Kiké Hernandez went back to the Yankees and Yankees signing 

Kiké Hernandez was down to the Yankees or Dodgers before signing in LA; profiling the newest Yankees analyst, making the numbers more appetizing. Poteet relies on a fellow UCLA alum to help him rediscover his feet, while the Mets pondered hiring a former Yankee closer.

MLB Trade Rumors: Darragh McDonald Kiké Hernandez agreed to return to the Dodgers this week when LA was able to shift Manuel Margot’s contract to the Twins, and it was evident he wanted to go there all along. What was shocking was who finished second: the Yankees.

New York had not been considered as a likely contender for Hernandez, but they appeared to be in the bidding until the end, when the Dodgers eventually freed up the funds to bring him back. Perhaps this suggests that the Yankees are still unhappy about their bench situation in the infield, or perhaps this was simply an opportunity to acquire a decent backup option that they just missed out on .

NY Post | Greg Joyce: The Yankees have a new face for their analytics data, or at least a new person analyzing it for the players.

Aaron Leanhardt, a former MIT physicist and Michigan professor who left academia to pursue a dream of becoming a baseball coach, has been promoted to an analyst role with the major league team, filtering in the data that the team is gathering and making it more appealing for the players to have several key points to focus on.

The adjustment was motivated by comments from the club’s two most prominent personalities, captain Aaron Judge and ace Gerrit Cole, who both thought that the manner players were being provided information was becoming an impediment rather than an aid. It’s still early days, but the clubhouse appears to enjoy the change, so maybe the results will follow suit.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Cody Poteet is pushing for a spot in the Yankees’ bullpen, keen to demonstrate his abilities following a rough start to his MLB career.

He has a familiar person to draw on for support in his new teammate Cole, a fellow UCLA alumni who visited him while he was still in college. The two made an impact on each other, with Cole admiring Poteet’s work ethic and promise, and Poteet hoping to pick the staff ace’s brain as the season progresses.

NJ.com | Manny Gómez: Aroldis Chapman has been away from New York for a year, but he almost returned to play for the cross-town team.

Chapman was reportedly in talks with the Mets about a trade before the Pirates swooped in and outbid them, landing the closer fresh off of a World Series success with the Rangers.

Chapman’s second departure from New York was even more difficult than his first, and while he appeared to have a solid season in 2023, Chapman’s unpredictable performance over the previous few seasons caused most teams to let the Pirates take a chance on him.