Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/13/24

MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams : Two more teams—and AL East rivals—have officially entered the Juan Soto Sweepstakes alongside the Yankees and Mets (and probably the Dodgers ). The Red Sox and Blue Jays both have meetings set up with Soto and agent Scott Boras in California. It's felt like ages since Boston ownership has actually shelled out for a free agent though, so color me skeptical. The Jays did make a hefty bid for Shohei Ohtani last offseason, so it's not out of the realm of possibility for them, but they face an uphill battle in convincing Soto to trek north to a team that just finished in last place.

Oh, and the Giants don't have a meeting with Soto so ... hooray for that, I suppose. I would say "condolences to Giants fans," but I wouldn't really mean it.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips ($) : If you want to see NPB phenom Roki Sasaki in Yankees pinstripes next year, you're far from alone. Manager Aaron Boone came right out and said that the 23-year-old was exactly the kind of "gifted" talent who would be great in the Bronx. Is this perhaps pointing out the obvious? Yes, but it's nice to see the guy who would theoretically be his manager publicly gush about him. My money's still on the Padres or Dodgers, but as Peter pointed out on Monday , the Yankees have to at least give it a shot!

MLB.com | Manny Randhawa & Brian Murphy : As also detailed here yesterday , the Silver Slugger winners were announced for 2024. Unsurprisingly, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge were the two Yankees to take home American League honors, joined in the outfield by Baltimore's Anthony Santander. Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton had been named finalists at second and DH, but the winners were Jose Altuve and Brent Rooker. The Yankees as a team did win the second annual Team Silver Slugger — primarily a byproduct of employing Soto and Judge, of course.

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald : We close with a non-Yankees story, but one relevant since the Yankees generally play in St. Pete quite a bit every season. Hurricane Milton absolutely wrecked Tropicana Field, and the Rays do not yet know where they will be playing home games in 2025. As McDonald notes, it's an awkward situation, as a new ballpark is already on the construction docket for 2028, but Tampa Bay does need somewhere to play in the intervening campaigns.

A damage assessment report did offer some news in that regard. If anyone wants to foot the bill—be it the Rays or the City of St. Petersburg—it has an estimated repair cost of $55.7 million. Will that happen? Stay tuned.