Yankees Get Two Key Bats Back on Friday as Losing Streak Hits Five

The New York Yankees are stuck in their worst stretch of the season right now. Five straight losses. Aaron Judge still out with a fractured rib. And the lineup has looked about as threatening as a wet paper towel.

But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed Tuesday that both Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon are scheduled to play rehab games with the Somerset Patriots on Wednesday. If all goes well, they’ll be activated on Friday.

Boone gave the update to Talkin’ Yanks, and the account shared it on X (formerly Twitter). Grisham has been out since June 12 with a hamstring injury. Before that, he was hitting .232 with eight homers and 35 RBIs. Not eye-popping numbers, but he’s a plus defender in the outfield and the Yankees desperately need bodies who can get on base right now.

McMahon’s absence has been weirder. The veteran infielder hasn’t played since June 21 because of something called a peritonsillar abscess. That’s a nasty throat infection, not your typical baseball injury. He’s hitting .210 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs this season. Not great. But still better than what the Yankees have been trotting out there during this skid.

As for Judge, Boone said the feedback has been positive but they’re not rushing anything. The slugger is doing lower-body work in the weight room and feeling better. But Boone made it clear that reimaging his fractured rib is still probably a couple weeks away. They want to see him doing more baseball activities before they even bother taking another look.

“They’ll determine when they feel like he’s doing stuff that warrants ‘Alright, let’s go reimage it now.’ We’re not at that point yet,” Boone said. “He’s doing some lower-body stuff now in the weight room and moving better. I think he’s feeling a lot better this week, anyway.”

The Yankees face Tarik Skubal and the Tigers on Tuesday night. Skubal has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. That’s a tough assignment for a team that can’t buy a win right now.

Friday can’t get here fast enough for New York.