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The Athletic | Ken Rosenthal and Lindsey Adler: As we all know, the Yankees and every other team are currently prohibited from signing any major league free agents until the lockout is over. Having missed out on the frenzy of signings that happened just before the shutdown, Rosenthal and Adler argue that the time has come for the Yankees to break out the checkbook once the league allows them to. That can include free agents, like Carlos Correa or Trevor Story, plus an extension for Aaron Judge. You’ll need a subscription to read this one, but it’s worth it.
The Score | Travis Sawchik: One issue that probably isn’t helping the lockout to end in a timely manner is the matter of the multiple baseballs in use in 2021 — one juiced, one deadened. Sawchik reports that former Yankee Andrew Miller said the issue only adds to the mistrust players are feeling towards the league. Not only that, but it affects how we view players and how teams evaluate them when they have sudden increases in power. Are they the result of a new approach, or did they just get a lot of juiced balls in their at-bats?
Yahoo! Sports | Scott Thompson: Clint Frazier wrote a tweet saying he’s happy he’s not a Yankee anymore. Some people are mad about that, even though many of them are also happy he’s not a Yankee anymore. Some, like CC Sabathia, are simply tired of it, as he stated in more profane terms on his R2C2 podcast. Frazier has played more games than the 15 Sabathia credited him for, but it does seem like Frazier has a bit of an outsized role in some fan’s psyches for as short as his Yankee career ended up being.
Sports Illustrated | Pat Ragazzo: The New York Mets are finally making progress in their search for a manager, and former Yankee skipper and occasional YES Network contributor Buck Showalter may be the favorite to get the job. His experience with the New York City media would likely be an asset, and he could be able to take control of a clubhouse that was no stranger to strange moments and controversies.