Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/30/22

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The way he was used down the stretch was certainly questionable at best, but it appears that the organization feels like Oswald Peraza’s first taste of the big leagues was a resounding success. Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson was particularly impressed with his advanced, yet still improving, approach at the plate. He noted specifically his top-end exit velocity for a shortstop and the fact that his swing decisions continue to improve as he advances to each new level of his career. It’s not a guarantee that Peraza will be the starting shortstop come April — as it stands, I think it’s hard to guarantee pretty much anything with this lineup — but Lawson’s praise certainly makes it seem like a possibility at the very least.

NY Post | Jameson Taillon: Jameson Taillon came to New York in an offseason deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates after missing the shortened 2020 season. Ahead of his first taste of free agency, Taillon has made it clear that he’d like to return to New York. With a dearth of difference-making options in free agency outside of Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Carlos Rodon, and with the market for starting pitching the way it is, it’s possible that he may be looking at a nice payday, even with his status as a back-of-the-rotation arm. Since coming to the Bronx, Taillon has been a reasonable addition to the back end of the rotation, pitching to a 4.08 ERA and 3.94 FIP with a 21.9-percent strikeout rate and measly 5.7-percent walk rate in 321.2 innings pitched. The 30-year-old was much better this past season, though, putting up his best numbers since 2018.

Sports Illustrated | Gary Phillips: We heard it all season long, but it’s always going to be nice to revisit: Jose Trevino was one of the best stories for the Yankees this season. Trevino was able to turn a seemingly nothing deal for Albert Abreu — a player the organization brought back after he was waived by the Texas Rangers — in the early going into an All-Star appearance and by far the best season of his career. He emerged as arguably the best defensive catcher in the game, and his first half was littered with huge hits in massive spots. Although he split playing time with Kyle Higashioka and his offensive production fell off in this second half and he finished the season in a particularly rough stretch, he still managed to post 3.7 fWAR (fourth among catchers in the AL and eighth overall, were he to qualify) and endear himself to the Yankees faithful. After some pretty rough years behind the plate, it was nice to have a steady defender back there.

MLB.com | Andre Simon, Sarah Langs, and Daniel Kramer: Game 1 took place on Friday night, and though the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies are having all the fun right now, the absolute rollercoaster that game provided us with inspired this list of the greatest World Series Game 1 matchups in history. On the list is the 12-inning Yankees-Mets 2000 World Series classic, which ended on a José Vizcaíno walk-off single off Turk Wendell. Here’s to hoping this series features more games like Game 1, and that the Yankees get back to actually participating in these games sometime soon.