Yankees in “serious talks” with Bill Hall, who may be in the Best Shape of His Life

By Jan 30, 2012, 1:20 PM EST
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Ken Rosenthal reports that the Yankees are in “serious talks” with Bill Hall.

This would obviously be for a bench/utility role.  Hall had a horrible 2011 season, but he was useful in 2010 for the Red Sox — 18 homers in 342 plate appearances — and could possibly still have a little life left in that bat.

More important for our purposes: back in December, Rosenthal reported that Hall had “lost 15 pounds to regain foot speed.”

We’ll need eyewitness confirmation in Tampa next month, but for now I think we can make Hall a preliminary BSOHL candidate.

Max Fried loses to Braves in salary arbitration

Associated PressFeb 4, 2023, 3:04 PM EST
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pitcher Max Fried lost to the Atlanta Braves in salary arbitration and will make $13.5 million in the upcoming season instead of his $15 million request.

Mark Burstein, Fredric Horowitz and Jeanne Vonhof issued their decision a day after hearing arguments.

Fried won a $6.85 million salary last year in arbitration instead of the team’s $6.6 million proposal.

He followed former Atlanta teammate Dansby Swanson in going to a hearing in consecutive years. Swanson, a shortstop, lost in 2021 and won last year, then signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The last player to win hearings in consecutive years was pitcher Trevor Bauer against Cleveland in 2018 and 2019.

Fried, a 29-year-old left-hander, went 14-7 for the second straight season and lowered his ERA to 2.48 from 3.04 in 2021. Fried was a first-time All-Star last season, was second to Miami’s Sandy Alcantara in Cy Young Award voting and was third in the National League in ERA behind Alcantara and Julio Urias with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2021, Fried pitched six shutout innings in World Series Game 6 as the Braves won their first title since 1995.