NJ.com | Randy Miller: When Spencer Jones launched a fly ball deep into the Tampa sky and out of George M. Steinbrenner Stadium during his first plate appearances this spring, Yankees fans were immediately reminded of the towering moonshots that Aaron Judge so regularly graces us with in the Bronx. However, eagle-eyed fans clued into not the flying ball, but the center fielder’s swing, would have been reminded of another multi-time MVP winner: Shohei Ohtani. The 24-year-old left handed hitter spent the winter once again trying to rework his swing in order to cut down on his strikeouts without sacrificing power, and this year, he has settled on a stance that even Judge and manager Aaron Boone describe as Ohtani-like. Hopefully, the results will begin to look similar, too.
New York Post | Greg Joyce: The prevailing assumption at the moment is that, once shortstop Anthony Volpe finishes rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, he will return to the starting role that he has filled, rather underwhelmingly compared to expectations, since Opening Day 2023. That being said, José Caballero has a chance to make the decision a difficult one. Acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays, Caballero immediately injected energy into the Yankees lineup both through his speed and his ability to play all over the diamond. Now, with a month-plus manning the shortstop job to start the season, Caballero has a shot to show that he needs to stay in the lineup and partner up once more with his minor league double play partner, Jazz Chisholm.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required, but same report found elsewhere) Former Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling visited Rickie Ricardo on WFAN yesterday, and dropped some news on us: he suffered a heart attack back in January. Fortunately, Sterling said that “all things are good,” and that he has spent the last few weeks in bed watching the Winter Olympics while recovering.
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