Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/1/22

Sports Illustrated | Matthew Postins: Aaron Judge’s free agency promises to be the most closely followed storyline of the upcoming offseason, and it appears another team has jumped into the sweepstakes. Citing from a recent Athletic article, Postins relays that the Rangers are one of six teams expected to pursue Judge over the winter. Their recent hire of Bruce Bochy as manager signals a win-now attitude toward next season, the big-money signings of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien last offseason having laid the groundwork for such a transition to contention.

NBC Sports | Tim Stebbins: The White Sox have received permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza for their managerial opening. Tony La Russa’s ill-fated stint as their most recent manager came to an end with his official retirement, having led the team to one of the most disappointing finishes of any team last season given the preseason expectations for them to win the division. Mendoza has been with the Yankees for 14 years, serving as Aaron Boone’s bench coach for the last five.

NJ Advance Media | Mike Rosenstein: Brian Cashman’s contract expired following the conclusion of the Yankees’ season, and owner Hal Steinbrenner has yet to make a decision on the future of the long time general manager. One unnamed executive believes that allowing Cashman to leave for another team would be a huge mistake for Yankees ownership, and that teams would be lining up to ink Cashman to their front office. The source even goes on to speculate that the Mets would be at the front of the queue with team president Sandy Alderson taking a step back in addition to Cashman’s ties to current Mets GM Billy Eppler.

New York Daily News | Matthew Roberson: Aaron Judge was the principle protagonist of the Yankees’ season, but there are other Yankees whose 2022 performances merit praise. Roberson names DJ LeMahieu, Jameson Taillon, and Ron Marinaccio as the team’s three unheralded heroes. Although LeMahieu and Marinaccio struggled with injury down the stretch and Taillon had a handful of forgettable moments, the trio still played considerable roles in the Yankees winning the division.