Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/28/22

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco The Yankees made the first relevant move prior to the August 2nd trade deadline by acquiring outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals. They surrendered three minor leaguers: Beck Way, T.J. Sikkema, and Chandler Champlain. The lefty-hitting Benintendi is slashing .320/.387/.398 with three homers and a .785 OPS; and should be an upgrade over Joey Gallo. Find more on our coverage here and here.

Jon Heyman on Twitter | The Yankees would surely love to have Juan Soto, just as the rest of the league. But they appear to be aiming for a star pitcher instead, with Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo as their top two targets according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.

Heyman says the Yanks are in on Montas, Castillo, “and others” and names starting pitching a priority. However, he also added that nothing is known to be close. The deadline is on August 2nd, so there is still some time for the market to fully develop.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller The Yankees suffered an important loss in the last few days, when it was revealed that star reliever Michael King fractured his elbow and would need season-ending surgery. That procedure has been performed successfully.

There is a catch, though: it was believed that the right-hander wouldn’t require elbow reconstruction surgery, also known as Tommy John. However, manager Aaron Boone didn’t quite rule it out and said the Yankees will now more about that in a couple of months.

“I think in eight-to-10 weeks or so, when this heals, they’ll revisit what they think from a ligament standpoint,” Boone said.

NY Post | Andrew Marchand John Sterling, the Yankees play-by-play voice for more than three decades, is still feeling happy and strong to keep doing his job. However, and according to the Post, there might be plans for succession, and the leading candidate is Brendan Burke.

Sterling is 84 years old and increasingly adamant about traveling and has cut down on the number of games he calls in the second half of the 2022 campaign.

Marchand speculates that Sterling could potentially do just the home games and some road games in the future. The Islanders specialist could ill Sterlings’s voide.

Newsday | Neil Best Radio station WFAN announced on Wednesday that their broadcast and digital rights pact with the Yankees for game coverage has been extended “into the late 2020s.” It was set to expire after the 2023 campaign.

“2022 is our 21st consecutive season of broadcasting the Bronx Bombers [on Audacy stations], and we look forward to continuing to have the honor of being the soundtrack to more memorable and historic pinstripe moments,” Chris Oliviero, market president for Audacy New York, said in a release.