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ESPN | Coley Harvey: Yankee fans were dealt a harsh opening to the offseason in Brian Cashman’s press conference on Friday, as the team announced that shortstop Didi Gregorius would undergo Tommy John surgery. Cashman said that the team is confident that Gregorius will still play most of the season, but also said summer was a good estimate for when Didi could return. Time will tell when Didi will actually return, but this is an unfortunate blow to one of the lineup’s most consistent members entering his walk year.
NY Post | Joel Sherman: The Gregorius injury leads us right into our next topic, Manny Machado. The Yankees have already been connected to Machado, as the team made attempts to acquire him in a trade before he hit the open market. The Yankees’ need only increased with the possible uncertainty of Gregorius’ status heading into 2019. Sherman proposes a short term, but extremely high AAV, contract to entice Machado to play in the Bronx next year.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Another topic from the Cashman press conference was centered on the fate of Sonny Gray. Gray was ineffective at best in 2018, and lost his starting rotation spot late in the year. Cashman, in a rather direct statement, announced that Gray was on the trading block and the Yankees would be looking for a team that could get what the Yankees were hoping to get when they acquired Gray from the Athletics last season.
Fancred Sports | Jon Heyman: This broke the other day, but it’s worth going over. Rumors came out after Luis Severino’s start against the Red Sox in the ALDS that Sevy was tipping his pitches. There appears to be evidence to this, as a GIF of Jackie Bradley Jr. calling Severino’s fastball before it was delivered has surfaced. Pitch tipping has been a problem for Severino of late, and is probably tied into his awful stretch in the second half. A recurring problem like this has to be dealt with for Severino to return to dominance in 2019.