Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/26/22

NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein The Yankees are hoping they can re-sign Aaron Judge to a long-term deal during the offseason, but there is a non-zero chance he departs. Former GM and current The Athletic insider Jim Bowden touches on what the team should do if they lose the AL MVP.

“I expect the Yankees to quickly pivot and attempt to sign Justin Verlander or Jacob deGrom along with an outfielder such as (Brandon) Nimmo,” he said when discussing what would happen if the Yankees lose the Judge sweepstakes.

That sounds like a passable backup plan, but A) none of those players have Judge’s combination of current age and star-level performance, and B) it would be hard to bring them all to the Bronx.

New York Daily News | Matthew Roberson After posting a career-low slugging percentage and making several costly miscues at shortstop, the Yankees decided to tender Isiah Kiner-Falefa a one-year, $6 million contract. Roberson goes through that decision and its implications, plus the mental burden that pressure from fans had on the player all season long.

He also put the blame on the Yankees’ front office and their “stubbornness”, as they insisted on giving IKF every chance to play despite his struggles and could do something similar in 2023.

“Punting on Kiner-Falefa after just one year, especially given the well-known shortstop menu they could have ordered from last winter, would have been both an admission of failure and a healthy scoop of embarrassment,” he wrote.

WFAN Sports Radio | Lou DiPietro The non-tender deadline from a few days ago helped populate the free agent market with a few potentially worthy gambles. WFAN went through five players the Yankees could consider, including former NL MVP Cody Bellinger, a few arms and a versatile fourth-outfielder type.