HOUSTON — Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner says monitoring social media has convinced him New York fans are ready to embrace a Baby Bombers team that includes young players mixed with veterans.
Speaking Wednesday at a major league owners meeting, Steinbrenner says the last week before Alex Rodriguez’s retirement ‘‘was unfortunate at times’’ and the departures of A-Rod and Carlos Beltran, who was traded, were necessary to clear a path for rookies Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin.
He praised veteran catcher Brian McCann, who has lost some playing time to Sanchez, and said of McCann’s future: ‘‘We’ll cross that bridge in the offseason when we come to it.’’
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Steinbrenner said the young players need mentors, so ‘‘we’re always going to have free agents.’’