Most Yankees get well-earned rest at the break
Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium on July 13, 2025. Credit: Brad Penner
The All-Star break isn’t actually a “break” for Yankees All-Stars Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodon and Jazz Chisholm Jr., all of whom are on the American League roster for Tuesday’s game.
Max Fried, who was selected as an All-Star but backed out because he pitched on Saturday (and who is also battling a blister), went to Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic, as did manager Aaron Boone, who is skippering the AL squad.
For the other Yankees, though, the four days between Sunday’s first-half finale and Friday’s second-half opener (also, coincidentally, in Atlanta) are a true break.
Well, for most of them.
J.C. Escarra flew home to Miami on Sunday night to catch up with his son, J.C. III, who was born on June 26. Escarra left the club on June 25 for the birth, but returned four days later.
Can you imagine how much Escarra’s first child has grown since the catcher last saw him? No way photos on Instagram can do it justice.
“He was born and I had to leave right away,” Escarra said. “So I haven’t spent any time with him. I’m going to go back home to Miami and spend those four days with him. I’m so excited. He has Mom going crazy, but he’s doing good. Sleeps more during the day than at night. The feeding, the crying, this and that.”
In between taking shifts on diaper duty, Escarra said he plans to head to a local batting cage at least twice during his break.
For veterans such as Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt — who have a combined 12 All-Star Game selections, the last time for both in 2022 — the break is a mixed bag.
It’s good to get the rest, for sure.
But Goldschmidt has been slumping since a robust start to his Yankees career. And Stanton’s season only began on June 16 as he was recovering from soreness in both elbows.
Of how he’s going to balance work and rest, Stanton said: “I keep bouncing back and forth on that one. I’m definitely not taking the whole time [off]. I’ll take a couple days because even though I have just started [playing], I haven’t stopped doing stuff.”
Stanton, 35, has appeared in 21 games and is batting .246 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and a .783 OPS.
Goldschmidt, who went into the break batting .287 with eight home runs, 36 RBIs and a .776 OPS, entered June with a .333 average.
The Yankees finished the first half with 26 games in 27 days. Goldschmidt is 37. Even though he didn’t play in every game, some rest will be appreciated.
“I’m sure everyone’s different, but there’s definitely a rest component to the break,” Goldschmidt said. “Especially after the stretch that we’ve been on with not many off days. Even when you go [to the All-Star Game], you usually take those next couple of days. I’m sure there’s guys who want to maybe hit and throw and stuff like that. But there’s probably guys that just want to get away.”
What is he planning to do?
“A little bit of both, probably,” Goldschmidt said. “But a little more on the rest side.”
The Yankee who probably most didn’t want any kind of break at all is righthander Cam Schlittler, who dazzled with a 100-mile per hour fastball in his winning big-league debut on Wednesday.
Schlittler, 24, expected to still be in Triple-A when that level’s break started on Monday. The Walpole, Massachusetts, native was planning to go home since the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate is scheduled to open its second half in nearby Worcester.
Not that Schlittler minded having to alter his itinerary to a quick trip to Walpole followed by a return to the Bronx to throw a bullpen session in anticipation of his second big-league start (date yet to be announced).
“Obviously, a little bit of a different plan,” Schlittler said. “I’m here, which is great. I’ll go home for a day or two and then come back and prepare. I could definitely throw a bullpen at home. It’s going to be better for me to throw it here. Just being new and everything, I think that would be a better plan for me.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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