Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/15/18

FanRag Sports | Jon Heyman: The talk of the town recently has been about a potential trade that would send Jacob deGrom to the Yankees from the Mets. The problem there, though, is that it’s a very unlikely trade. The biggest reason, according to one Yankees executive, is that the Mets won’t trade deGrom to the Yankees. The other? That the Yankees would be unwilling to part with either Gleyber Torres or Miguel Andujar for deGrom.

New York Post | Dan Martin: Speaking of Jacob deGrom, one of his ex-teammates thinks he’d be a perfect fit for the Yankees. Granted that ex-teammate is Neil Walker, who apparently is still with the Yankees. Walker says that he knows deGrom can pitch in New York and can handle the pressure of big games as he pitched in the World Series in 2015.

MLB.com | Brittany Ghiroli: Every once in a while, we go through a piece that reviews the AL East overall. For today, we’re looking at AL East players that are primed to turnaround and make an impact in the division. This piece looks at one player for every team in the division and for the Yankees, it’s Gary Sanchez. Sanchez hasn’t been Sanchez so far this year, but if/when he picks it up, he can be a difference maker in the division.

MLB.com | Mark Feinsand: In 1978, Ron Guidry had one of the most memorable seasons for a Yankee pitcher. This was the year of the “Bronx Zoo.” Guidry went 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA across 35 starts. This kind of year is almost unheard of in this day and age. This post is a good read that helps remember Guidry and is extremely dominant season.

ESPN | Coley Harvey: Speaking of Guidry though, he recently took time out to speak about the Yankees’ current ace and had nothing but good things to say. Just a few days shy of the 40th anniversary of Guidry’s 18-strikeout game, Guidry says that he thinks one day Severino will be the one to break that record. Severino is currently on pace (280) to blow past Guidry’s single-season strikeout record (248) and Guidry thinks that he has the stuff to have something magical happen for him.

MLB.com | Mandy Bell: As we’ve discussed a few times already, it’s HOPE Week for the Yankees. As part of HOPE Week, yesterday the Yankees helped a Korean War veteran fulfill his last wish. Sal Reale served two years in the U.S. Army as a radio operator during the Korean War and then served as a firefighter for 20 years. He and his wife have lived in St. Petersberg, FL since he retired and haven’t been back. With the help of the Yankees, Reale got to fulfill one of his last wishes, which was to come back to New York and visit one of his old firehouses. It’s things like this that make HOPE Week one of the best weeks ever.

After the game, the Yankees had to make a roster move:

Looks like this is the move that’ll get Johnny Lasagna Jonathan Loaisiga on the active roster.

Didi Victory Tweet

I still love that baby bottle for Gleyber Torres, but the ant for Domingo German might be my favorite.