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New York Daily News | Kristie Ackert: In some excellent news, Aaron Boone is feeling great in the midst of his leave of absence to receive a pacemaker. “I can’t believe how good I feel”, the manager said yesterday, adding that he was “really excited about it and excited to get back.” It sounds like Boone could be back with the team as early as this weekend.
New York Post | Dan Martin: If you glance at Deivi García’s line from his spring debut on Thursday against the Phillies, two runs on two innings on a pair of homers, you might not come away impressed. But the right-hander felt encouraged, and if you peer a bit deeper, it’s not hard to see why. García’s fastball looked lively in the mid-90’s, and he generated nine swings and misses across the brief outing.
New York Times | James Wagner: Wagner provides a look at Clint Frazier, Brett Gardner, and the relationship between the two outfielders. The piece details Frazier’s development, both on and off the field, and how Frazier and Gardner have grown tight even as they’ve jockeyed for playing time in recent years. It’s a pleasant story, one of a fiery young talent and an elder statesman not just co-existing, but helping each other in more ways than one.
NJ Advance Media | Joe Giglio: Here’s an intriguing case for Aaron Judge as AL MVP. His current Vegas odds are somewhat long at 12-to-1 or so, and Giglio lays out a decent argument that Judge should be a frontrunner. It all comes down to avoiding injuries, obviously, but the slugger at the very least has maintained a clean bill of health so far in 2021, and on a rate basis, Judge has absolutely been MVP-caliber every time he’s stepped on the field since 2017.