Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/14/22

CBS Sports | Zinnia Maldonado: The Yankees were set to take on Game 2 of their ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Guardians yesterday, but Mother Nature had other plans. Now the two teams have an early afternoon matinee matchup scheduled today before they’ll have to catch a flight for Game 3 tomorrow night and play as many as four consecutive days (with another trip back to New York if it goes the full five games). I’m not sure what MLB gained out of scheduling the ALDS the way they did, but at least these two teams are somewhat close geographically — if the Yankees had drawn Seattle, this would’ve been a real logistical nightmare.

NY Daily News | Kristie Ackert: Oswaldo Cabrera has played barely more than a month’s worth of games in the big leagues, but he’s already found a way to look like a seasoned vet on the field as he’s making his postseason debut. Cabrera’s adjustment into the outfield after being a career infielder has become a success in record time, and he got to showcase some of that talent in a highlight play grabbing an out from the stands in support of Gerrit Cole. We’ve seen some major promise with his bat already, but Cabrera’s midseason development has turned into a huge season-saver for the Yankees as they maneuver around all of the injuries they sustained down the stretch.

NY Post | Greg Joyce: Speaking of defense, the Yankees couldn’t have drawn a better opponent to showcase how vital it was that they drastically improved themselves on the field over the offseason. The Guardians strike out less than anyone else in baseball, and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense to step up. We saw some miscues in Game 1, but for the most part, the defense didn’t hurt the Yankees despite the challenge, and it will be crucial for them to keep it up if they want to win this series in short order.

NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein: An old friend has had a turbulent year since leaving the Bronx, and he might be due for a busy offseason as well. Luke Voit was traded right at the start of spring training this year, and while he wasn’t in his peak performance in San Diego, he showed that he was healthy again and played to a decent .733 OPS. However, the Padres dealt him to Washington midseason in the Juan Soto deal once Eric Hosmer invoked his limited no-trade clause to prevent the initial deal from going through, and Voit slumped a bit after being dumped to a non-contender.

Now, the Nationals might be considering non-tendering Voit due to his rising price tag in arbitration, coupled with the fact that they’re clearly in teardown mode — while that’s not ideal for him, at least getting released would give him a chance to sign with another team in contention over the offseason. Voit was a fun player to cover while he was with the Yankees, and we wish him the best over the winter.