For a team so accustomed to competing at the very top level, it’s easier for the worst of times to stand out more than the best of times. No offense, but if you ask a Colorado Rockies, it’s probably not hard to bring to mind an example of a player who earned a starting role […]
Illegal Yankees scouting trips, NFT goalies, and Trocheck trade rumors—the Ombudsman returns to separate fact from fiction on the last episode.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Anthony Volpe will start the season on the IL as he continues to recover from labrum surgery over the offseason. In his first few days in camp though, the Yankee shortstop appears to be in high spirits and has been able to participate in most defensive drills. Volpe started dry swings […]
As this series grows closer and closer to its end, we come upon contracts that can’t be assessed on the whole, because they are still underway. Over the last handful of offseasons, the Yankees have put a particular emphasis on left-handed starting pitching, as much of their resources of flowed in that direction of late. […]
Action is starting to pick up in spring camp as the beginning of Grapefruit League play looms ahead this weekend. The Tigers will kick off their 2026 spring schedule on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET on the road against the Yankees. Then they’ll welcome in the Orioles and the Twins on Sunday and Monday at […]
Back in the winter of 2024, shortly after the Yankees missed out on Juan Soto, they quickly pivoted and signed Max Fried to a mammoth eight-year, $218 million contract. The left-hander, one of the highest-profile pitchers in that 2024-25 offseason, was seen as a luxury for some fans, who deemed his signing unnecessary because their […]
It is John Mayberry’s 77th birthday. Mayberry was drafted in the 1st round (6th pick overall) in the 1967 amateur draft. The number 1 pick that year was Ron Blomberg by the Yankees, so the Astros could have done much worse. Only Ted Simmons and Bobby Grich, also first-round picks, had better careers than John […]
There are so many legends across the history of the New York Yankees that it feels like some members of their teams who were also excellent don’t get the recognition they deserve. Players enshrined in Cooperstown with a certain team’s logo almost always seem to be especially honored by the related club — perhaps a […]
Good Morning Birdland, There are just two days left until an actual game is played down in Florida, kicking off this year’ Grapefruit League action. The Orioles and Yankees will face off in Sarasota at 1:05 pm on Friday. That one will be broadcast on MASN and WBAL Radio. Hopefully many of us are able […]
The shortstop position has been a contentious one for New York the past few seasons. Anthony Volpe was brought up as the successor to Gleyber Torres at the position after shooting through the upper minors and becoming one of the Yankees’ most highly rated prospects of the Baby Bomber era, and while his defense brought […]
New York Post | Greg Joyce: Aaron Judge’s barking elbow was a major concern for the Yankees last summer, with the ailment costing the captain some time and production in July and August. But after the season, team doctors told Judge he wouldn’t require surgery, and Judge says his elbow is now fully good to […]
The Yankees almost always have one of the highest payrolls in the sport. Even as the Mets and Dodgers have shown them that there’s another level to spending, the Yankees routinely are big players in free agency, and some of the greatest free agent signings in history have signed on to play in the Bronx. […]
Every season has its feel-good story, and for the 2025 Yankees, that feel-good story was J.C. Escarra. With 2022 Platinum Glove winner Jose Trevino traded to the Cincinnati Reds over the winter, the Yankees entered spring training with an opening behind the plate. Despite having a disadvantage in the position battle because he, like starter […]
If you say the name Wally Pipp to a baseball fan, there’s probably one thing that comes to their mind. One day in 1925, Pipp got the day off from his normal role as the Yankees’ starting first baseman. In his place, a youngster named Lou Gehrig got the start instead. Pipp then never got […]
The Yankees had serious bullpen issues in 2025, which mostly stemmed from the fact that Devin Williams had far and away the worst year of his career after he was acquired from the Brewers for Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes in the offseason. Williams figured it out towards the end of the year and was […]
Spring training positional battles are storied Florida/Arizona traditions, but as of now, the Yankees don’t have many significant battles to play out in camp. Sure, there could be injuries that shake up the depth chart, and there will always be jockeying for spots at the back of the rotation and in the bullpen. But as […]
Spring training positional battles are storied Florida/Arizona traditions, but as of now, the Yankees don’t have many significant battles to play out in camp. Sure, there could be injuries that shake up the depth chart, and there will always be jockeying for spots at the back of the rotation and in the bullpen. But as […]
We’re exactly one week away from the start of spring training games, with the Baltimore Orioles hosting the New York Yankees in the very first exhibition game on February 20th. First pitch for that one is 12:05 CST, with the Chicago Cubs hosting the second earliest practice game, a “crosstown” affair against the White Sox, […]
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MLB | Bryan Hoch: Flame-throwing prospect Carlos Lagrange knew he’d be throwing a three-inning live batting practice session. He did not know he would be facing the greatest hitter on the planet, Aaron James Judge. Each got the better of the other, as they faced off three times. Judge demolished a 99-mph heater from Lagrange […]
Spring training is here, and exhibition games will be on the schedule as early as the end of this week. With that in mind, it’s time to kick the mailbag back into high gear, and get back to answering your questions on a weekly basis. The Yankees are gearing up in camp, and have gotten […]
Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat. The Yanks’ initial free agent contract for DJ LeMahieu will go down as one of the smartest moves they have ever made. We’ve sung its praises before! Pilfering the second baseman from the Rockies on a two-year, $24 million contract in October 2018, New […]
As the Yankees approached last season’s Trade Deadline, they’d squandered an early division lead and sat in need of reinforcements. The most logical area of the roster to augment was the bullpen. Devin Williams, acquired in a preseason blockbuster to serve as the team’s closer, had been a massive disappointment, closing out July with an […]
There’s a famous story in sports about how in 1925 the first baseman for the New York Yankees, Wally Pipp, showed up to the ballpark with a headache. Miller Huggins, the Yankees’ manager, noticed this, and said “Wally, take the day off. We’ll try that kid Gehrig at first today and get you back in there […]
After digesting that Ben Rortvedt will now join fellow former Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, a non-roster invitee, in New York Mets spring training camp, here are more baseball stories to begin your week. Roki Sasaki faced hitters, including Hyeseong Kim, on Sunday at Camelback Ranch, as he begins building toward his second year in the […]
One of the most interesting pipelines in major sports, especially in baseball, is the transition from player to manager. Although the managerial ranks are always changing, there are plenty who used to play for their MLB teams, with the Yankees consistently having them on the top step of the dugout (Aaron Boone and Joe Girardi […]