Steve Johnson

In his latest Yankees Inbox column, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tackles a number of topics, perhaps most notably the possibility of a Brett Gardner trade this winter. Hoch notes that a deal is at least possible, as it might be one of the only ways in which the Yankees can creatively gain some flexibility this winter. With Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran locked into the other two outfield spots and Alex Rodriguez blocking Beltran from DH at-bats, there’s little room to make changes on the roster. While Hoch says that “initial indications” are that it won’t be a big-spending winter for the Yankees, moving Gardner could give the team both roster and financial flexibility. Within his column, Hoch also touches on the 2016 plans for Greg Bird and notes that the Yankees aren’t simply going to hand the second base job to Rob Refsnyder in 2016 as they feel he’s still developing from a defensive standpoint.

More from the AL East…

• Orioles fans will want to check out this column from MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, as he covers a number of players on the fringes of Baltimore’s 40-man roster and their future with the organization, including Dylan Bundy, Steve Johnson, Nolan Reimold, Steve Clevenger and Jimmy Paredes. Bundy will compete for a spot in the 2016 bullpen, but he’ll be out of options, complicating his future. Johnson drew interest from the Phillies and Mariners last year before re-signing a minor league deal with Baltimore. He could draw trade interest this offseason, Kubatko notes. The Orioles are expected to keep Reimold this offseason, and Clevenger’s defensive improvements have satisfied O’s decision-makers, though he could still be marketed in trades this offseason. Kubatko notes that the O’s had the chance to deal Clevenger at the July trade deadline — he lists the Mariners as an interested party — but hung onto him. Paredes’s future is less certain after a dismal second half, Kubatko writes (in much further detail than I’ve covered here).
• One rival executive tells Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that he expects Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to “blow up the farm system” (as Mastrodonato terms it) and make trades to acquire the front-line pitching Boston desperately needs. “Dave is going to make some moves. He’ll be busy,” the exec told Mastrodonato. Dombrowski said he’s already begun receiving phone calls from other general managers to begin expressing interest in working out deals, Mastrodonato adds.
• In a second article, Mastrodonato talks to Royals GM Dayton Moore about the interview he had to become the Red Sox general manager one year prior to taking his current post with Kansas City. Moore, who previously oversaw the Braves’ scouting and player development operations, said he actually didn’t have interest in becoming a GM but took the interview after his own boss with the Braves, then-GM John Schuerholz, told him to go through the process. “You’ll learn a ton,” Schuerholz told Moore. Moore was staying at the same hotel as Sox president Larry Lucchino and chairman Tom Werner at the time, so he went through the interview process and found it enjoyable. “That was the first time I started thinking about wanting to become a GM.”