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TAMPA — The Cousins cousins had a family reunion Saturday at Yankees camp.
Kirk Cousins, a seasoned quarterback, visited Steinbrenner Field to spend time with his relative, Jake Cousins, who plays as a reliever for the Yankees. He also took the opportunity to go around the field before attending a game against the Astros.
Despite the Giants and Jets in need of a quarterback like Kirk Cousins, it is uncertain whether the Falcons will release him this offseason, considering he is in the second year of a hefty four-year, $180 million contract. There are talks about the Falcons potentially making Michael Penix Jr. their starting quarterback moving forward.
Meanwhile, Jake Cousins, who is gearing up to resume his throwing program on Monday after a five-week break due to a forearm strain, would appreciate having his cousin around the New York area for support and companionship.
“That’d be cool because typically it’s hard for us to see each other’s events or be in the same area, just because we’re opposite seasons and kind of overlap,” he said recently. “So if we’re in the same area, it’d be cool to see each other more often.”
Clarke Schmidt threw one inning of live batting practice Saturday for the first time since dealing with a cranky back last week.
It was the first time that the right-hander has faced hitters since camp started, though he had thrown live a few times before spring training began.
“He looked awesome,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Not surprising, right? I called balls and strikes for it and it was really good. He was sharp, electric.”
Schmidt threw about 20 pitches, including strikeouts of Oswaldo Cabrera and Trent Grisham.
If he bounces back from this session well, he is expected to throw one more before getting into game action.
Ben Rice continued to make noise at the plate, drilling a home run that came off the bat at 113.3 mph.
After adding some muscle in the offseason, the catcher/first baseman has been noticeably hitting balls harder this spring.
The Yankees made their first round of cuts from big league camp Saturday, reassigning RHP Sean Boyle, OF Brennen Davis, RHP Chase Hampton, RHP Cristian Hernández, LHP Jayvien Sandridge, RHP Kevin Stevens, RHP Leonardo Pestana and C Omar Martinez to minor league camp.
Jen Pawol, a New Jersey native who played softball at Hofstra, was the home plate umpire Saturday. Pawol spent last season umpiring at Triple-A.
“I actually went up and introduced myself there later in the game,” Boone said. “Had a pleasant interaction with her. She has a good reputation.
“I thought she missed a couple calls on the captain in that first [inning],” Boone added with a grin, “but overall I thought she did a good job. Certainly enjoyed my introduction to her.”