Around the Empire: Yankees news - 9/15/23

SNY | Andy Martino: Prospect phenom Jasson Domínguez is set to undergo Tommy John surgery next Thursday, although the exact nature of the procedure will be decided in the operating room. Dr. Keith Meister, the man performing the operation, is an expert in the internal brace technique that athletes, including Trevor Story, have undergone, and the procedure is expected to be a combination of both TJS and the brace, which will hopefully expedite the recovery process some.

FanGraphs | Kyle Kishimoto: Gerrit Cole has been the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award almost from the word go in 2023, and while there are other contenders in the league — Sonny Gray, Kevin Gausman, and Luis Castillo should all receive votes — nobody is combining run prevention with volume the way Cole has this year. He’s posting lower strikeout rates than we’re used to seeing, but improved fastball command has led to better contact control, and that will likely carry him to his first ever Cy Young, barring a meltdown across his final three starts.

New York Post | Andrew Marchand: Much has been made of the Yankees calling up their prospects in September, but now the team’s radio booth is too. Both John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman will skip this weekend’s series in Pittsburgh, giving the reins to Justin Shackil and color duties to 24 (!!)-year-old Emmanuel Berbari, the pre/postgame show host. It’s the first time since 1989 that neither voice will be in the WFAN booth, and perhaps signals the succession plan when both industry veterans eventually step away from the mic.

ESPN | Jeff Passan: The Red Sox fired chief baseball operator Chaim Bloom just ahead of their doubleheader with the Yankees yesterday. Bloom, who came into the job and almost immediately dealt away potential NL MVP Mookie Betts, was the architect of what was supposed to be a meaner, leaner generation of Red Sox teams. However, on-field success has been stagnant at best for the Sox, and four years after being seen as the next whiz kid of front offices, Bloom will need a new job.

As a final note for the morning, the Yankees made a small roster move between doubleheader games yesterday, swapping in righty Luke Weaver in exchange for 32-year-old veteran Matt Bowman. The latter was good in his Yankees debut in Tuesday’s evening No Name Bullpen victory, and then was not-so-good in his second game on Thursday afternoon. Since the doubleheaders affected the starting rotation, look for Weaver to potentially step in tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.

Weaver’s numbers are ugly across 26 games and 22 starts between Cincinnati and Seattle, but someone has to pitch these mostly meaningless games I suppose. Jhony Brito will probably be the first man out of the ‘pen in his new, successful relief role.