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FanRag Sports | John Perrotto: Friday was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to agree to a deal in order to avoid a salary hearing. However, that may be unavoidable in the case of Dellin Betances and the Yankees. Betances started at $5 million, while the Yankees were at $3 million for the ace reliever’s services. It’s pretty ridiculous that the Yankees are fighting Betances on this, and it’s even worse that the Yankees may win because arbitrators like save numbers and unfortunately Betances doesn’t have many of those, despite being a top reliever in baseball.
FanRag Sports | Paul Lebowitz: The Yankees really have no urgency to talk with Masahiro Tanaka about a possible extension right now. Tanaka, who can opt-out after this season, will likely command a major contract next winter. However, due to injury concerns and other reasons, the Yankees shouldn’t feel rushed to extend him. In the end, if the Yankees are indeed interested in keeping Tanaka long-term, it’s rare that they would be outbid, so they should feel good about their chances.
New York Daily News | John Harper: It’s an exciting time for New York baseball. Both the Yankees and Mets have several intriguing young players who should make for some exciting baseball in 2017. Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, and Aroldis Chapman makeup the Yankees’ five most intriguing players. From repeating impressive rookie campaigns, to overcoming struggles, the Yankees’ youngsters have a lot of buzz surrounding them, while it will be interesting to see if Chapman has any residual effects from pitching deep into the playoffs with the Cubs.
New York Post | Ken Davidoff: A part of Matt Holliday has always wanted to play for the Yankees. Holliday says, he’s always been intrigued by the idea and was even interested in signing with the Yankees after 2009 when he hit free agency, but the team had an outfield that it liked at the time. Now Holliday’s dream is finally coming true and he’s excited. While he knows he’s here to be the team’s DH, he’s also ready to do whatever Joe Girardi may ask of him, even if that includes playing the outfield or first base in more than a backup/emergency role.