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Around the Empire
New York Daily News | Anthony McCarron: Brett Gardner officially won his first career Gold Glove award! For a long time, he’s been considered a top defender in the outfield, but he’s always faced tough competition. Losing as a finalist last year, Gardner finally gets recognized for his great defense. He’s the first Yankee outfielder to win the Gold Glove since Bernie Williams in 2000, and the first Yankee to win since Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira won in 2012.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: The Yankees have inquired on free agent designated-hitter Kendrys Morales. Morales, who spent the last two seasons with the Royals, hit 30 home runs with a slash line of .263/.327/.468 last season. He’d really only make sense for the team if they were able to move Brian McCann, though he would likely represent an upgrade at the DH spot over McCann.
FanRag Sports | Jon Heyman: The Yankees have apparently reached out to a number of free agents so far, and one of them includes Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes spent the last season and a half with the Mets and pretty much single-handedly carried them into the postseason last year with one of the most incredible second-half performances I’ve seen. Him putting on pinstripes seems unlikely, however, as Cashman even said he’s leaning towards giving the kids (Aaron Judge mainly) a chance to take the job.
Newsday | Erik Boland: Brian Cashman previously said that as of right now first base would be a competition between Greg Bird and Tyler Austin. While that’s still the case, apparently Cashman and the Yankees are rooting for Bird to win the competition. He says that Bird has the higher ceiling, but understands that after missing the entire 2016 season, he may need some time in the minors to get back to where he was before injury.
New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Coming into 2016, James Kaprielian was seen as a long-shot but plausible rotation candidate later in the season. Unfortunately, injury struck and that was possibility was thrown out the window. However, now that he’s healthy and pitching in the Arizona Fall League, he could regain that status for 2017 as long as he remains healthy. With the rotation surrounded by question marks, it would not be the biggest surprise if Kap can make his debut later in 2017, as long as he’s healthy and pitching well.
MLB.com | Will Boor: Gleyber Torres has impressed baseball scouts ever since he was in the Cubs system. After the Aroldis Chapman trade, he started impressing Yankees fans too with his abilities, and instantly became the top prospect in the Yankees’ system. Now Reggie Jackson has even become aware of Torres and is excited by what he sees. #GleyberGood
Fun Questions
- Kendrys Morales or Brian McCann for DH?
- Should the Yankees sign Cespedes?
Song of the Day
Can’t Feel My Face by The Weeknd
It’s Canada Week on Pinstripe Alley. Originally, I had another song slated for today but it was no longer appropriate so now we’re stuck with whatever I quickly Googled to get a song in here. Fun stuff! As always, please link us your song of the day.