Newsday | Erik Boland ($): “… there should have been an attempt by the club hierarchy to acknowledge and understand — or, at the very least, pretend to understand — the anger of that fan base, spoiled as it may act at times, after yet another sooner-than-expected October exit.”
So sayeth Boland, in a scathing critique of how Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and Aaron Boone addressed yet another disappointing Yankees’ season this past week. Steinbrenner was happy to pin the blame on the players (as
he should) but the Yankee brain trust decried any notion that there are larger structural or philosophical issues with the organization. It’s incredibly insulting to a fanbase whose members tend to live and die with the club. As Boland said towards the end of his piece, “In the end, Yankees fans deserved better.”
MLB Trade Rumors | Charlie Wright: Would the real Austin Wells please stand up? Because how the Yankees feel about their backstop has the potential to shape their approach to the position in free agency. If first-half Austin Wells is the real deal, the Yankees need to explore taking a swing at catcher – perhaps Tyler Stephenson or Ryan Jeffers, or a trade for Hunter Goodman. But if second-half Austin Wells, who was a better hitter by orders of magnitude, is here to stay, then perhaps the Yanks tinker around the edges at the position. Any moves the Yankees make at catcher this offseason will likely tell us everything we need to know about how they view Wells moving forward.
NJ.com | Randy Miller: Speaking of the offseason. The Yankees have $71.9 million in payroll coming off the books, which might suggest increased flexibility to build a roster without blowing past last year’s $296.4 million Opening Day payroll. Raises to returning players, however, could account for $26.4 million. Now start accounting for potential returns for David Bednar and Paul Blackburn. Those two could easily eat up close to $35 million in 2027. All of a sudden, much of that money is gone. There are non-tender moves the Yankees could make (and likely will) to find some more spare change with which to tinker with the offense.
