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NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Prompted by reporters at TMZ Sports (which I personally didn’t know was a thing) to comment on whether he wants the Yankees to sign Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, Giancarlo Stanton sounded exactly like a fan: “Both of them.” The Yankees outfielder, who has already begun working to put his injury-riddled 2019 behind him and get ready for next year, seemed excited by the possibility of adding more stars to the clubhouse, and reaffirmed his love of playing in New York, saying, “We’ve got to bring a championship...The city won’t be happy until we do that.” Let’s hope that Hal is listening to one of his biggest stars.
New York Daily News | Bradford William Davis: It appears the Gardy Party is likely holding its national convention in the outfield in Yankee Stadium for the 2020 baseball cycle, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that the New York Yankees and Brett Gardner are currently in negotiations to keep the longest-tenured Yankee and last remaining member of the 2009 World Series championship in the Bronx. With Aaron Hicks to begin the season on the IL and a lack of center field options on the free agent market besides Gardner himself, such a reunion has seemed — and continues to seem — likely from the beginning.
CBS Sports | R.J. Anderson: Deivi Garcia and Jasson Dominguez headline a Yankees farm system that, although depleted in recent years through trades and graduations, still maintains a few intriguing prospects. And fortunately for the Yankees, two of the top three on the list, Garcia and Clarke Schmidt, are pitchers that look poised to make their debuts in 2020.
FanGraphs | Ben Clemens: Upcoming free agent Zack Wheeler has been an above-average pitcher the past few years, and will likely get paid handsomely by teams that miss out on Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg. But he’s got the stuff to be much better than he’s been, and whichever team signs him will look to tap into that stuff. Comparing his stuff and how he uses it with that of Jacob deGrom, Clemens suggests that it’s Wheeler’s reliance on his fastball with two strikes that keeps him from being an ace. If Wheeler does switch boroughs, as some have predicted, let’s hope the new Yankees pitching coach is able to figure it out.
And speaking of the new pitching coach, if you missed the news, the Yankees have hired Matt Blake for the position. Blake served as the pitching coordinator for the Cleveland Indians, and also previously worked as an area scout for the Yankees.