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Around the Empire: Yankees news - 3/23/16

Derek Jeter attends MLB's visit to Cuba with President Obama, Masahiro Tanaka seems destined for Opening Day, and the long-awaited rise of official Spanish translators in the clubhouse.

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New York Post | George King: Joe Girardi has yet to make it official, but with the makeup of the current Yankees rotation combined with Masahiro Tanaka's present health, it's all but certain that he will start against the Astros on Opening Day a week and a half from now.

NJ.com | Joe Giglio: As Major League Baseball celebrated its return to Cuba yesterday with President Obama watching their national team play the Rays, Derek Jeter was among the dignitaries in attendance. He was interviewed by ESPN at one point and offered his thoughts on the recent "old school vs. new school" debate of showing emotions on the field. While he considers himself an old school player, Jeter totally supports the game evolving and said that when players show their personalities on the field, it's fun.

New York Daily News | Mark Feinsand: Carlos Beltran was one of the leaders behind the movement to get more Spanish translators in the clubhouse, and in this excellent post by Feinsand, he and other Spanish-speaking players (old and new) told their stories about acclimating to the English language. Doing interviews with the media is only part of the challenge--for instance, Beltran and Luis Severino both had problems simply ordering food at first.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: For the most part, the Yankees haven't revealed where exactly their minor leaguers will be assigned in 2016, but clues like farm director Gary Denbo's statements and recent minor league camp lineups offer some clues.

The Comeback | Dave Tobener: Hal Steinbrenner ranked behind only Jeffrey Loria as MLB's most unlikeable owner. That's what you get when you cause unnecessary ticketing problems and your COO acts like it's some great crime if poor people sit near the rich. Gross.

Lastly, Slade Heathcott was demoted to minor league camp to get more regular playing time. Sorry, No Mahbles.