Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/14/22

Newsday | Erik Boland: The Yankees have several needs to fill during the offseason, most notably retaining Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo while upgrading shortstop, third base, and left field. Brian Cashman feels comfortable about his starting pitching, however.

“I feel good about going into the wintertime having [Gerrit] Cole, Nestor [Cortes], [Luis] Severino, [Frankie] Montas as your first four, however you want to cut that, with [Domingo] German in the fifth spot,” Cashman recently said.

Despite some rough times, the Yanks’ rotation was fourth in MLB with a 3.51 ERA this past season. Clarke Schmidt could potentially join the group if needed.

“I think that’s a strong rotation right out of the gate,” Cashman said.

New York Daily News | Mike Lupica: Aaron Judge rejected $230 million from the Yankees before the season started, betting on himself with the hope of landing a bigger deal. It’s safe to say his bet paid off: he hit .311/.425/.686 with 62 home runs and great defense, and is now looking at about $100 million more than he was offered a few months ago.

Lupica suggests that the Yankees made the mistake of not taking care of Judge’s extension way earlier. “When they had the chance to swing for the fences themselves, they were the ones who struck out. Looking. Now they can lose him,” he says, criticizing the fact the team couldn’t get him to sign way sooner.

It’s not like they needed much convincing: he has never had a wRC+ lower than 140 in his entire career, and hit 39 home runs in 2021.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: Former Mets general manager Steve Phillips says the Yankees need Judge to be competitive and speculates the bidding could go as high as $370 million for 10 years.

The former executive emphasized that money will not be the only important thing in Judge’s negotiations — the length of the contract will be just as significant. “Look, when the Giants say they’re going to be all in and they’re not going to be outbid, it’s going to mean giving the extra year,” Phillips said. “Whether that’s nine years or 10 years … I think it might get there.”