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MLB Trade Rumors | Jeff Todd: The stove is hot! The Yankees made a splash last night trading Justus Sheffield, Erik Swanson, and Dom Thompson-Williams for James Paxton. The Yankees will be able to hold on to Paxton for the next two seasons before he hits free agency. I like having Justus Sheffield in the system, but you have to trade talent to get talent. Check out Pinstripe Alley’s analysis of the trade here.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Tommy Kahnle thinks his friend and free agent reliever, Adam Ottavino, would make a great addition to the Yankees. Ottavino, a Brooklyn-native, had something of a breakout during his age-32 season, posting career highs in strikeouts, FIP, and fWAR in 2018. Ottavino has an absolutely lethal slider. He should be a name to keep an eye on this Winter.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Speaking of, Tommy Kahnle’s 2018 season was terrible. He saw a significant drop in his fastball velocity, and unsurprisingly, it had a pretty significant impact on his performance this season. A right shoulder injury might be the culprit behind the precipitous drop in effectiveness this past season, and Kahnle is doing everything he can this offseason to right the ship. If you want to relive his disastrous 2018 campaign, check out my report card.
MLB | Matt Kelly: The 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame has officially been released. Players who retired following the 2013 season are making their first appearance on the ballot. Joining Mike Mussina, Gary Sheffield, Roger Clemens, and Andruw Jones as former-Yankees on the ballot this year are Vernon Wells, Kevin Youkilis, Derek Lowe, Ted Lilly, Travis Hafner, Freddy Garcia, and Lance Berkman. Oh yeah, I guess Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte are on the ballot too.