it's possible he could start a game for the Red Sox as early as next week.
Collin McHugh - Out - Opt Out
7/19 1:49 PM EST - McHugh (elbow) opted out of the 2020 season since his recovery hasn't progressed like he had hoped, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports. The 33-year-old has been working his way back from an elbow injury and was already ruled out for the start of the season, but he was apparently expected to be on the injured list for a significant portion of the shortened campaign. As a result, McHugh decided his time would be better spent at home with his family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dustin Pedroia - 60-Day IL - Knee
4/15 9:25 AM EST - Manager Ron Roenicke said Tuesday that Pedroia (knee) is "not at a point where he's thinking about trying to be ready" to resume training with the Red Sox, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports. The Red Sox won't be allowed to get together for workouts until Major League Baseball clears them to do so, but based on Roenicke's comments, it doesn't sound as though Pedroia is a serious candidate to rejoin Boston when training resumes. After appearing in just nine MLB games since 2018 while contending with multiple setbacks with his surgically repaired left knee, the 36-year-old Pedroia looks increasingly more likely to retire rather than resuming his playing career.
Eduardo Rodriguez - Covid-19 - Illness
8/1 1:50 PM EST - The Red Sox announced Saturday that Rodriguez (illness) will not pitch this season, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. Rodriguez developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, as a result of his battle with COVID-19. Strenuous activity is unsafe for his heart at the moment, and a recent examination indicated that's not expected to change soon enough for him to pitch at any point this year. The team remains hopeful that he'll make a full recovery and will be able to pitch next season.
Chris Sale - 60-Day IL - Elbow
8/12 3:22 PM EST - Sale (elbow) is expected to resume throwing in two or three weeks, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. Sale is slowly but surely working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. The lefty is set to miss the entire 2020 campaign and some of the 2021 season while rehabbing.
Josh Taylor - Covid-19 - Not Injury Related
8/13 10:25 AM EST - Manager Ron Roenicke said Taylor (not injury related) "has a chance" to return this weekend in New York, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports. Taylor has been building up at the team's alternate training site after missing most of summer camp due to a positive COVID-19 test. Once he's cleared to return, the lefty -- who posted a 3.04 ERA and 62:16 K:BB in 47.1 innings last season -- should settle into the back end of Boston's bullpen.
New York Yankees
Aroldis Chapman - Covid-19 - Illness
8/15 11:14 AM EST - Chapman (COVID-19) could join the active roster as soon as Sunday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. Chapman unofficially threw 25 pitches in a simulated game Friday and topped out at 98 mph, per Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune. The sim game was the second this week for the veteran closer, who has yet to pitch in a regular-season game in 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19 during summer camp. Despite Zack Britton's success in the closer role, Chapman is expected to slide back into ninth-inning duties immediately upon his return.
Domingo German - Suspension - Suspension
7/18 4:22 PM EST - German (suspension) will not be retiring, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. German announced in a somewhat cryptic Instagram post Friday that he was stepping away from baseball. He's since deleted that post and provided another one, in which he apologized for the "unsettling post," explaining that he let his emotions get the best of him after being forced to watch his teammates get ready for the season from afar. German will miss the entirety of the season as well as the first three games of next year while serving a domestic-violence suspension.
Kyle Higashioka - 10-Day IL - Oblique
8/8 8:41 AM EST - Higashioka was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right oblique strain. Higashioka's last start came Wednesday, but he apparently suffered an oblique injury during the contest. To take his place as the backup catcher behind Gary Sanchez for the time being, the Yankees signed Erik Kratz to a major-league contract. It's unclear how much time Higashioka will miss.
Kyle Holder - Day-To-Day - Hip
7/19 11:55 AM EST - Holder (hip/stomach) was assigned to the Yankees' alternate training site Saturday. Holder's reassignment came on the same day that he underwent a series of tests due to discomfort in his hip and stomach area. The 26-year-old was not expected to make the Yankees' initial 30-man active roster, though a callup this year is not out of the question if he's able to overcome the injury concern.
Aaron Judge - 10-Day IL - Calf
8/14 2:26 PM EST - Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a mild calf strain, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports. Judge was reportedly dealing with simple "lower-body tightness," but the issue is apparently worse than that and is severe enough for him to miss at least 10 days. The Yankees don't appear to be overly concerned about the issue, describing the strain as at worst Grade 1, but there's little sense in pushing things with their oft-injured star in a season in which 16 teams make the playoffs. Mike Tauchman and Clint Frazier should see an increase in playing time in his absence.
Tommy Kahnle - 60-Day IL - Elbow
8/6 11:17 AM EST - Kahnle (elbow) was transferred to the 45-day injured list Thursday. He opted for Tommy John surgery earlier this week. Given the timing of the injury, it will take a very smooth recovery for Kahnle to return in 2021. Next year is his final year under club control, so it's possible the Yankees will non-tender him at some point in the next year.
DJ LeMahieu - Day-To-Day - Thumb
8/15 7:28 PM EST - Manager Aaron Boone indicated Saturday that LeMahieu's sprained thumb could send him to the injured list, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. LeMahieu underwent an X-ray after leaving Saturday's game against the the Red Sox which came back negative. While that's encouraging, he's yet to receive the results of his CT scan and MRI, and Boone didn't seem particularly confident that LeMahieu's injury was a minor one. The second baseman dealt with a similar injury in 2018 and wound up missing just over two weeks.
Dan Otero - Out - Undisclosed
7/21 3:49 PM EST - Otero was placed on the restricted list Tuesday. The reasoning behind the move is unclear, but Otero won't be available for the start of the shortened season and has no official timeline for his return. The 35-year-old joined the Yankees on a minor-league deal with offseason after posting a 4.85 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with the Indians in 2019.
Luis Severino - 60-Day IL - Elbow
6/28 3:17 PM EST - Severino (elbow) was placed on the 45-day injured list Sunday. This was inevitable after Severino underwent Tommy John surgery in February. He has been progressing well in his rehab and is optimistic that he will be able to pitch for the Yankees at some point in 2021.
Giancarlo Stanton - 10-Day IL - Hamstring
8/11 8:10 AM EST - Stanton was diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The diagnosis, which comes after Stanton underwent an MRI on Monday, is comparatively good news, as a Grade 1 strain is the least severe type of strain, though a standard return timeline from such an injury is usually three or four weeks, which represents a sizable portion of the remaining schedule. The Yankees have yet to give an official estimate for the slugger's return. Mike Ford handled designated hitter duties Sunday in his absence.
Yankees Expected Lineup
SP - J.A. Happ
1. DJ LeMahieu
2. Luke Voit
3. Aaron Hicks
4. Gio Urshela
7. Gary Sanchez
Red Sox Expected Lineup
SP - Chris Mazza
1. Alex Verdugo
5. Kevin Pillar
9. Jose Peraza
Top Picks From Each Team
Gleyber Torres, Yankees: Torres went 2-for-4 Saturday against the Red Sox, and he has reached base in each of his last seven games. He only has one home run and five RBI, but he is showing signs that he's on the verge of a breakout performance. He has gone 6-for-8 in the current series against Boston.
J.D. Martinez, Red Sox: Martinez went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Saturday's contest against the Yankees, and the veteran slugger has hit safely in four of his last six contests despite hitting for a mere .234 this season. Martinez has been struggling just like the rest of the Boston offense, but he is the one with the better track record.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – J.A. Happ
C – Gary Sanchez (VC)
IF – Xander Bogaerts
IF – Gio Urshela
IF – Gleyber Torres (C)
OF – J.D. Martinez
OF – Alex Verdugo
OF – Clint Frazier
OF – Brett Gardner
