Around the Empire: Yankees news - 12/31/18

CBS Sports | Dayn Perry: Perry predicts a BIG year for the Yankees in 2019. First, the Bombers sign Manny Machado to the third-largest contract in MLB history (behind Bryce Harper’s and Giancarlo Stanton’s). Next, the BBWAA announce that pinstripe heroes Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina – along with Roy Halladay and Edgar Martinez – have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rivera narrowly misses becoming the first unanimous selection in BBWAA history, while Roger Clemens continues to see his percentage climb.

Finally, Luis Severino wins the AL Cy Young Award and Aaron Judge leads the league in home runs as New York wins the pennant and defeats Washington in the World Series to claim their 28th championship. Oh, and CC Sabathia reaches 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts for his career. That last one’s a lock, as the big man is just four wins and 14 strikeouts shy of those historic milestones. Let’s hope ALL of Perry’s predictions come true!

MLB.com | AJ Cassavell: Cassavell reports that the Padres are “very much a part of trade talks” for Sonny Gray. Great, let’s hope that San Diego acquires Cory Kluber from Cleveland and flips him to the Yankees for Gray et al. That would be one heck of a resolution to the Gray saga.

NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein: Rosenstein chimed in on a Boston Globe paywall piece on David Robertson’s status. With the Red Sox having already lost reliever Joe Kelly to the Dodgers, and reportedly unwilling to meet closer Craig Kimbrel’s contract requirements, the club remains interested in both pinstripe free-agent relievers David Robertson and Zach Britton.

Robertson represents himself and isn’t revealing what he’s looking for in terms of a contract. But Globe reporter Nick Cafardo opines that Robertson is likely seeking something in the Andrew Miller range of $25 million over two years. Boston, meanwhile, is trying to land the veteran reliever on a one-year deal. That could be good news for the Yankees, who are reportedly willing to go two years for a bullpen arm, but not three.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Hoch details the Yankees’ remaining offseason needs, which include middle-infield help, bullpen help, health checks, and trading Gray. He also prioritizes purchasing more baseballs, pointing out that with a healthy Aaron Judge and the addition of Harper or Machado (or both), the Yankees could produce an encore performance of last year’s record-breaking home-run campaign. Hoch also reminds us that the first batting practice sessions at George M. Steinbrenner Field will once again be must-see events. Yes, in-didi.