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Newsday (New York)
TORONTO — Twice in the Yankees' last two trips to Rogers Centre, an unwanted visitor has gained entry to their clubhouse.
Local law enforcement on Saturday arrested a man who snuck into an empty Yankees clubhouse in the early-morning hours. He was spotted there and chased out by a custodian at about 3:30 a.m.
The intruder was not arrested on site but was arrested later in the day when he was tracked down, oddly enough, at the team hotel. There, he was observed showing off some of the pictures he had taken inside the clubhouse, including a selfie of him holding a pair of baseballs in front of Aaron Judge's locker.
Players were informed of the incident Saturday morning and were told to closely inspect their lockers inside the clubhouse to see if anything had been stolen. Nothing was reported missing.
The intruder apparently hid for several hours after the conclusion of Friday night's 4-2 Yankees victory, emerging when he believed the building was empty. It was not yet clear exactly how he made his way into the visitor's clubhouse, which has two points of entry. That is part of the ongoing investigation, and Major League Baseball was notified of the event.
Citing the ongoing investigation, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman declined to comment.
A more high-profile incident occurred here last Sept. 22 when a fan, pretending to be a member of the media — though without a pass — entered the clubhouse through the back entrance after coming out of the stands and walking down the steps of the Yankees' dugout.
Only when he attempted to enter the players' lounge area at the far end of the clubhouse, which is off-limits to all except team personnel, did he get caught. That fan, who attempted to make off with a batting helmet, three baseballs and a Gatorade towel that night, was arrested.
Perez comes aboard
The Yankees signed veteran lefthander Oliver Perez to a minor-league deal, which was first reported late Saturday morning by Team Mexico Baseball on Twitter. Perez, 36, will be assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as relief depth from the left side. Perez, a Met from 2006-10, did not pitch well with the Reds in spring training and was released at the end of camp. He appeared in 50 games with the Nationals last year and had a 4.64 ERA.
Day off for Sanchez
Aaron Boone said Gary Sanchez likely will get a full day off Sunday. Sanchez showed off his throwing arm Saturday, gunning down Curtis Granderson in the seventh inning as he tried to steal second against Dellin Betances. The throw was perfect, and had to be to nail Granderson. The Blue Jays challenged the out call and it took 33 seconds for the replay umpire to confirm the call.
CC gets through it
CC Sabathia thought he was a bit over-amped early in his first start of the season but settled down. He allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits in five innings.
"I just love being out there," said Sabathia, who walked two and struck out four. "I just got a little excited and was kind of throwing through my cutter a little bit early."
Of the injuries that have struck the team so early, Sabathia shrugged.
"Next man up has to step up and be ready to play," he said. "We talked about that in spring training: everybody in the room be ready. Whoever's next, let's go."
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