1:33 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
Pinstripe Alley

Yankees show their new payroll limitation line in ‘Cohen tax’ era

Photo by Kirsty O’Connor/PA Images via This week was an interesting test of the organization’s lack of appetite for going into the fourth-tier, 110 percent surcharge tax threshold. As Yankee fans, we are the rich kids of the league, and with that privilege creates a complex relationship when it comes to free-agent spending. The organization’s wealth stems from the large and passionate Yankee fan base, which contributes an extraordinary amount of money and time supporting the team, both through game attendance and backing a robust regional cable network. Because...

Pinstripe Alley

Yankees 2024 Season Preview: Caleb Ferguson

Photo by Norm Hall/ The former Dodger brings some much-needed lefty experience to the Yankees bullpen. The Yankees bullpen underwent something of a mini-overhaul this offseason, with stalwarts Michael King and Wandy Peralta departing for San Diego. New York replaced those outgoing arms by swinging a pair of trades with the Dodgers for a duo of lefty relievers in Victor González and Caleb Ferguson. Sam previewed the former last month, so today let’s look at what the newest member of the New York bullpen can offer in 2024. 2023 Stats: 68 games, 60.1 IP, 3.43 ERA (127...

Pinstripe Alley

Were Yankees smart to pass on Cease?

Photo by Michael Reaves/ The White Sox ace is headed to San Diego, not the Bronx. That may not be such a bad thing. It’s said that misery makes for strange bedfellows. The San Diego Padres and the Yankees both have had difficult offseasons in their own way that have unexpectedly intertwined the two clubs. First, San Diego was “forced” to trade Juan Soto to the Yankees for payroll reasons. Now that the Yankees are in even greater need of starting pitching after news broke that Gerrit Cole will miss the first couple months of the season with a dodgy pitching elbow,...

NESN.com

MLB Rumors: Yankees ‘Extremely Unlikely’ To Sign Potential Red Sox Targets

Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain free agents two weeks ahead of Opening Day, but a longtime MLB writer speculated they are “extremely unlikely” to find a home with a Boston Red Sox rival. The New York Yankees suffered a blow this week when Gerrit Cole went down with a right elbow injury. The 2023 […]

Lone Star Ball

Cease to the Padres, per reports

Photo by David Durochik/MLB Photos via Starter Dylan Cease is reportedly heading to the San Diego Padres from the Chicago White Sox MLB Trade Rumors: Dylan Cease is heading to the San Diego Padres from the Chicago White Sox, per Jeff Passan on Twitter. The market around Cease seemed to have heated up over the past few days. Whether that was due at least in part to the New York Yankees re-engaging after Gerrit Cole’s elbow resulted in him being sidelined, or if it is just a matter of Opening Day looming hastening things, the White Sox have apparently now gotten...

Pinstripe Alley

Yankees reopen Cease trade talks with the White Sox

Photo by Michael Reaves/ Gerrit Cole’s elbow reportedly played a role in the Yankees sending a renewed offer to Chicago for the 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up. Earlier in the offseason, the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox discussed a trade involving Dylan Cease. Conversations didn’t reach much momentum because the South Siders reportedly demanded the inclusion of blue-chip prospect Spencer Jones in the deal and the Yanks were reluctant. In the wake of Gerrit Cole’s tenuous right elbow situation and the Yankees’ reported unwillingness to pursue Blake Snell or...

Bluebird Banter

Tuesday GameThread: Yankees @ Jays

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports The Jays get to play the Yankees again. Jose Berrios gets the start. Dennis Santana for the Evil Ones. The Yankees have had some bad news. Gerrit Cole is in for an MRI. He won’t be starting the season with the team, that much we can be sure of, but it sounds like he might be out for a good part of the season. And there is news that the Yankees are trying to trade for Dylan Cease. Aaron Judge also had an MRI on his abdomen. He says it returned clean, and he’ll be ready for opening day. He hasn’t swung a bat for a few days. The...

Pinstripe Alley

Yankees Making the Team Meter: Week Three

Despite another round of cuts and multiple injuries, the bench and bullpen remain in flux. It’s a Monday in March, and you know what that means — it’s time for another edition of the Pinstripe Alley Making the Team Meter! After a fairly quiet first two weeks, the third week of spring training games threw some wrenches into our equations. Injury concerns surrounding Tommy Kahnle and Oswald Peraza have intensified the battles for spots in the bullpen and on the bench, free agent rumors have suggested the Yankees are dissatisfied with certain parts of the roster, and...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Trevy’s triumphant return

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports Trevino’s triumphant return; Soto goes deep again; things to know about the upcoming Spring Breakout; counting down the Yankees’ best ever free agent signings New York Post | Dan Martin: In Sunday’s game against the Braves, catcher Jose Trevino made his spring training debut after the start of camp due to a calf injury (and of course the wrist surgery that curtailed his 2023). Trevino described his journey back as a “long, long road” and described his frustration at not being able to help the team during last year’s...

Pinstripe Alley

2024 MLB Season Preview: Los Angeles Angels

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports The Angels took a gamble when they decided to be buyers during last season’s trade deadline, and now they are trying to recover from their huge flop. The 1920 Red Sox went 72-81-1 the year after selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees during the offseason — which, to be fair, was a three-game improvement from the previous season with him. That’s the most recent precedent of a team losing their two-way star that has elite talent both ways. For the Angels, life marches on without Ohtani and a familiar story: they have a promising lineup,...

The Crawfish Boxes

Astros Crawfish Boil

Chas McCormick | Photo by Megan Briggs/ Welcome to the Wednesday Boil. Houston Astros News Verlander (shoulder) needs time to build strength, will open season on IL Small-town guy Trey Cabbage dreaming big with Astros this spring (Houston Chronicle) Here’s how Astros next extension candidate might actually catch you by surprise (Sportsmap Houston) We have the depth’: Analyzing Astros’ rotation after JV injury Astros’ Alex Bregman could be at the center of uptick in Mets-Yankees free agency battles AL West News Blarts — Rangers spring training postcard: The...

New York Post

Astros’ Alex Bregman could be at the center of uptick in Mets-Yankees free agency battles

For most of the nearly half century of major league free agency, the New York teams have avoided each other on that financial battlefield until both almost pulled out all the stops to not get Yoshinobu Yamamoto this offsesason.

DodgerBlue.com

Kiké Hernández: Dodgers Were Free Agency Decision Over Yankees Because Of Guarantee

With the Boston Red Sox facing a roster crunch at the 2023 trade deadline, it created an opportunity...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY vs. MIA: Clayton Beeter vs. Ryan Weathers

Photo by New York Yankees/ The Yanks welcome the Fish to Tampa. After the day off yesterday, we get a new round of exhibition baseball from Tampa, as the Yankees take on the Marlins in Grapefruit League action. Clayton Beeter, one of the on-the-rise pitching prospects who could see MLB time in 2024, will be on the hill for the second time this spring. He struck out a trio of Tigers in his only other appearance, although Detroit did tag him for two runs. Recent free agent signee Tim Anderson will make his spring debut for the Marlins, batting second and at his customary...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Soto talks trade and more

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports Soto Q&A; Jahmai Jones claimed, Groshans DFA’d; Judge elite at new metric; Interesting modeling analysis The Athletic ($) | Chris Kirschner: Juan Soto sat down with Kirschner to talk about his thoughts on being traded to the Yankees, the movement during his career, and other reflections about his young, outstanding career. Most relevant to the Yankees, he was asked about hitting in front of Aaron Judge and how he thinks it’ll impact his performance. Soto gave thoughtful responses to each question Kirschner asked, making it a must...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Spring of Spencer

Photo by New York Yankees/ Jones is making noise this spring; the plight of international minor leaguers; more Snell rumors; Royals showed that Nike and Fanatics can be beaten The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required) A major reason why the Yankees were unable to acquire a top pitcher on the trade market this winter was a refusal to deal Spencer Jones, the apparent left-handed clone of Aaron Judge, who is the team’s top prospect. It’s only spring training, but the (very) early impressions this February suggest the Yankees are right to keep him off-limits....

Pinstripe Alley

A look at the Yankees’ first-half schedule

Photo by New York Yankees/ New York will have work to do, with a formidable slate of opponents in the early going. Yankee baseball is back! And with its return, come important questions. Will the Yankees average 10+ runs scored per game all year? Will Spencer Jones ever make an out in his career? Hopefully the answers to those are “yes,” and “no,” respectively. One question we can look at, now that we have an idea where the major players will ply their trade this season (apologies to Blake Snell, Monty, and Matt Chapman), is what quirks and tripwires the...

Pinstripe Alley

Today on Pinstripe Alley - 2/27/24

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports Tuesday’s spring training open thread. If you’ve followed along with the Yankees’ first few spring training games, you may feel like they’ve scored more in the last few days than they did all of 2023. Yankee trade acquisitions led the way yesterday, with Juan Soto doubling and scoring two, and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas smashing a three-run homer. Let’s hope it’s all a harbinger of things to come. On the site, start your day off with more 2024 preview coverage, as Peter looks at the vaunted Atlanta Braves, perhaps...

Pinstripe Alley

Old faces in new places: 2024 edition

Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/ Getting a glimpse of how some 2023 Yankees look in their new getups. Spring training is officially underway. Teams are showcasing the young players in their systems, superstars, and newest acquisitions, whether through trades or free agency. The Yankees didn't change too much of their core outside of bringing Juan Soto and Trent Grisham into the mix via a trade with the San Diego Padres, but they did still add other known players like Alex Verdugo and Marcus Stroman and are hoping that Austin Wells can come in and prove himself...

Pinstripe Alley

Yankees 9, Twins 2: Soto Show rolls on in another high-scoring day

Photo by New York Yankees/ The star trade acquisition had another hit as the Yankees downed Minnesota. There’s obviously only so much you can read into spring training games. The players — especially ones guaranteed to make their MLB rosters — are using the exhibitions to get ready for the season as opposed to going all-out to win. Most of the later halves of games are played by minor-league depth players, and so on. All that being said, the Yankees offense has looked pretty good so far this spring, having already cracked double digits twice. The good showing...

sandiegouniontribune.com

Michael King looks to do 180 with Padres following trade from Yankees

Right-hander acquired from Yankees in Juan Soto trade seeks to make huge jump in innings pitched in first year as a full-time starter

NESN.com

Ex-Red Sox Gold Glover Lent Helping Hand To Yankees Star Juan Soto

The New York Yankees certainly didn’t trade for Juan Soto this offseason because of his glove in the outfield. Soto’s lethal left-handed bat has made him a perennial MVP candidate, but his defensive play has tremendously lagged behind. The new Yankees star has a minus-15 defensive runs saved for his career. But Soto’s looking to […]

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Spencer hits one to Space

Photo by New York Yankees/ Jones hits one 470 feet in spring debut; Yanks like Grisham’s skillset and want him ready; Cabrera to face some southpaws as a lefty hitter MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The Yankees, in what looked like a football game if you see the scoring, obliterated the Detroit Tigers 22-10 in their first game of spring training. Matt had the recap for us, and top prospect Spencer Jones stole the show. The 2022 first-rounder has generated a lot of interest in trade talks but is considered nearly untouchable, and he did his part by socking a mammoth 470-feet...

Pinstripe Alley

Aaron Judge headlines the Yankees’ top prospects from a decade ago

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Ten years later, a look at how the Yankees’ farm system has panned out. In the spring of 2013, the Yankees found themselves with three picks in the first round of the amateur draft. At #26 (their original pick), they snagged Eric Jagielo. Then, as recompense for Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano departing in free agency, New York drafted Aaron Judge 32nd overall and Ian Clarkin at 33. Unsurprisingly when Baseball America released its top-30 list of Yankee prospects several months later, that trio of first-round picks all appeared high on...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Martian’s rehab right on schedule

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports Domínguez to swing bat for first time since surgery; Judge lobbied ownership to trade for Verdugo; Urshela signs with Tigers; Volpe bringing same mindset to camp; New reliever impressing in camp; Aaron Judge, first baseman? SNY | Danny Abriano and Phillip Martinez: With spring training fully underway, one Yankees star has been forced to watch live batting practice from the sidelines. That is about to change. Jasson Domínguez, who has been throwing from 60 feet at the spring training complex in Tampa, received clearance to begin batting...

Pinstripe Alley

NYY News: Tidbits on free agents current and future

Photo by Sarah Stier/ Yankees have offer on the table for Snell; Juan Soto mostly mum on contract talks ahead of final year; Giancarlo Stanton looks for bounce-back year; the Yankees’ prospects that could get into 2025 Top 100 lists. MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: There’s still a couple of high profile free agents left out on the market this year, with reigning NL Cy Young Blake Snell probably the most prominent among them. While the Yankees have had reported interest in him, that cooled a bit with their earlier signing of Marcus Stroman. However with Snell...

Pinstripe Alley

Yankees 2024 Season Preview: DJ LeMahieu

Photo by Ed Zurga/ His job as the leadoff man will be to get the cutlery for Soto and Judge. When DJ LeMahieu hit free agency after 2020, retaining him seemed like a no-brainer. His transcendent 2019 and clutch moments in the playoffs cemented him as a Yankee stalwart. After an even better abbreviated walk year in which he posted a 177 wRC+, he commanded a strong market. It turned out well for both sides in negotiations, and he inked a reasonable six-year, $90 million dollar deal to stick around. There were initial concerns that the deal stretches through his age-37...

South Side Sox

Today in White Sox History: February 19

On this day 39 years ago the White Sox dumped Roy Smalley, who had come at a cost of Doug Drabek. | Focus on Sport/ Not quite a Swisher series of deals, but not a great pair, either 1985 The White Sox traded Roy Smalley back to his longtime Minnesota Twins for minor league outfielder Ron Scheer and DH Randy Johnson. An all-time terrible trade had heralded Smalley’s arrival, as the White Sox got the washed-up veteran from the Yankees during the 1984 season at a cost of Doug Drabek, who would go on to 27.0 WAR over a decade in Pittsburgh and Houston. Smalley was...

Stephen A. goes off on Yankees for failing to acquire a starting pitcher | Stephen A. Smith Show

Stephen A. Smith goes off on Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees, saying he doesn't see them winning the 2019 World Series after failing to pick up a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. ✔

The Marcus Stroman trade makes NO SENSE for the Mets | Time to Schein

Adam Schein gives his take on Marcus Stroman being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the New York Mets and how this unexpected deal does not make any sense. Adam Schein also discusses potential trade targets for the New York Yankees now that Marcus Str

Which AL East team needs to add Trevor Bauer? | FOX MLB

Which AL East team needs to add Trevor Bauer before the trade deadline? The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are both interested in starting pitching. #FOXSports #MLB #TrevorBauer #Yankees #RedSox