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NJ.com | Randy Miller: It is no secret that Andy Pettitte was a crucial piece in the Yankees’ pitch to Gerrit Cole back when he signed, late last year. The former Yankee great told the YES Network that he was “glad that I could help him. I’m glad that I was able to be there and the Yankees wanted me to be there to have kind of a player’s perspective on it.” He spent hours answering Cole’s questions and even when the meeting ended, the two masters of the mound spent an extra 20 minutes together. But what did Pettitte say to him? “If you want to win championships now, I feel like this is the spot for you.”
SNY | Corey Hersch: MLB Pipeline released its preseason top 100 prospects list. Three Yankees made their way into consideration among the best of the best: Jasson Dominguez, the “Martian”, checked in at number 54. Starting pitchers Clarke Schmidt (88) and Deivi Garcia (92) also made the list. The two hurlers have a very good chance of pitching in the Bronx at some point in 2020, especially Garcia. Dominguez, meanwhile, is at least a couple of years away, with 2023 a more likely ETA.
New York Daily News | Mike Lupica: This week, Yankees’ legend Derek Jeter was elected to the Hall of Fame, while former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who led the team to two Super Bowl rings, announced his retirement. Lupica explains that we were lucky enough to enjoy both of them in New York, as they were both consummate professionals who produced and performed in the biggest of spotlights.
NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein: Finally, the first 2017 Houston Astro apology arrived. Better late than never! In this case, Dallas Keuchel - a key member of the Astros’ rotation back then, now a recent Chicago White Sox signee - offered his apology, but also said that they didn’t do it in every game. Owner Jim Crane said this week that “when we get down to spring training we’ll all get them together and they’ll come out with a strong statement as a team and I think, you know, apologize for what happened and move forward.”