NYY News: Gavin Lux lands on Bombers’ radar

Sports Illustrated | Pat Ragazzo : The Yankees have reportedly shown interest in trading for Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux to fill the final vacancy in the infield.

The Dodgers signing of KBO second baseman Hyeseong Kim to a three-year deal led many to wonder whether Luxs time at Chavez Ravine had drawn to a close, though Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes refuted that speculation by maintaining that the teams mindset is to enter 2025 with a starting middle infield duo of Lux and Mookie Betts.

Lux would certainly provide an upgrade over the Yankees in-house options to play second.

Though he has failed to hit the heights that his top prospect pedigree promised in part due to a torn ACL in 2023 he looked to be hitting his stride with a .899 OPS and 152 wRC+ in the second half of 2024.

The Yankees will face competition for the 27 year old with the Mariners seen as his most aggressive suitor.

MLB Trade Rumors | Nick Deeds : January 4th marked the four-year anniversary of the Yankees signing Nestor Cortes for his third stint in the Bronx.

The then-26 year old had a 6.72 ERA across 79 major league innings at that point and was signed purely as minor league depth.

The Yankees then transformed him into an above-average starter at the major league level, and in 93 subsequent appearances, Cortes pitched to a 3.33 ERA (124 ERA+) and 25.2-percent strikeout rate in 489 innings while accruing 9.4 fWAR.

He has since been traded alongside Caleb Durbin to the Brewers for standout reliever Devin Williams, and you have to say that converting a minor league depth signing into four years of a mid-rotation starter and one of the leagues best relievers was a big win for the front office.

The Athletic | Ken Rosenthal ($) : The Yankees pennant defense took a huge blow as they watched Juan Soto sign with the crosstown rival Mets .

Theyve attempted to replace his value in the aggregate by adding Max Fried, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt, however perhaps the biggest boost for the Yankees in mitigating Sotos loss has been the Orioles stagnant offseason.

They watched fifth-place Cy Young finisher Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander and his 44 home runs walk out the door.

However, rather than leverage the finances of new billionaire owner David Rubenstein, Baltimore has only added 41-year-old starter Charlie Morton, 35-year-old starter Tomoyuki Sugano, outfielder Tyler ONeill, and old friend Gary Sanchez to retool their roster.

Barring a late-winter blockbuster, the Orioles tepid moves leave a gap between them and the division-favorite Yankees.

NJ Advance Media | Brian Fonseca ($) : Finally, theres a familiar name in local news.

Thats because Carter Sweeney-Strawberry grandson of Darryl Strawberry has committed to Rutgers University.

The junior outfielder finished the 2024 season among the top-ten prep players in the state of Maryland and will now play his college ball just down the road from the stomping grounds that his grandfather called home..

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