Around the Empire: Yankees news - 9/10/23

Sports Illustrated | Emma Baccellieri: Gerrit Cole may be the last of a dying breed. With his eight one-run innings against the Blue Jays, he breached the 200-inning mark for the sixth time in his career, becoming just the fourth active pitcher alongside Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, and Adam Wainwright to do so. He also became the second player after Logan Webb to reach the tally this season — only Zac Gallen and his 197.2 IP is a lock to join them, with Framber Valdez, Luis Castillo, Mitch Keller, Miles Mikolas, and Aaron Nola within 13 innings of 200 IP but potentially with only one regular season start left. Looking around the league, Cole is perhaps the only pitcher who you expect to hit the mark every season.

MLB.com | Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo: The Yankees have announced the players who will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the upcoming Arizona Fall League. Infielders Benjamin Cowles and Caleb Durbin, outfielder Nelson Medina, and right-handed pitchers Nolberto Henriquez, Kevin Stevens, Baron Stuart, and Trystan Vrieling will be joining players from the Astros, Athletics, Cubs, and Orioles in the six-team league. The 2022 third-round pick Vrieling is one to watch having missed this season with elbow issues after placing 17th on the preseason top-30 prospect list.

New York Post | Mark W. Sanchez: Kevin Kiermaier reprised his role as Yankees villain with yet another diving catch to rob a New York hitter of a base hit, one in a laundry list of plays he’s made against the Bombers with the Rays and now the Blue Jays. The 33-year-old outfielder is slated to become a free agent this winter, and with the injury to Jasson Domínguez and the paucity of center fielders on the market, rumors have already linked the Yankees to their longtime foe. He admits that he’s always loved playing at Yankee Stadium, where he owns an .850 career OPS.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: Yesterday, we got the news that Wandy Peralta is likely to miss the rest of the season — and possibly has thrown his final pitch in pinstripes — after suffering a triceps injury. The Bombers called Yoendrys Gómez up from Double-A to take his spot on the active roster, and the 23 year old rights could make his major league debut against the Diamondbacks at the Stadium. He dropped out of the organizational top 10 list after missing significant time to a shoulder injury and Tommy John surgery. In 19 starts with Double-A this season, Gómez is 0-3 with a 3.53 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 78 strikeouts and 37 walks in 65.1 innings.

Yahoo! Sports | Jack Baer: Stephen A. Smith added himself to the long list of celebrities throwing out embarrassing first pitches, bouncing his in the grass between the mound and home plate prior to Thursday night’s game against the Blue Jays. In fairness, he gave an honest appraisal of the weak effort when he joined the YES broadcast booth, calling it a “choke job.” Because of his bloviated persona in the national media, you can bet he heard about the pitch from all corners of the sporting world.