AL East Notes: Yankees, Cano, De La Rosa, Red Sox

Here’s a look at the American League East..

• Ken Davidoff of the New York Post opines that the Yankees and Robinson Cano need to take a season-long break from their contract talks.  With Cano confessing that the negotiations are starting to get into his head, it would be in the best interest of both parties to table everything for a good seven or eight months.  At this point, however, there’s no indication that they’ll do that.
• Fireballing right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who came over in the blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, looks to be a gem for the Red Sox, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  De La Rosa won’t be with the varsity squad to start the season, but the BoSox are high on him nonetheless.  “He’s got electric stuff,” Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re glad to have him. You can never have enough pitching, and it’s pretty exciting, the guys we got in that trade. They’ve got some great stuff. Getting young talent like that, especially pitching, those are prized pieces. This will be huge for our team.” 
• Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders how good of a first baseman offseason acquisition Mike Napoli can become.  So far, Napoli is getting strong reviews from infield coach Brian Butterfield.