Fireside Yankees

Should Anthony Volpe be the Yankees' starting second baseman in 2027?

He hit .245 in 70 games this year, George Lombard Jr. took over at short, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a free agent.

If Jazz Chisholm Jr. walks, who plays second? The Yankees have checked in on free agents Luis Arraez (.310, 28 strikeouts) and Brandon Lowe (35 HR, .824 OPS), per the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

Which bat do you want?

In case you missed today's MLB hot stove news and rumors, here's everything you need to know:

🚨 BIGGEST NEWS

▸ Jake Bauers and the Red Sox agreed on 4 years, $58M (via @JeffPassan). NLCS MVP coming off a .266, 26 HR, .873 OPS year for the champs. Boston loading up after we bounced them in October

▸ Tarik Skubal is expected to sign before the Dec. 1 lockout, and nearly everybody in the game thinks it's the METS. "I don't know who else is really even in the conversation," one NL exec said (via @Feinsand)

▸ He's meeting with the Mets, Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays and two mystery teams in Orange County next week (via @JonHeyman). The Dodgers don't see themselves going anywhere near the $400M he could get (via @Alden_Gonzalez). 2.72 ERA, 186 K between Detroit and LA this year. (Him in Queens for a decade is a scary thought)

⚾️ YANKEES

▸ Ryan McMahon is on the block, and we know we'd have to eat some of his $16M or take a bad contract back to move him (via @JonHeyman). He hit .213 with 11 HR this year. Time to move on honestly

▸ Same report: a rival GM said we'd listen on Luis García Jr. too, but a Yankees person called that "BS." He hit 30 HR between DC and the Bronx. Keep him

▸ NEW on Seager: he'd be open to approving a trade if it's the right fit, per a source with knowledge of his thinking (via @Alden_Gonzalez). We already know we've talked to Texas. Still owed $155M over five years though (gulp)

▸ Cashman admitted Spencer Jones "probably profiles better on the corner," even with Jones projecting as our CF right now. A righty-hitting CF to platoon with him is a possibility (via @jorgecastillo). .742 OPS in 86 games this year

▸ Cam Schlittler finished 4th in AL MVP voting and Ben Rice 9th. Yordan won it unanimously

⚾️ JAZZ CHISHOLM JR.

▸ Eleven teams have talked with Jazz's reps, and multiple in-person meetings are getting set up for next week (via @jonmorosi). The Padres have at least discussed him internally (via @sdutKevinAcee). .231 with 19 HR and 41 SB for us this year. (Somebody's paying for the 30-30 guy)

⚾️ BRAVES

▸ Atlanta gave Evan Phillips 3 years, $35M (via @ByRobertMurray). Big money for a reliever. He's got a 2.31 ERA since 2022 and that's with a Tommy John surgery in 2025. (Bednar's people are smiling)

⚾️ TIGERS

▸ Detroit is showing interest in Shota Imanaga, among other free agent starters (via @jonmorosi). 3.77 ERA over 174 1/3 innings for the Cubs. They need arms BAD after losing Skubal and Mize last summer

⚾️ ASTROS

▸ Don't expect Houston to trade Jeremy Peña, Christian Walker or Isaac Paredes until there's a new CBA, since all three have just one year of control left and nobody knows how many games 2027 will have (via @Alden_Gonzalez). Which means the unanimous AL MVP might be playing left field. (Not ideal)

⚾️ PADRES

▸ San Diego has gotten calls on catchers Freddy Fermin and Luis Campusano, and one of them is likely getting traded (via @sdutKevinAcee). Campusano had a .796 OPS in 71 games. We literally need a righty bat behind the plate, just saying

⚾️ KBO

▸ Korean Series MVP Ja-Wook Koo hired an agent to try and make the jump to MLB (via @Feinsand). He's 33 and a career .322 hitter in the KBO

If Skubal ends up in Queens and we're still trying to give McMahon away, that's gonna be a LONG winter in the Bronx

Follow us for more updates :)

The Yankees are interested in Adrian Morejon if David Bednar ends up elsewhere, per @jorgecastillo

Lefty had a 2.83 ERA and 28 holds for the Padres this year. Bednar has until Tuesday to decide on the QO

Honestly would love BOTH in this pen, but that's a lot of money

Jazz Chisholm to the Blue Jays? 🤔