New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: We’ve reached the eve of the Winter Meetings and we know what the stories are for the Yankees. New York wants to add one more outfielder, a starter, and shore up its relief depth, but no one knows how much Hal Steinbrenner is willing to spend to achieve those goals. This adds up to a week that should be pretty dramatic anyway; Either the Yankees will deliver and import a lot of talent, as they did in the last few iterations of these meetings, or they will stay quiet and risk sparking outrage by doing so.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: ($) Jasson Dominguez hasn’t even turned 23 yet, but Joyce writes that he’s already reached a crossroads in his career with the Yankees. The talented outfielder is currently playing in the Dominican Republic, staying sharp and getting reps after seeing his playing time decline down the stretch with the Yankees. As of now, Dominguez is likely New York’s starting left fielder, but there’s still a lot up in the air. Signing a player like Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker could send Dominguez to a fourth outfield role, or to another organization entirely.
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New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: The Yankees, once a common landing spot for Japanese stars, have been overtaken by the Dodgers as the top spot for top Japanese talent. Brian Cashman recently lamented the Yankees’ (lack of) success in attracting NPB players, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani finally found their way to Los Angeles. After signing Hideki Matsui to a three-year contract before the 2003 season, the Yankees had near-constant Japanese representation on the roster for nearly two decades, with Matsui giving way to Hiroki Kuroda and Ichiro Suzuki, who were eventually joined by Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees haven’t had a Japanese player since Tanaka left after 2020. Can they finally get an NPB star in Tatsuya Imai this winter?
MLB trade rumors | Anthony Franco: The Red Sox made a trade Thursday night, acquiring young starter Johan Oviedo from the Pirates in exchange for two prospects, most notably Jhostynxon García, nicknamed “The Password.” It’s an interesting trade, with Boston giving up its No. 6 prospect in Garcia to acquire the tall, pitching Oviedo, who is under team control for two seasons. Yankees fans should keep their eyes on Boston, as the Yankees’ archrivals have already made a couple of changes to boost their pitching staff, without touching most of their top prospects or making any splashy free agent signings.