Around the Empire: Yankees news - 1/19/18

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: 2017 was weird because people actually seemed to like the Yankees? It was weird and a perfect cap to a weird time in baseball (the Mets and the Royals were both good for a minute? I don’t know what happened). As soon as the Yankees traded for Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees re-claimed their rightful place as being hated. CC Sabathia knows it, and he loves it. He says this is exactly where they want to be as a team.

NorthJersey.com | Pete Caldera: Is Yu Darvish a Yankee yet? No, he’s not. However, if Luis Severino had his way, he would be. Severino said he was very happy to hear that Giancarlo Stanton is a Yankee, but he still wants more. He knows there are World Series expectations this year and has already been prepping, and adding Darvish, who Severino referred to as “a great pitcher,” would be icing on the cake.

New York Post | Dan Martin: The Yankees, at one point, were very interested in former Pirate and current Astro Gerrit Cole. Unfortunately, the Pirates asking price was too high and he ended up in Houston. In a introductory press conference, Astros owner Jim Crane said mentioned that beating the Yankees (for Cole) is always a good thing. I feel like this would make more sense if they were neck-and-neck, rather than Cashman clearly drawing a firm line in the sand with a “take it or leave it.”

FanRag Sports | Gary Phillips: As they’ve been doing for a while now, here’s another prospect profile on the Yankees highly-touted farm system from FanRag. This time, they’re taking a look at Freicer Perez, who is currently the #9 prospect in the Yankee system. Perez is a 6’8” pitcher who spent last season with Single-A Charleston. Despite only making it to Single-A, there are some who believe he can shoot through the system and be MLB-ready by 2019.