This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy Baseball series.
New York Yankees (16-8) at Tampa Bay Rays (16-9)
Thursday, August 20th, 1:05 PM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP John Curtiss (1-0, 2.84 ERA) vs LHP James Paxton (1-1, 7.04 ERA)
Game Preview
The Rays on the rise and could surpass the Yankees in first place of the AL East with a win here. The numbers might back up Tampa Bay's chances of securing a good win here, as they're currently riding a four-game winning run while topping the Yankees in each of the first two games of the current series. As for the Yankees, they might be trending in the wrong direction following a hot start to the 2020 campaign, and they've gone just 3-2 in their last three contests. The Rays have announced reliever John Curtiss as their starter Thursday, although the team will probably treat this as a bullpen day, meaning he won't last long on the mound. Meanwhile, the Yankees have tabbed James Paxton as their started. The lefty veteran only has a 7.04 ERA, but he might be a good pitching alternative due to the fact the Yankees own one of the best lineups in the entire American League.
Injuries
New York Yankees
Zack Britton - Day-To-Day - Leg
8/19 8:12 PM EST - Britton (0-2) has a potential leg injury after taking the loss Wednesday against the Rays as he allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with one walk and one strikeout while recording two outs, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. The
New York Yankees (16-8) at Tampa Bay Rays (16-9)
Thursday, August 20th, 1:05 PM EDT
Projected Starters
RHP John Curtiss (1-0, 2.84 ERA) vs LHP James Paxton (1-1, 7.04 ERA)
Game Preview
The Rays on the rise and could surpass the Yankees in first place of the AL East with a win here. The numbers might back up Tampa Bay's chances of securing a good win here, as they're currently riding a four-game winning run while topping the Yankees in each of the first two games of the current series. As for the Yankees, they might be trending in the wrong direction following a hot start to the 2020 campaign, and they've gone just 3-2 in their last three contests. The Rays have announced reliever John Curtiss as their starter Thursday, although the team will probably treat this as a bullpen day, meaning he won't last long on the mound. Meanwhile, the Yankees have tabbed James Paxton as their started. The lefty veteran only has a 7.04 ERA, but he might be a good pitching alternative due to the fact the Yankees own one of the best lineups in the entire American League.
Injuries
New York Yankees
Zack Britton - Day-To-Day - Leg
8/19 8:12 PM EST - Britton (0-2) has a potential leg injury after taking the loss Wednesday against the Rays as he allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with one walk and one strikeout while recording two outs, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. The veteran southpaw delivered only 13 of his 26 pitches for strikes and was grabbing at his leg before exiting the contest. Manager Aaron Boone didn't offer any specifics on the issue, saying that the team is "looking at" Britton's leg. The 32-year-old should be considered day-to-day until the Yankees update his status.
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
8/19 12:56 PM EST - Higashioka (oblique) has been ramping up his activity, but the timeline for his return to action remains uncertain, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave an update on Higashioka Tuesday, indicating, "He's not going to be coming off anytime real soon here, but it is going well and he continues to ramp up from a from a workload standpoint. But nothing imminent right now." The backstop was placed on the 10-day injured list Aug. 8 after being diagnosed with a right oblique strain. In his absence, Eric Kratz has gotten into three games (two starts), going 1-for-5 with a walk and a run.
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
8/18 3:29 PM EST - Judge (calf) took batting practice Tuesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. Judge is eligible to come off the injured list Saturday, and the Yankees remain hopeful that he'll be able to do so. His calf strain never appeared to be all that serious even with the trip to the injured list, as he said Monday that he already felt 100 percent.
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 - 10-Day IL - Thumb
8/17 1:11 PM EST - LeMahieu is expected to miss two or three weeks with his sprained left thumb, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports. LeMahieu dealt with a similar injury back in 2018 and wound up being out for a similar time frame. The given timetable should see him back in action sometime right around the start of September. Tyler Wade will be the second baseman in his absence Monday against Boston.
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
8/17 1:26 PM EST - Stanton (hamstring) is expected to return in two or three weeks, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports. Stanton hit .293/.453/585 through 14 games this season before suffering yet another injury, landing on the injured list in early August with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. He's expected to resume baseball activities soon, but he won't return until the start of September unless things progress faster than expected.
Tampa Bay Rays
Jose Alvarado - 10-Day IL - Shoulder
8/19 11:44 AM EST - Alvarado (shoulder) saw a doctor in New York on Monday and will be shut down from throwing for 10-to-14 days, the Associated Press reports. The burly southpaw was placed on the injured list Saturday with shoulder inflammation, and it appears he's headed for a much longer stay on it than the minimum 10 days. Alvarado looked out of sorts while trying to apparently pitch through the injury in his appearance Saturday, when he allowed four earned runs over two-third of an inning to the Blue Jays.
Paul Campbell - Day-To-Day - Forearm
3/8 7:33 PM EST - Campbell was reassigned to minor-league spring training Sunday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports. Campbell was removed from the Rays' spring training roster along with six others as part of the first round of spring cuts. The 24-year-old out of Clemson made appearances with both High-A Charlotte and Double-A Montgomery in 2019, posting a combined 3.67 ERA and 13-8 record over 27 games. He's been idle so far in spring training while recovering from a forearm strain, leaving his availability for the start of the minor-league season in question.
Yonny Chirinos - 10-Day IL - Elbow
8/19 3:31 PM EST - Chirinos was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow strain Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Chirinos was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday after he was sidelined with right triceps inflammation, but he'll miss at least another 10 days as a result of a right elbow strain. It's unclear when he could be ready to return to the mound. Right-hander Aaron Slegers was recalled by the Rays in a corresponding move.
Oliver Drake - 10-Day IL - Biceps
8/16 4:19 PM EST - The Rays expect Drake (biceps) to begin playing catch within a few days, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Drake has been barred from throwing since he was placed on the injured list Aug. 9 with right biceps tendinitis, but he finally looks poised to take the first meaningful step forward in his recovery process. Once he begins the throwing program, Drake will probably need around a week to ramp before the Rays are comfortable activating him from the IL. Drake captured the Rays' first two saves of the season, but once reinstated, he's far from a safe bet to re-emerge as one of manager Kevin Cash's preferred options in the team's ever-changing closer committee.
Brent Honeywell - Out - Elbow
8/13 10:11 AM EST - Honeywell (elbow) threw live batting practice Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Honeywell fired 15 pitches in what was his first time throwing against hitters since April 2019. While this is an encouraging step for the right-hander, he remains without a concrete timetable for his return. Seeing as Honeywell has undergone three different operations on his throwing elbow since last appearing in a game back in September 2017, the Rays figure to handle him with care once he's ready to go.
Andrew Kittredge - 60-Day IL - Elbow
8/12 1:32 PM EST - Kittredge appears to be headed for Tommy John surgery after an MRI revealed a tear in his UCL on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Kittredge left his start Tuesday against the Red Sox with the injury after just five pitches, and it turns out those may end up being the last he throws in a big-league game until 2022. A typical recovery timeline from Tommy John surgery would at best give him an outside shot to pitch very late in the 2021 campaign.
Resly Linares - Day-To-Day - Forearm
4/25 9:04 AM EST - Linares is on the 7-day injured list at High-A Charlotte with a left forearm strain, Kris Dunn of Prospects Live reports. This is bad news for the lanky southpaw, who had gotten off to a rough start in his first taste of the Florida State League, giving up three runs on six hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. The Rays have yet to formally announce what the plan of action is, but this injury could eventually lead to Tommy John surgery.
Brendan McKay - Out - Shoulder
8/18 12:29 PM EST - McKay (shoulder) will undergo season-ending surgery Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. McKay was shut down at the alternate training site with left shoulder irritation, and the injury was more serious than initially anticipated. Although he'll miss the remainder of the 2020 season, the Rays are hopeful that he could be ready for the start of spring training in 2021. The 24-year-old has faced a series of disappointing setbacks this year after pitching in the majors for the first time in 2019, posting a 5.14 ERA and 56:16 K:BB over 49 innings in 13 appearances (11 starts).
Charlie Morton - 10-Day IL - Shoulder
8/19 11:47 AM EST - Morton (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday described by manager Kevin Cash as "pretty intense", the Associated Press reports. The right-hander is also slated to play catch Wednesday, continuing his steady progression toward a return. Morton has been able to get through multiple catch and bullpen sessions consistently over the last several days without setbacks, so he appears to be trending toward possible activation in the coming days.
Colin Poche - 60-Day IL - Elbow
7/30 10:08 AM EST - The Rays announced that Poche (elbow) underwent successful Tommy John surgery in Texas on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Poche will remain in Texas for the initial phases of his rehab before returning to Florida once he advances further in the recovery process. The southpaw reliever has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2020 season, and he's unlikely to resurface in the Tampa Bay bullpen until late in the second half of the 2021 campaign at the earliest.
Yankees Expected Lineup
SP - James Paxton
1. Aaron Hicks
2. Luke Voit
3. Gio Urshela
5. Gary Sanchez
Rays Expected Lineup
SP - John Curtiss
2. Yandy Diaz
6. Brandon Lowe
7. Willy Adames
9. Mike Zunino
Top Picks From Each Team
Gleyber Torres, Yankees: The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton here, but Torres can be an adequate replacement for a captaincy role. The star shortstop went 1-for-3 on Wednesday and is only hitting .237, but he is a superstar who can get hot any minute of the day.
Austin Meadows, Rays: Meadows went 1-for-4 in Wednesday's win over the Yankees, and he's been one of the most consistent bats in the Rays roster all season long. The left fielder has now hit safely in four straight games and is hitting .269 with a .908 OPS in 2020. Those are not stellar numbers, but they're good enough to merit him a captaincy role in this matchup.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – James Paxton
C – Gary Sanchez
IF – Luke Voit
IF – Gleyber Torres (C)
IF – Yandy Diaz
IF – Brandon Lowe
OF – Aaron Hicks
OF – Kevin Kiermaier
OF – Austin Meadows (VC)
