NYY News: We (may) have the votes
Yesterday at 12:00 AM
Tracking the Hall of Fame results; Where are all the coaches going?; the best cases for short-term, high AAV deals; Bellinger focused on a comeback
NJ.com | Randy Miller ($): Over 120 votes from the BBWAA have been made public so far in this year's Hall of Fame voting. While the secret ballots tend to be the ones with the most...interesting votes cast, the public ones seem to indicate good news for a couple of former Yankees. Both CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki look like they are induction-bound based on what we know already, with Carlos Beltrán just above the necessary 75 percent threshold. Beltrán's case is going to be the toughest with the outstanding votes, especially if those voters still carry feelings about those Astros teams.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: If you've been paying attention, there's been something of an exodus from the Yankee coaching tree, with 14 at present hired away in the last 12 months. Three of them have come out of the major league dugout, an indicator that those charged most with development and onfield performance are in high demand across the league — in spite of what individuals might think about the org as a whole.
MLB.com: The last couple of seasons have seen a rash of the once-fantasized short-term, high-AAV contract. However, unlike the speculated stars taking these deals, they seem to be exclusive to the middle class of free agents — in this case, the Pete Alonsos, Anthony Santanders, and Jack Flahertys of the world. There are still a couple of interesting bargain candidates left for the Yankees, but there's really no one you'd want for more than 4-5 years.
Sports Illustrated | Grant Young: Cody Bellinger is probably the biggest acquisition the Yankees are going to make this winter, and he has a lot to prove in his first season in the Bronx. Aside from having to provide protection for the game's best player, the former MVP has to set a new standard for himself in a career that's been volatile to put it lightly. With a $25 million guarantee should he exercise his player option for 2026, it's not hard to imagine a season where Bellinger produces enough to earn more than that on the open market, and a bounce-back like that would help the Yankee lineup an awful lot.
