Around the Empire: Yankees news - 10/30/23

NJ.com | Kevin Manahan: File this under “unsurprising.” The Yankees are not the only team who could pursue Padres superstar Juan Soto this off-season, should San Diego choose to deal the 25-year-old phenom. The Chicago Cubs have already made their intent clear, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. It would be great if no one else wanted Soto and the Yankees could get him for pennies on the dollar. But I suspect Soto’s suitors will expand in number the longer this saga stretches.

The Athletic | Evan Drellich: Rob Manfred shared his thoughts on a couple of topics recently. Among them were possible changes to the playoff format, and the maximum number of pitchers MLB teams could carry on their rosters. Manfred sounds like a pretty big fan of the current format, but there has been enough noise that MLB will likely at least talk about it this offseason. Meanwhile, he sounds open to the idea of dropping the maximum number of pitchers clubs can carry from 13 to 12, though he clarified he’s not eager to immediately do so after the seismic changes of 2023.

New York Times | Debra Kamin: If you’ve got seven bucks you’re not sure what to do with, check this out. Especially if you’ve ever wanted to own (part of) Mickey Mantle’s childhood home. Rally, a collectibles company, is selling shares to Mantle’s humble abode, nestled in Commerce, Oklahoma. There are 47,000 shares total, and they went on sale Friday. Snap them up before they’re gone. If you can.