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MLB Trade Rumors | TC Zencka: Fresh off a season in which the $265 million Yankees finished second in the AL East to the $73 million payroll of the Tampa Bay Rays, all signs point to the Bombers being one of the many teams looking to cut costs for the 2021 season. With a number of salaries coming off the books, current projections anticipate that, post-arbitration raises, the Yankees will have about $171 million in expenses—roughly $30 million-$40 million below the luxury-tax line. Unfortunately, the Yankees are losing one of the best hitters in the league (DJ LeMahieu) as well as three-fifths of the starting rotation (Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ), which means that, if the team is insistent on embarking on such a ludicrous stingy conservative spending plan, Brian Cashman will have to get creative.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Beat reporter Bryan Hoch answered fan questions as part of a regularly-scheduled weekly mailbag (yes, the news is that light today). Of questions relevant to the upcoming offseason, he anticipates that Gary Sánchez will not be off the table during trade discussions, but that is remains unlikely he will be non-tendered. He also expects Clint Frazier to be penciled in as the starting left fielder next season, and notes that Luis Severino is scheduled for a return from Tommy John surgery sometime in June or July. Additionally, while he notes that, in a strictly baseball sense, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer would be an ideal one-two punch at the top of the rotation, both salary concerns and the much-reported rift between Cole and Bauer add significant question marks.
New York Post | Jaclyn Hendricks: In some wholesome baseball content, Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka went on a double-date with their wives, Amy Cole and Mai Satoda. Both posted a picture on Instagram, with Cole noting that they were out for sushi, and Tanaka penning a long post thanking the Yankees fans for their support this season.
And furthermore, I think that DJ LeMahieu should be re-signed.