Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/25/22

MLB Trade Rumors | Nick Deeds: Here’s some frightening news: MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand cites anonymous sources who believe the Dodgers will make a serious run at Aaron Judge this winter. LA is set to have a huge amount of money come off the payroll if they let players like Trea Turner and Craig Kimbrel walk, and Feinsand writes the Dodgers would be willing to move fellow superstar Mookie Betts to second base more often to accommodate Judge.

New York Post | Dan Martin: DJ LeMahieu never appeared for the Yankees this postseason, with the 33-year-old’s abscence contributing to the club’s offensive malaise. LeMahieu said he hopes to avoid surgery on the toe fracture that plagued him for months, but also indicated that the whole situation is still touch-and-go. He described the injury as “tricky”, and expressed his desire to avoid going under the knife, but also how he wants to avoid such a nagging injury in the future. It seems like a tough spot for the Yankees and their infielder as the offseason begins.

Newsday | Anthony Rieber: Long-time broadcaster John Sterling was asked if he plans to continue calling Yankees games on radio, and the 84-year-old indicated he had no desire to stop. “I don’t know how many games I’ll do. Maybe I’ll do all of them. Every broadcaster takes games off. It’s not a big thing. Vin Scully started it. But I plan to continue working” Sterling stated. Sterling didn’t travel for some road series in 2022, with other voices like Ricky Ricardo and Ryan Ruocco covering at times.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: With the Yankee season over, it’ll soon be time to start contemplating the team’s impending free agents. Among them is starter Jameson Taillon, who was asked about his desire to return after the club’s ALCS loss. “I haven’t thought about it a ton but I definitely know I loved playing here. They took a chance on me... To get to come here, I had never experience the playoffs, never experienced a winning environment and culture,” Taillon said on Sunday. The right-hander is entering his age-30 season, coming off a year in which he was just about the consummate average major league starter.

CBS Sports | Mike Axisa: Axisa lays out the broad strokes of the upcoming Yankee winter, with the most pressing issue, of course, the fate of Aaron Judge. The sense seems to be that Judge is likely to return, but Hal Steinbrenner will almost certainly have to pony up in excess of $300 million to make it happen. Also on the docket is assessing the future the club’s brairn trust. Brian Cashman’s contract is up, and Aaron Boone’s status is also more in question than it’s been at any point during his managerial run.