Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/7/22

Associated Press | Ronald Blum: Aaron Judge is now officially a free agent. With the Astros’ World Series win on Saturday night, it’s officially the offseason, and on Sunday all 131 players entering free agency across the majors were announced. Judge, Jacob deGrom, and Carlos Correa headline this year’s free agent class, and all players can begin signing with teams on Friday. There are exceptions for re-signing with the same team though, and notably, Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s free agency didn’t even last the day, as Steve Cohen and company re-signed him to a five-year, $102 million deal.

To recap, here are all of the Yankees free agents:

Sports Illustrated | Max Goodman: If you’ve been reading my link roundups since about late August, you already know just how much I hate love free agent contract speculation, but Yankees news is a little light these days so beggars can’t be choosers. Jon Heyman gave his predictions for the contracts that the Yankees’ biggest free agents will be able to pull in. Most notable of the bunch, he predicts 9 years, $330 million for Aaron Judge (I think that’s a bit too much and too long) and 2 years, $40 million for Anthony Rizzo (that sounds about right).

New York Post | Dan Martin: It’s deja vu all over again when it comes to the Yankees’ starting shortstop gig. For the second consecutive year, the Yankees enter the offseason with a gigantic question mark at shortstop, and the end-of-the-year press conference, much like the end of the season, didn’t really offer any solutions. Will they try to run it back with Isiah Kiner-Falefa? Will Oswald Peraza be trade bait this offseason in the same way that some of us expected him to be at this year’s trade deadline? Or will they entrust the rookie with the starting gig while being more aggressive with Anthony Volpe’s development? Will they flex their financial muscles and sign one of Trea Turner or Carlos Correa? If I were a betting man I would not put my money on seeing a major free agent shortstop acquisition, though, at this point, nothing would surprise me.

Forbes | Wayne G. McDonnell Jr.: A surprising source of Yankees-related news, Forbes has had their “Business of Baseball Analyst” (best job title ever?) take a look at the organization’s recent end-of-season press conference. In particular, they’ve taken a look at how the Yankees’ dedication to trusting the process is at odds with the fans’ disappointment after seeing the Astros win another World Series title, and how the organization needs to recognize this urgency, in all its discomfort, and act upon it.