Around the Empire: Yankees news - 1/13/19

NJ.com | Steve Politi: It’s not often that a pair of superstars, in their prime, hit the open market. When that happens, teams should go out of their way to bring in the extraordinary talent. The Yankees sold their fans on a lengthy austerity plan to prepare for this year’s free agent class. This was supposed to be the prize, the ultimate payoff to passing on multiple other top free agents. Now, however, they have extreme reservation and are prepared to move on without reeling one in. Maybe they still make a play for Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, but right now this seems like an awful bait-and-switch.

MLB.com | Mike Petriello: When the Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu, many observers (myself included), quickly pointed out his home/road splits. Coors Field has a tendency to benefit hitters, LeMahieu included. There may be hope for the Yankees, however, as the infielder has made noticeable changes in his approach. He’s hitting the ball in the air more frequently, in addition to pulling it. Combine this with the removal of the Coors Field hangover effect and you can see what the Yankees may have in mind.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Baseball is broken, at least from a hot stove perspective. For the second offseason in a row, free agents are getting frozen out as teams decline to pay for past performance. Something has to change. Davidoff suggests adding a salary floor and cap. Personally, I recommend reducing the number of years a team has control of a player, implementing restricted free agency prior to a player hitting the open market, and an unweighted lottery draft system. How would you address offseason stagnation?