Around the Empire: Yankees news - 2/23/16

New York Post | George A. King III: Strength and conditioning coach Matt Krause has introduced a newly built hill as the next big way to work out the players.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Larry Rothschild believes that Masahiro Tanaka is progressing nicely after undergoing elbow surgery in the offseason.

It's About the Money | Scott Moss: Since spring training has already started and he's running out of options, it could make sense to sign David Freese to be the backup third baseman.

Baseball Prospectus Bronx | Ben Diamond: A breakdown of the spring training battles for fifth starter, backup catcher, utility infielder, and bullpen spots.

FanGraphs | Dave Cameron: The Yankees had one of the better offseasons in baseball when you consider the Aaron Hicks trade and how they got Aroldis Chapman for very little.

New York Daily News | Anthony McCarron: Carlos Beltran intends to mentor Aaron Judge while they are both in major league camp.