Austin Hays the fallback in left if Bellinger leaves; Rodón stepped up in the clubhouse; Kershaw compares new Dodgers and old Yanks; Bellinger, Imai still big wants.
NY Post | Matt Ehalt: The Yankees have had their top priorities set for a while, but they’re still out there waiting to find a new team. In case things don’t end up falling their way and they need to pivot midway through the offseason, a Plan B has to be in place. For the outfield, Austin Hays may be the response if Cody Bellinger moves onto another team, as he could platoon with Jasson Domínguez in left field to form a formidable tandem. The Mets are also interested, but given the state of the field currently they might be the likeliest team to take Bellinger away from them in the first place.
NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: In addition to finding his footing on the mound over the last few seasons in New York, last year also saw Carlos Rodón find his comfortability as a leader in the clubhouse. The veteran lefty spoke up more and became a mentor figure for young starters like Will Warren and Cam Schlittler as they try to establish themselves as regulars in the rotation. Schlittler even credits Rodón for a mechanical tweak that he recommended that led to his fastball gaining more velocity later in the year, which paid dividends in his postseason thriller Wild Card Game 3 win against Boston.
NY Post | Mark Suleymanov: Clayton Kershaw is stepping away from baseball right as his Dodgers are establishing themselves as the new top dogs of baseball, and as the media world begins to critique them for “ruining the game” the legendary lefty compared his LA team to the Yankees dynasty of the late 90s as examples of teams that were good for baseball. Kershaw’s argument is that having a clear favorite and dominant team like the Core Four Yanks is great for fans of a flagship franchise and a good target for the rest of the league to come after, and it’s not like I can argue with that — it’d just be nice if the Yankees agreed and got back to their old ways.
SNY | Anthony McCarron: With the stagnancy of the Yankees’ free agency, a holiday wish list is pretty simple to put together this year. Bellinger remains available and would be an easy slot-in to restore the lineup’s balance, the pitching depth could be emboldened whether that means shopping at the top end, the middle, in or the bargain bin, and it’d be nice if they could sort out their stance on Jazz Chisholm Jr. by extending or trading him rather than marching into a walk year blindly.
Category: General Sports
