Morning Mound Visit: Happy New Year

Jay Jaffe | FanGraphs: Jay Jaffe wrote the book on what makes a Hall of Famer, but this is only his second year casting an official ballot. It comes as no surprise that Jaffe’s ballot is a good one. He explains his reasoning at FanGraphs.

Anthony Franco | MLB Trade Rumors: The Yankees are in dire need of a shortstop, and according to Buster Olney, they’ve entertained the possibility of utilizing Matt Chapman at the position. Will this ever come to pass? No. Of course not. But there’s nothing else going on, so click anyway.

Cody Poage | The Crawfish Boxes: Carlos Correa likely isn’t returning to the Houston Astros, so where will he go? The Yankees need someone who has played shortstop at the major league level, the Dodgers need to fill the Corey Seager-shaped hole in their roster, and the Cubs need someone who can play baseball even passing well.