JUSTIN VERLANDER TO THE YANKEES?

He's back, but is he healthy? That's a fair question considering he's been out of the game for a long time now. He had workout last week that 25 teams attended and it looked like the missed time hasn't hurt him....so far. The Yankees were there and are considered to be a favorite to get Justin Verlander. So could this really happen?

The Yankees are always tied to every free agent so it is no surprise that we are tied to Verlander. Question is WHY and is there any legit connection there? Maybe. One thing that stood out to me was the location of his workout. Is it just a big coincidence that the owner of the facility where Verlander’s workout was held belongs to Eric Cressey, who is the Yankees' director of player health and performance? Don't forget, Corey Kluber also had his workout at Cressey Sports Performance as well and he ended up in pinstripes.

And what about the Gerrit Cole connection? Maybe not as big of a connection but it can't be ignored. They were co-aces for the Astros from 2018 and 2019 and the Yankees have been looking for a number two behind Cole since he signed here. He has the experience, and the Yankees have already proven that they like a reclamation project.

And that's where I am not excited at all. We already tried the reclamation project with Kluber and the Yankees should look for a different solution. Verlander was once a great pitcher but he will be 39 when the season starts and he has pitched a total of 6 innings since 2020. Verlander is going to want a multi-year deal after missing almost two full seasons and the Yankees should let someone else take that gamble.

The Verlander signing would've been great a decade ago. Why are the Yankees looking at older, past their prime pitchers? It's time to start looking at some of our younger talent and stop pouring big bucks in a guy like Verlander who just had Tommy John and says he wants to pitch until he is 45. It makes no sense whatsoever....but I can see Brian Cashman taking the risk.

If the Yankees learned anything at all from the Kluber signing they need to say HARD PASS and no to Verlander.

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Senior Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE YANKEES HAVE A NEW WORKOUT AND IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK

It's about time. In fact, it is way past time. I don't even understand what took so long.

In case you missed it, THIS is what I am referring to and yes it is way past time. After seasons of injury it seems that our hard hitting giants Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton have revamped their offseason workouts in a big way. It's big but not in the muscular way. Last winter there were pictures of Stanton bench pressing supermodel Adriana Lima and I cringed when I saw it. Now it sounds like both of them have cut back on the weights and are now focusing on their flexibility and agility.

Wow. Well I am glad Stanton is taking a break from bench pressing supermodels, but why the sudden change of heart? Eric Cressey the Yankees director of health and performance is also happy about the change, "we have to be mindful of the stresses on guys who are 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8. Big dudes who are standing around for long periods of time in cleats. Those are things that normal people don’t encounter. So I think we’ve understood their preparation has to be markedly different in terms of not just building them up as athletes, but building them up as baseball players where there is a gradual on-ramping of those specific stressors. Running the bases, changing directions, swinging. So both of those guys are in a good place."

I wish it hadn't taken this long to put two and two together but I guess better late than never. It sounds like it is embraced by a lot of the other guys too. "Aaron in particular has taken a heavy interest in a lot of yoga. We’ve had a great instructor in Dana Santas who’s come in and helped out at our spring-training complex. Not just Aaron, but Luke Voit and Mike Ford and Thairo Estrada and Nick Nelson, a lot of those guys who are down there. So that’s something that I think is important."

He's right, it is important and the yoga will be just as important as the weight training. Maybe if the Yankees embraced this sooner they would have fewer pulled muscles. Maybe it would've saved Stanton a few hamstring injuries last season. Hopefully it pans out this season and it helps our guys stay healthy this season and productive.

And now I am trying not to laugh as I think about Stanton and Judge doing yoga poses....but I dig it!

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj