NY Daily News | Bradford William Davis: If you somehow missed the big news, James Paxton is going to miss the first few months of the season due to back surgery. Remember last year when just about every Yankee spent time on the injured list? Now seems like a good time for the Yankees to go out and get some more pitching depth. They should at least invite a few more guys to spring training. Colin McHugh or Jason Vargas could be interesting choices.
New York Post | George A. King III and Dan Martin: The Bombers do have quite a few internal options for the rotation, however. At this point it seems like a rotation spot is Jordan Montgomery’s to lose. Other potential candidates include Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa, Mike King, and maybe even Deivi Garcia. Manager Aaron Boone said that he didn’t want Garcia to feel too much pressure during his first big-league spring training. “I don’t want to put any expectations on him right away. It is his first camp, he’s got a really bright future and we’ll see where it leads.”
NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein: Wondering why Paxton is having surgery so late in the offseason? You’re not alone. He reportedly tweaked his back during his final regular season start of 2019. The Yankees treated it at the time and decided he could pitch in the postseason. Unfortunately, it started bothering him again a few weeks ago when he started ramping up his throwing program. The treatment plan didn’t improve things, so the Bombers were forced to resort to an untimely surgery.