Around the Empire: Yankees news - 1/18/17

ESPN: Remember when the World Series ended and the biggest news of all was that Alex Rodriguez was no longer going to bless our television screens? Well that’s no longer an issue. A-Rod is apparently gearing up to host a reality show on CNBC. The show will pair former athletes with financial troubles with mentors who can help them bounce back. As of right now the show is titled “Back in the Game” and it is co-produced by Michael Strahan.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Clint Frazier is currently known as the guy the Yankees traded Andrew Miller for. However Frazier is trying to break away from that association. Frazier, who struggled after the trade, said that he was trying too much to fill Miller’s shoes but will now just focus on his game and being himself. Expected to start the year in Triple-A, he’s hoping to give Brian Cashman and the Yankees a tough decision to make in regards to potentially calling him up this year. Rooting for ya, Red Thunder!

NY Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: Gary Sanchez is gearing up for Year 2 of The Gary Show. Sanchez, who had an historic rookie year (and was snubbed for the Rookie of the Year award), says last year is in the past and now he and the team has to focus on the upcoming season together to try and make the playoffs. In order to repeat his success from 2016, Sanchez will have to be ready to face the inevitable ups and downs that come with a full baseball season, and be ready to make adjustments as he becomes the focal point of opponents’ hitting reports.

CBS | Sweeny Murti: Mike Mussina will unfortunately likely fall short again this year in Hall of Fame voting. However, Mussina has been gaining steam and it seems inevitable that he will eventually get the nod. On the other hand, his longtime teammate Jorge Posada seems to be in danger of falling off the ballot in his first year. Of the ballots made public, Posada has less than the mandatory 5% of votes to stay on the ballot. The general consensus is that he isn’t a Hall of Famer, but it’d be nice if his “Hall of Very Good” career would be appreciated for longer than one year.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Ji-Man Choi recently agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Choi, a first baseman, spent last season with the Angels where he batted .170 with five home runs in 54 games. He is not expected to compete with Greg Bird and Tyler Austin for the starting first baseman job, but rather just serve as organizational depth at the position, but he could theoretically also win the backup job.