Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/6/20

ESPN | Jeff Passan: Both MLB players and owners have called the opposite side’s offers “non-starters.” However, when you break it down and crunch some numbers, the gap between the two sides isn’t as large as you’d believe (which makes the lack of a compromise even more frustrating). Passan ran the numbers and determined that the difference in league revenue between the two proposals is likely between $300-$600 million, which really isn’t as large as is believed. However, Passan reports that the distrust on both sides is making it hard for them to come to a compromise. They better hurry, because the likely deadline for a July 4 Opening Day is approaching in about 10 days.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Let’s be optimistic for a little bit and imagine that the 2020 season is on its way. The Yankees still have several roster questions, many of which center around health. Aaron Judge likely wouldn’t be ready to go as of now, but Giancarlo Stanton and James Paxton would be and Aaron Hicks could be. The story also looks at potential lineups, roster battles and playing time splits.

WFAN | Lou DiPietro: The wild trade rumors surrounding the Yankees’ Core Four in their young days have long been a topic of speculation – Mariano Rivera was once almost traded to Seattle and Andy Pettitte almost went to Philadelphia. Now, courtesy of Jim Leyritz, there’s a new rumor to ponder – the Yankees reportedly almost traded Jorge Posada in 1997 to Texas for Ivan Rodriguez. Leyritz is a good source here, because he was reportedly told that he would have been traded from Anaheim to Texas after the Yankees’ deal went through. In the end, it worked out for everyone despite not completing this trade – Pudge was still in his prime and won the AL MVP next year, while Posada took over as the Yankees’ starter in 1998 and never looked back.