Major League Baseball first-year player draft Day 2: Yankees and Mets selections

Major League Baseball first-year player draft Day 2: Yankees and Mets selections

Miami's David Thompson (8) heads to first base against 
VCU during the super regionals of the NCAA college baseball tournament, 
Friday, June 5, 2015, in Coral Gables, Fla. Photo Credit: AP

As the Yankees and Mets make selections during ay 2 of the MLB Draft on Tuesday, learn about each player they selected. Rounds 3 through 10 are on Tuesday, and the draft concludes on Wednesday with the final 30 rounds.

METS -- Max Wotell (6-3, 180)
Round 3, No. 88 overall

The lefthanded pitcher out of Marvin Ridge High School in North Carolina was ranked by Baseball America as the 143rd-best player in the draft. Wotell was 13-0 with a 0.57 ERA, striking out 136 in 72 innings. He allowed just 28 hits and 24 walks and was named the North Carolina Gatorade baseball player of the year.

Alex Rodriguez passes Gehrig on all-time RBI list, Yankees sweep Royals

Alex Rodriguez passes Gehrig on all-time RBI list, Yankees sweep Royals

Alex Rodriguez passes Lou Gehrig for sole possession of fourth place
 on the all-time RBI list.(Photo: Noah K. Murray, USA TODAY Sports)

NEW YORK -- The only thing Yankees manager Joe Girardi focused on in regards to pitcher Michael Pineda being successful before Wednesday’s game against Kansas City Royals was that the right-hander’s slider had to be on.

“When I look at the last two starts, (Pineda) really hasn’t had a very good (slider), and that’s a key pitch for him,” he said. “I think it’s important to get that back.”

In the top of the first inning, Royals first baseman Mike Moustakas crushed a poorly-thrown slider into the second deck of right field that tailed foul. The next pitch, Moustakas sent another weak slider into the bleachers for a solo home run.

Bernie Williams, an Improbable Star in Center Field, Is Immortalized Just Beyond It

Bernie Williams, an Improbable Star in Center Field, Is Immortalized Just Beyond It

Bernie Williams, who won four World Series titles with the Yankees,
with catcher Brian McCann after throwing a ceremonial pitch
 in the Bronx on Sunday. CreditBill Kostroun/Associated Press

On July 5, 1991, Cal Ripken Jr. drove a pitch from the Yankees’ Tim Leary to the center-field wall at the old Yankee Stadium. Roberto Kelly chased after it, crashed into the fence and sprained his right wrist. Two days later, Bernie Williams was roaming center field in the Bronx.

This is how it often happens, an emergency leading to the realization of a dream. Williams’s career unfolded in ways he never could have imagined, with four championships, five All-Star selections and $103 million in career earnings. He never left the Yankees, and on Sunday, the team retired his No. 51.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a skinny little 17-year-old kid from Puerto Rico could be here this day, in this celebration,” Williams said in his speech, before the Yankees fell to Texas, 5-2, for their 10th loss in 11 games. “I am overwhelmed.”

Baseball trade deadline primer: 10 teams, players to watch

Baseball trade deadline primer: 10 teams, players to watch

Keep an eye on these 10 players and teams before the July 31 baseball trade deadline:

Philadelphia Phillies: They are that poker player wearing the dark shades, devious grin and a blank face. In or out? The Phillies, with a $175 million payroll, five consecutive division titles and three-year sellout streak, aren’t saying whether they will try to make a run at the playoffs or start selling off players.

At 13 games out in the NL East and 9.5 games behind the wild card after Tuesday’s games, the challenge is sizable. But with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay healthy and supposed to be in the same lineup for the first time this season Tuesday, it’s easy to see why they may give this group a chance.

Baseball notebook: Jackson apologizes for views

Baseball notebook: Jackson apologizes for views

Reggie Jackson said he messed up by disparaging Alex Rodriguez, Gary Carter and other big names in baseball and has been reaching out to make apologies.

Jackson told Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez’s statistics were tainted by his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs. Jackson also said he didn’t see Carter, Kirby Puckett, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton and Jim Rice as Hall of Famers.

Jackson is a special adviser with the New York Yankees. The team released a statement yesterday from him:

“In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players,” Jackson said. “This was inappropriate and unfair to those players, some of which are very close friends of mine. I think there are ways to speak from the heart without hurting people, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t take greater care in expressing my views.”

The Yankees told Jackson to stay away from the clubhouse and team events following his pointed remarks to the magazine, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press this week. Jackson was expected to steer clear for several weeks, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because there was no formal announcement. Jackson was not disciplined or fined, and was to remain a special adviser.

Around the bases

 Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury could come off the disabled list and rejoin the team tonight for the start of a three-game series at Tampa Bay, manager Bobby Valentine said. Valentine also said rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks, out because of a hamstring injury, is getting close to returning.

• New York Mets right-hander Dillon Gee is scheduled for surgery on his throwing shoulder that could force him to miss the rest of the season. The team said Gee will have surgery today in St. Louis to replace a portion of damaged artery. Gee was released from a New York hospital on Wednesday after undergoing a procedure to break up a blood clot in the shoulder. The Mets said then that Gee might have further surgery to prevent a possible recurrence of the clot in the same location. Gee is 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA.

• Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion signed a three-year contract that begins next season. The $27 million deal includes a $10 million club option for the 2016 season. Encarnacion, formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, is batting .295 with 23 home runs and 58 RBI.

• The Minnesota Twins will reinstate right-handed closer Matt Capps from the 15-day disabled list for tonight’s game against Oakland. He has been out for three weeks because of shoulder inflammation.

• Dispatch.com