June 2026 - Baseball Wiretap

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against Cleveland because of a bone bruise in his upper right rib that he feels in his right shoulder, and he might miss a few days.

"He's been kind of the last couple of weeks kind of dealing with some shoulder soreness, just kind of more nagging," manager Aaron Boone said before the series opener against the Guardians. "Then over the weekend, the last couple of games in Sacramento, I think it became a little more than just that, where I noticed with some swings and stuff. It became a little more than just nagging. I think it was affecting him."

Boone said tests on the team's off day on Monday revealed the bruise. Judge met with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad later Tuesday, and following the Yankees' 9-4 loss, Boone said Judge will see a specialist on Wednesday.

MLB Players Association interim executive director Bruce Meyer said Monday he was caught off guard by the details of the salary cap proposal owners submitted last week, asserting the union's analysis shows players would earn less overall under the plan, with amateur signees facing the steepest losses.

"I thought they would try harder to make it look good, and they didn't even do that," Meyer said on a video conference call with reporters.

The union estimates players would have lost more than $500 million in 2026 had the league's proposed system been in place. MLB spokesperson Glen Caplin pushed back, saying major league players would actually receive more compensation in year one of the cap system than they earned in 2026.

A central point of dispute is how revenue and player share are calculated. Meyer argued the league's 50/50 split is misleading because the formula deducts billions in expenses before calculating each side's portion.

"It's not even a real 50 percent," Meyer said.

The union also contends the league's financial projections implicitly eliminate or drastically reduce the roughly $600 million clubs currently pay annually to domestic and international amateur prospects. Meyer said no formal proposal on amateur compensation has been submitted, but the numbers point in that direction.

"They projected MLB players' payroll in '27, '28, would be flat," Meyer said. "The only way to get to even those numbers would be to drastically reduce or eliminate amateur entry compensation, both domestic and international."

The two sides also clashed over how to measure payroll disparity. Commissioner Rob Manfred last week cited a $446 million gap between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins. Meyer countered that figure incorrectly folds luxury tax penalties into payroll totals, inflating the gap.

No further bargaining sessions are scheduled. The current labor agreement expires December 1, and a lockout is widely anticipated if no deal is reached by then.

"Our union has never been broken and never will be," Meyer said. "You can take away a different lesson from our history, but that would be a big mistake."

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is drawing widespread interest ahead of the August 3 trade deadline as the two-time Cy Young Award winner recovers from elbow surgery and his club sinks further out of playoff contention.

Skubal, who underwent an innovative procedure to remove a loose body from his left elbow, is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday. If his recovery continues at its current pace, he could return within weeks. The Tigers are expected to delay any trade decision as long as possible to allow Skubal to demonstrate full health and maximize his value.

Detroit has gone 4-21 since Skubal's injury was announced, leaving the club 16 games below .500 and 11.5 games out in the AL Central. No team this far under .500 has reached the postseason under the current playoff format, which began in 2022. To win 85 games, the Tigers would need to go 63-39 the rest of the season.

A rival executive, speaking anonymously, described the difficulty of Detroit's position.

"Once you start your ascent, you can never stop it. You're done with your slumps," he said.

Should Detroit trade Skubal, his return would be reduced by his rental status, the remaining portion of his $32 million salary, and his ineligibility for a qualifying offer if dealt mid-season. Keeping him and losing him to free agency would yield only a compensatory draft pick for the Tigers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays all have plausible cases for pursuing Skubal.