New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Everybody knew that after signing Cody Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million contract this week, the Yankees’ payroll was going to blow past $300 million quite comfortably. The projected CBT payroll is, according to FanGraphs, at $317.8 million. Cot’s Contracts has the number at $320.1 million, third behind the Dodgers and Mets. It remains to be seen if their current payroll projections stand in the way of the team filling the team’s remaining needs, such as pitching and a right-handed bat.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: Just a few years ago, Marco Luciano was considered the shortstop of the future by the Giants. He was untouchable in trade talks, and fans imagined him holding down the position for the next 10-15 years. Baseball is known for taking unexpected twists and turns, though, and the 24-year-old has been claimed via waivers by the Yanks after being designated for assignment by the Orioles a week ago. Luciano didn’t play in the majors in 2025, and hit .214/.335/.413 with 23 home runs and a 96 wRC+ in 125 games in the Giants’ Triple-A squad. If he sticks in the Bronx, he’ll represent a fun reclamation project. The far more likely outcome is that he’ll be infield depth at Scranton if he can’t find a big-league job by the end of spring training.
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Baseball America: Baseball America released its annual list of top 100 prospects this week, with four Yankees featured on it: George Lombard Jr., Elmer Rodríguez, Dax Kilby, and Carlos Lagrange. On Thursday, they published their top 100 pitching prospects for 2026 according to the advanced metric Stuff+, and Lagrange is sitting at the top with a 121 mark. Not too shabby for the 22-year-old flamethrower who finished the 2026 campaign having reached Double-A.
FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Jaffe takes a candidate-by-candidate look at the 2026 Hall of Fame voting results, including some former Yankees. Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, two former stars who wore pinstripes in their careers, were voted in and will officially be enshrined in the summer. Jaffe also gave helpful updates on where other candidates are in the their Hall of Fame voting journeys, with old friends Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, and Alex Rodriguez among that contingent.