New York Yankees’ Writer: Capital Region Product ‘Fits the Mold’ in The Bronx [INTERVIEW]

Tuesday afternoon on The Drive with Dan Bahl, we welcomed Gary Phillips, New York Yankees' beat writer for the New York Daily News, back onto the show. Gary spoke with us about the eventful offseason that has taken place in The Bronx, and shared his opinions on the moves that may be next for Brian Cashman and the front office.

He also commented on a few of the team's newest roster additions, including former Siena College standout, Matt Gage.

Here's what he had to say.

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Gary Phillips Talks Matt Gage, New York Yankees in Appearance on 'The Drive'

To begin our phone conversation, we asked Phillips about his expectations for the Yankees this offseason, and how their actual level of movement measured up to said expectations. He said that he did expect the team to be active this offseason, and that their busy offseason has made sense to him, given those expectations.

That said, when we discussed the current state of the roster, we both had our reservations about the statuses of some of the key returning players (Stanton, Rizzo and LeMahieu to name a few), which prompted Phillips to say that he wouldn't be surprised to see a few more "fringe" roster moves made.

Then, we dove into the topic of Matt Gage, the Siena College product who was recently claimed off of waivers by the Yankees. Gary Phillips stated that he felt Gage fit the mold for what the Yankees were searching for in their bullpen: a strong left-handed option to replace Wandy Peralta in 2024.

A native of Johnstown, NY, Gage has pitched in 16 MLB games over the past two seasons, and recorded ERAs of 1.38 in 2022 (with Toronto) and 2.70 in 2023 (with Houston).

Gage was drafted in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants. He pitched in 46 games, while starting 37, as a member of the Saints, finishing his career with a record of 11-16, with a 3.99 ERA.

Here is the full comment from Gary Phillips on Matt Gage:

Meanwhile, here is our full interview with Gary on Tuesday's show:

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