Around the Empire: Yankees news - 12/30/22

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: It’s time to look ahead to the 2023 season, and what lies in store for next year’s Yankee squad. Aaron Judge might not get back to that 62 home run level, but we can all be reasonably confident the pitching staff is going to be a blast to watch. Between that and the expected contributions from rookies Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Peraza, there’s no shortage of storylines to follow as we approach spring training.

New York Daily News | James O’Connell: The Yankees DFA’d Lucas Luetge earlier this week before dealing him to Atlanta for prospect depth on Wednesday. While the team needed the extra roster space, the fact that it was Luetge and not another one of the club’s relief depth speaks to a larger issue around the value of left-handed relief pitching. Once a stalwart part of any bullpen, it’s now less and less important to have left-handed specialists as pitch design techniques allow righties to better navigate lineups with modern pitching repertoires.

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Jaffe’s one of the most comprehensive documenters of what it takes to achieve Hall of Fame enshrinement, and gives us his own HoF ballot here. Seven players get the nod, and his own PED policy is re-iterated: those who played before the commissioner began handing down punishments for positive tests are eligible, those who were punished are not. Whatever you think of that direction, it’s at least logically consistent.

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: The Yankees made a small move Thursday, inking righty Tyler Danish to a minor league deal for 2023. He threw 40 innings for the Red Sox this year, and although his strikeout numbers leave a lot to be desired, his excellent 47 percent ground ball rate could be enough to provide relief depth, and if not, he doesn’t cost the Yankees much besides an extra jersey in spring training.