New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: A lot of news came out regarding Cam Schlittler’s “I have arrived” start in last year’s Wild Card Series. Now, though, we found out what he credits his success to: a good night of sleep. The righty has been tracking his sleep through WHOOP technology and said the two nights prior to his Game 3 start were the two best nights of sleep he’s ever had. Sleep tracking and WHOOP devices have now become commonplace throughout the Yankees clubhouse and for athletes in general.
The Athletic | Ken Rosenthal: All focus is on the World Baseball Classic now as exhibition games have started ahead of the tournament officially starting on Thursday. Aaron Judge is leading the charge as Team USA’s captain. This piece gathers some overall thoughts around Team USA, like the relationship between Judge and Bryce Harper, which was formed when Judge was trying to recruit Harper to the Bronx during his free agency. On a side note, Judge has been receiving some flack on social media for an “uninspiring” rallying speech, but us Yankees fans know, Judge has always been a more behind-the-scenes and on-the-field leader rather than a public one.
As an aside, Judge was among a number of Yankees who were in action yesterday for their respective WBC teams. Here’s how they fared:
- Aaron Judge (USA): 2-2, BB, 2 RBI vs. Giants (video)
- Paul Goldschmidt (USA): 1-3, BB vs. Giants
- David Bednar (USA): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K vs. Giants (and his brother)
- Austin Wells (Dominican Republic): 1-3, RBI, 2 K vs. Tigers (video)
- Amed Rosario (Dominican Republic): 1-2 vs. Tigers
- Camilo Doval (Dominican Republic): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K vs. Tigers
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Great Britain): 0-1, 2 BB, throwing error vs. Brewers
- José Caballero (Panama): 0-2, BB vs. Yankees
- Elmer Rodriguez (Puerto Rico): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K vs. Red Sox (win)
Forbes | Peter Chawaga: Before the Yankees took on the entire country of Panama on Tuesday afternoon, one thing in the lineup card stuck out. Third baseman Ryan McMahon was penciled in at shortstop. The idea was mainly to get some reps in there and see if he’d be a viable option in a positional emergency, especially as they work to decide who to bring on their bench or not, especially as someone like Oswaldo Cabrera is still working his way back from injury. For those curious, McMahon started a 6-4-3 double play to end the first, but he did fumble a hard grounder up the middle in the fourth for an error.
The Athletic | Brenday Kuty ($): Spencer Jones has been getting a lot of attention this spring, and rightfully so. While the Opening Day roster will be crowded and tough for him to crack, fans will be calling for Jones at the first opportunity presented or even sooner. But as folks get more of a look at him in games, one distinct thing has stuck out to many: his swing looks like it’s worth $700 million. That’s because he has intentionally mimicked his swing after Shohei Ohtani.
