Yankees 2019 Winter Meetings Rumors: Bombers interested in Martin Maldonado

The Winter Meetings are still happening, huh? Go figure. The Yankees made the biggest splash late last night, signing Gerrit Cole to an earth-shattering contract. You can read the news post here, as well as the instant reaction.

Sure, the Rule 5 Draft takes place tomorrow morning, but everyone bails right after that. If anything else is going to go down in San Diego, it will happen today. You know the drill by now—we’re keeping track of all the rumors here.

Since it can sometimes be hard to keep up with the news, Pinstripe Alley is going to run a series of posts containing all the Yankees rumors over the next three days. It’s important to remember that these are rumors, and should be taken with a grain of salt. Teams and agents posture, selectively releasing information in a way that benefits them.

Rumors of the Day (December 11, 2019)

• 5:30 PM ET: Mark Feinsand says the Yankees have interest in catcher Martin Maldonado. The 33-year-old was essentially Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher in 2019, so hey, whatever makes him happy.
• 3:00 PM ET: Here’s a fun tidbit from Jon Heyman: The Rockies are willing to listen to trade inquiries on superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado. The Yankees are believed to love Arenado, so I’m willing to include this rumor here.
• 10:00 AM ET: According to Jack Curry, multiple conversations with Hal Steinbrenner and Andy Pettitte persuaded Cole to sign with New York. How about that?
• 10:00 AM ET: Buster Olney adds that Steinbrenner negotiated directly with Scott Boras, and the decision to go to nine years represented the turning point in the sweepstakes.
• 10:00 AM ET: The Yankees don’t need to trade J.A. Happ to clear payroll for the Cole signing, reports Andy Martino. A Happ deal could wait well into the offseason.
• 10:00 AM ET: Martino adds that the Yankees still plan to bring Brett Gardner back.

Reminder: This is not an open thread. Please keep comments on topic. Thank you.