NEW YORK (AP) — Marcus Stroman feels ready to return to the mound for the New York Yankees, able to manage pain in his left knee stemming from a torn ACL a decade ago.
“It’s something that I try not to put in my head because if you’re just thinking about that 24/7, you’re not in a good place," the 34-year-old right-hander said Saturday, a day before he faces the Athletics.
Stroman has not pitched for the Yankees since allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning against San Francisco on April 11. In three rehab appearances with Double-A Somerset that began June 11, Stroman was 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA.
He allowed five runs, 10 hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings on Wednesday against Detroit's Erie Seawolves.
"I’m someone who definitely needs kind of the intensity to turn it on, so looking forward to kind of getting back out there," Stroman said.
Stroman tore his ACL during a spring training fielding drill with Toronto on March 10, 2015, had surgery nine days later and returned to a big league mound that Sept. 19 when he beat the Yankees in a five-inning outing in the Bronx.
He credited Nikki Huffman, his personal trainer and Toronto's head athletic trainer from 2018-19, with helping him manage the pain.
“It’s my ACL knee that I tore 10 years ago, so just figuring out how to deal with the soreness, the aching and then mechanically figuring out how to get away from kind of overdoing it into my knee." Stroman said. "When I’m more efficient mechanically, my knee’s taking less stress.”
Stroman started the season 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts. He rejoins a rotation missing ace Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery), AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil (strained right lat) and left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (strained right oblique).
“He’s got to command it. That’s the biggest thing, is being where he wants on the plate and having a presence on both sides of the plate — can’t just live one side,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “What is kind of the shapes of his pitches? Are is he crisp?”
Stroman was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 29 starts and one relief appearance over 154 2/3 innings last season, his most since 2021 with the Mets. Stroman struggled in the second half and did not pitch in the postseason, when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance since 2009.
Boone discounted the last minor league outing.
“It was a smoking hot day in Somerset for a veteran guy that’s pitching in Somerset for his third one,” Boone said.
In his first game following his promotion, Spencer Jones homered in his first at-bat for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
A 6-foot-7, 24-year outfielder, Jones hit a solo homer in the first inning Friday night off Worcester's Tyler Uberstine, driving a full-count, low-and-insider sinker 397 feet to center. The drive was 109.9 mph off his bat.
Jones was 1 for 5 with two strikeouts in the RailRiders' 4-2 win. He hit .270 with 16 homers, 32 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .984 OPS for Double-A Somerset, striking out 70 times in 175 at-bats.
“Obviously, the ceiling is real, just the speed and power and athleticism is real,” Boone said. "It’s just about plugging some holes, continue to tighten up as a big guy, which could be challenging, but if you master it, it can be pretty awesome. So, he’s moving the needle."
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
FILE - New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman throws to a Kansas City Royals batter during the fifth inning of a baseball game, June 11, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.
The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.
Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.
The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.
Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.
In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.
The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Well, we have a lot at this year's show.
Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.
We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.
Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.
And of course, content creation is always very big.
You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.
But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.
Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.
But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.
AI is the future of creativity.
Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.
We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.
Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.
But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.
These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.
What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.
A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
