NYY News: Star RF expected to hit free agency after season, Volume 2

NYY News: Star RF expected to hit free agency after season, Volume 2

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke with the media for the first time in a few weeks. During these sessions, he revealed much about the Yankees’ pursuits of lefty bats this winter, noting that the team was originally playing the Red Sox and Padres off each other with Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto before realizing that, since the prospects involved in both deals were different, they might as well just add both. Cashman also revealed that he expected Soto to hit free agency, and that they would have conversations from there. Lastly, he said that, even though the spring has started, it’s not “pencils down,” and he’s still looking to add — particularly on the pitching front.

YES Network: The Yankees made a minor move yesterday afternoon, claiming pitcher McKinley Moore off waivers from the Phillies. To make room, the team added Lou Trivino, whom they signed earlier this week, to the 60-day IL as he rehabs from May 2023 Tommy John surgery. Stay tuned for more on, uh, Moore later today, as Andrés has a story planned.

FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: As part of its Prospect Week, FanGraphs posted its mostly-annual ZiPS Top 100 Prospects list, a prospect ranking based exclusively off ZiPS projections. Compared to the site’s scouting-based ranking, ZiPS is very high on Jasson Domínguez, ranking him 21st (compared to the overall’s 53rd), while excluding Spencer Jones, Austin Wells, and the rest of the Yankees on the FanGraphs list off completely. In their place, a pair of infielders — Jorbit Vivas and Jared Serna — come in at 67 and 77, respectively. Within the position-by-position analysis, though, in which Szymborski goes past just the Top 100, he also gives some love to Agustin Ramirez, who ranks as the tenth catcher on the list (142nd overall).

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required) So if Cashman hasn’t put his pencils down and turned in his scantron (the teacher in me is loving these analogies, Cashman), where might he be turning? Well, the general manager said, “The pitching is always the key to the kingdom,” and with that in mind, Brendan Kuty identified the rotation and the back of the bullpen as the two places the Yankees are most likely to invest in at this point. That being said, the team could still look to add somebody to fill the final spot on the bench, allowing both Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza to start the season in Triple-A.

Wall Street Journal | Jared Diamond and Lindsey Adler: Earlier this week, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred revealed that his current contract, which expires in 2029, will be his last. Recognizing that Manfred originally got the job due to his experience as the league’s labor attorney, the result of the fact that ownership and the Player’s Association were headed into a period of labor unrest, Diamond and Adler break down the possible issues that the league may prioritize when searching for its next commissioner. While it’s impossible to know exactly what we will be dealing with next month, let alone in five years, their analysis — which highlights revenue streams endangered by the collapse of streaming rights as the biggest potential concern for ownership — seems about as good a projection as you can get this far out.