Around the Empire: Yankees news - 12/31/15

Newsday | Matthew Chayes and Emily Ngo: New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has responded to the Yankees' trade for Aroldis Chapman, stating that she was "very disturbed" by the deal, and she faulted the Yankees organization for "condoning this kind of violence when you bring him on to be part of this team." We knew there would be bad PR after this trade, so it's not shocking to see it come from city government.

FOX Sports | Shawn Ramsey: The Cubs' bullpen is not perfect, and they will likely look into Andrew Miller as an option. It's not an easy fit because the Yankees will be looking for young, controllable pitching, but the Cubs do have young bats like Jorge Soler and Javier Baez that could still seem enticing.

NJ.com | Ryan Hatch: Because Cuban right-handed pitching prospect Yaisel Sierra is 24-years-old, he does not fall under international amateur bonus pool guidelines, so the Yankees would be free to sign him at any price point. He is the 13th best prospect in Cuba according to Baseball America, and some scouts believe he could be a mid-rotation starter immediately. He would likely cost "$25-$30 million over several years."

Baseball Prospectus | Meg Rowley: In trading for Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees have done something we've seen many times in sabermetric-friendly front offices--exploiting the market for undervalued assets--but it still feels unsettling because the next market inefficiency should not be for players with domestic violence allegations.