DotF: Bird continues rehab assignment in Tampa’s blowout win

Two quick roster notes:

• At long last, RHP Ernesto Frieri is finally a free agent. The Yankees declined to call him up, Triple-A Scranton announced, which allows him to become a free agent. They had two days to add Frieri to the big league roster after he triggered his opt-out, and today was the deadline to do so.
• In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees have traded IF Ruben Tejada to the Orioles for cash considerations. Chances Tejada gets a big hit against the Yankees at some point later this season? Annoyingly high.

Triple-A Scranton was rained out. The game has been canceled and will not be made up. I wonder what that means for 1B Tyler Austin’s rehab. Will they keep him down an extra game to make sure he gets however many at-bats? We’ll see.

Double-A Trenton (5-4 loss to Richmond in 12 innings, walk-off style)

• SS Thairo Estrada: 0-5, 1 HBP, 1 K, 1 CS
• LF Jake Cave: 0-6, 1 K
• 1B Mike Ford: 2-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
• RF Billy McKinney: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 BB — had been in a 2-for-17 (.117) rut
• CF Rashad Crawford: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB — 15-for-51 (.294) in his last 16 games
• 2B Abi Avelino: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Domingo Acevedo: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 6/4 GB/FB — 60 of 83 pitches were strikes (72%) … he’s allowed five runs total in four starts and 25.1 innings since the promotion … 78/11 K/BB in 67.2 innings overall this season

High-A Tampa (9-1 win over Jupiter in seven innings) completed early due to wet grounds

• SS Jorge Mateo: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K — 5-for-13 (.385) during his little three-game hitting streak
• CF Tito Polo: 3-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI — 5-for-9 the last two days
• DH Greg Bird: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI — 4-for-10 in four rehab games so far … Joe Girardi said today they don’t have a set number of rehab at-bats in mind for Bird … they’re going to wait until his swing looks right before activating him given how bad he was earlier this year … for all intents and purposes, this is a minor league stint intended to get him back on track at the plate as much as it is let the ankle heal
• LF Trey Amburgey: 3-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB — 6-for-20 with three homers in his last five games
• 2B Nick Solak: 0-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB — got picked off first
• 3B Kyle Holder: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Zack Littell: 7 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 9/3 GB/FB — 66 of 92 pitches were strikes (72%) … four straight starts with no more than one run allowed … 36/8 K/BB in his last 44.2 innings

Low-A Charleston (17-0 depantsing of Greenville)

• 2B Hoy Jun Park: 2-6, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K — his homer was an inside-the-parker
• SS Diego Castillo: 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP — first homer of the season and his second career homer in 145 pro games
• CF Blake Rutherford: 0-0, 1 R, 1 BB — left the game in the third inning after a rain delay … seems like the Yankees are being really careful with him … he sits and gets DH games more than most top prospects … Rutherford had some nagging hamstring issues last year, so I wonder if the Yankees are trying to avoid a repeat
• PH-CF Estevan Florial: 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — 12-for-31 (.387) during his eight-game hitting streak
• 3B Angel Aguilar: 1-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
• C Donny Sands: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI — he’s hitting .367/.385/.383 in his last 16 games, which is a pretty funny batting line when you think about it
• RF Isiah Gilliam: 1-4, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Jio Orozco: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 WP, 2 Balk, 4/2 GB/FB — 48 of 84 pitches were strikes (57%) … has allowed no more than two earned runs in six of his ten starts, yet he still has a 5.21 ERA … when he has a stinker, he *really* has a stinker
• RHP Adonis Rosa: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 42 of 58 pitches were strikes (72%) … got the save in a 17-0 game!