The New York Yankees signed Brett Gardner to a one-year contract, leaving only Russell Martin and Boone Logan without deals so far. By all accounts,
the Yankees offseason business is nearly complete.
Unless the speculation about Prince Fielder signing with the
Bronx Bombers comes true (I think it’s nothing more than a pipe dream by some very
spoiled Yankees fans), Brian Cashman & Co are almost done for the winter. Of
course, the Yankees have surprised us before, most recently with the
pre-Christmas 2008 mega-signing of Mark Teixeira and the inking of Rafael
Soriano after being rejected by Cliff Lee last year. But Tex is signed for
another five years so first base isn’t open for Fielder and I doubt the Yankees
are willing to spend what it will cost to get him. And I think the
Steinbrenners have learned their lesson about overruling Cashman after paying
Soriano more than $10 million a year to be their 7th inning
reliever.
This being the Yankees, they could surprise us yet again
after pulling off a stunning trade for a potential young ace in Michael Pineda.
But after getting Hiroki Kuroda at the price Cashman wanted, he is probably not
willing to ask the Steinbrenners to loosen the purse strings again for anyone,
including Fielder. And I’m not even sure Cashman is particularly interested in
Fielder, even though he is a terrific young hitter. The Yankees general manager
has often been stung by criticism that his baseball prowess only goes as far as
his resources. By focusing only on moves within his budget, Cashman wants to
quell such talk once and for all.
I think Cashman & Co are nearly done, save for signing
Martin and Boone and perhaps Eric Chavez or someone of his ilk to be a back-up
infielder. The Yankees roster is almost set heading toward spring training and
it’s looking pretty good.
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