KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman allowed just one run over 3 1/3 innings in his first rehab start for Double-A Somerset on Wednesday, while slugger Giancarlo Stanton had another hit in his second rehab appearance with the club.
Stroman had not pitched in a game since landing on the injured list April 12 with left knee inflammation. The 34-year-old two-time All-Star had struggled before that, allowing 12 runs over just 9 1/3 innings covering his first three starts.
“Looks like a good step for him,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before his team faced the Royals on Wednesday night.
Stanton went 2 for 3 with a walk and three RBIs in his first rehab game Tuesday night, then went 1 for 3 with an RBI double to center field as the designated hitter in Wednesday's game against Portland.
He's missed the entire season due to tendon injuries in both elbows.
Boone declined to say when Stanton might join the Yankees, who finish their series in Kansas City on Thursday and then head to Boston for three games this weekend. They begin a seven-game homestand against the Angels on Monday night.
“I don't think the plan is for him to play (for Somerset) tomorrow, but we'll kind of get through today and see what the next step is,” Boone said, while acknowledging that Stanton's impending return could result in a roster crunch.
Ben Rice was the DH against the Royals on Wednesday night. He's hitting .240 with 12 homers and 25 RBIs in 57 games.
“It'll be tough decisions every day,” Boone said, “trying to keep guys that are deserving of playing time playing regularly. But there's going to be some guys out of the lineup on a given day that should be in there, or deserve to be in there, however you want to put it. We'll just do the best we can to make sure we keep everyone sharp and everyone contributing.”
Meanwhile, right-hander Luke Weaver felt good after a throwing session Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. It was his second bullpen outing as Weaver ramps back up following a left hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list June 3.
“I know he feels really good about it,” Boone said. “Again, it won't be something we rush or force, but we'll listen to his body and how he's responding. But I would say, yes, it seems to be better than maybe the original thought.”
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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is seen prior to a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.
There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.
The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.
Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.
The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.
Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.
After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.
The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.
An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.
Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.
Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”
Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."
Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.
There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.
The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.
Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.
Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.
“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.
Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
