1. Mattingly loses the HoF ballot
The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee has turned down ex-Yankees’ great Don Mattingly and a few other great players for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Mattingly, who just recently became the bench coach for the Blue Jays, got the second most votes, eight. For enshrinement, candidates had to be on at least 75% (12 of 16) of the ballots. It wasn’t much of a surprise that 61-year-old Mattingly didn’t get into the Hall of Fame, since he never got much support when he was up for regular consideration. In 2001, his best year on the ballot, he got 28.2% of the vote. After 2015, he fell off the ballot.
2. The Giants snatch away ex-Yankee reliever
Miguel Yajure was a reliever for the New York Yankees. But the San Francisco Giants took him off waivers and put him on their active roster.
Yajure, who is 24 years old, made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2020, when the season was cut short due to the pandemic. He played in three games for New York that year. In seven innings, he gave up one earned run, struck out eight batters, and walked five.
The next winter, the Yankees sent the right-hander to the Pirates along with three other prospects in exchange for starting pitcher Jameson Taillon.
3. Rodon is the first priority for the Yankees
As of early Sunday morning, two of these top starters, Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodón, were still available. Reports say that the Yankees are talking to both starters, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post says that the Bronx Bombers are “more focused” on Rodón than on Verlander.
4. Tweet by ex-Yankee catches the attention
Masahiro Tanaka, a former star pitcher for the New York Yankees, went back to Japan after the 2020 season. Since he joined the Yankees in 2014, he had been an important part of their team. One of his recent tweets has warmed up rumor mills.
The former star pitcher posted on Twitter:
“I’m always happy with Tweet from Yankees fans.”
He had a career ERA of 3.74, and he was great in the playoffs, always making big starts when the team needed them. He started out in Japan, and after the short COVID-19 season, he was happy to go back home. There were stories telling about the pitcher nearing a return to the Yankees in 2021 or 2022, but that didn’t happen.
5. Houston remains in Andrew Benintendi pursuit
Bob Nightengale, an Audacy MLB Insider, has revealed that the Astros are seriously after Andrew Benintendi. The free-agent outfielder, who was with the New York Yankees at the end of last season until he hurt his wrist, has had “some talks” with them.
Do you think Benintendi will land in Houston? Who can replace him in the Yankees’ lineup?
