NJ.com | Mike Rosenstein: Major League Baseball’s annual awards season kicked off Thursday as the player’s association released its nominees for the Player’s Choice Awards. Included among the finalists was Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who joins Lance Lynn and Robbie Ray as the candidates for the Outstanding Pitcher Award. Likely a preview of the AL Cy Young Award race, the final results will be released on ESPN at 6:00 pm ET this coming Thursday.
MLB.com | Anthony Castrovince: In just a few short weeks, one of the deepest free agent classes in recent memory will hit the open market, and while the uncertain Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations will certainly put a damper on things, there should still be more than enough excitement to get us through the winter — unless, of course, the owners collectively clutch their purses, but that’s a conversation for a different day.