MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: As my colleague Madison covered in detail yesterday, the Yankees finalized a three-year extension for pitching coach Matt Blake, keeping probably the most important member of their coaching staff in the fold. The Yankees pitching staff boasted the best ERA in the league (3.23), and that has as much to do with Blake’s work with star and presumptive AL Cy Young Cam Schlittler as it has to do with his well-known talent for converting pitchers they acquire into impact
relievers, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn the foremost examples this season. With Blake continuing in his role and last year’s reunion with assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel, the Yankees’ pitching development factory looks to be in good hands for the near future.
The Big Lead | J.P Hoornstra: The Yankees may have succeeded in retaining Blake, but they lost another influential voice in their pitching room. Spencer Medick, pitching coach for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, has agreed to join the Astros as their new major league director of pitching. It’s a huge promotion for a minor league pitching coach and one that is well deserved given how well Yankees prospects at that level pitched in 2026. Medick helped implement the organization-wide pitching philosophy at the level closest to the majors, and it is no surprise that the Yankees minor league affiliates lapped the field when it came to K-BB%, one of the best publicly available predictive stats for future performance.
SNY | Phillip Martinez: The Yankees’ infield is in need of a major revamp this offseason, though it remains to be seen whether that renovation is forthcoming. We’ve spent the last few days wondering about second base and Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s future, and today we shift our attention to third. The Yankees have been among the worst teams in the league at third base over the last decade, the platoon of Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario the latest to disappoint at the hot corner. The most likely course in 2027 would be a platoon between McMahon and Caballero given they are both still under contract, though they could consider shifting Anthony Volpe after he took reps there leading into the postseason. Looking outside the organization, the author considers trade proposals for Eugenio Suárez and Isaac Paredes while also examining the free agent cases of Alec Bohm and Bo Bichette should he opt out of his deal with the Mets.
MLB.com | Sweeny Murti: Almost 70 years after attending the last World Series win in Milwaukee, Joe Torre is back in the city that gave him his shot in baseball watching another Fall Classic. Torre was just a teenager when the Milwaukee Braves defeated the Yankees in seven games in 1957, his older brother a backup first baseman on the winning team. Torre played the first six seasons of his career in Milwaukee for the Braves before the franchise moved to Atlanta, and you can bet the Hall of Fame player and manager is rooting for the home team.
