Meetings bring many answers for Yanks

Cashman's top priorities settled with Granderson, Pettitte.


NDIANAPOLIS -- As Brian Cashman tugged into the pockets of his sports coat and stared at a glittering Winter Meetings ballroom, the Yankees' general manager leaned into the ear of Tigers counterpart Dave Dombrowski and whispered incredulously, "This is my first podium ever."


In Cashman's 11 years calling the shots, the organization has used baseball's annual snowy summit as a place to advance discussions and complete its agreements. Setting up shop just a few miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway seemed to shift things into a new gear.

Suddenly, the Yankees are that much closer to wrapping up their offseason planning and preparing the roster for a defense of the World Series title, answering several of the burning questions that hovered just a week ago.

The Yankees have a new center fielder -- acquiring Curtis Granderson from the Tigers in a three-team, seven-player deal -- and have shored up their rotation by agreeing with Andy Pettitte on a one-year, $11.75 million contract that accomplished their top objective for this session.

It has been a productive trip for Cashman and the Yankees, though they will hit their flight back to New York still smarting from the price in terms of talent that the Granderson deal cost.

Austin Jackson is no longer theirs to protect, Phil Coke has been subtracted from a championship bullpen and one-time No. 1 pick Ian Kennedy was erased from pitching depth. No wonder Cashman said that he wasn't about to start doing handstands on that stage underneath the chandeliers and bright lights.

"You make those decisions and you hope they work out, but [I've] been part of enough decision making that until you play through it, you don't know," Cashman said. "We've pushed through some things that we think will help, and we hope this stuff makes us better and fortifies areas of need. We're going to find out."

With Pettitte set to go every fifth day behind CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees could feel all right on the pitching front, looking at Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre among those who will prepare as starters until otherwise instructed.

Nothing else is set to pop at this moment, but they will still engage what Cashman called a "pricey" pitching market. Cashman has compiled a short list of free-agent pitchers who interest the Yankees, including speaking to the agents for John Lackey and Ben Sheets. And of course, New York has talked about Roy Halladay with the Blue Jays.

Without acknowledging Halladay specifically, Cashman said, "I've had my trade discussions with various teams, and the price tags are currently what they are. ... Whether things are going to change in various discussions with clubs, that remains to be seen. I'm not in position now to execute any free agents or trades."

The Granderson move opens new avenues for the Yankees, who have had some nibbles on Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner on the trade front. Open to an array of opportunities, it also allows the Yankees to take a tougher stance with Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, free agents whom they have some interest in retaining, but only at their price.

Scott Boras held court on Wednesday and said that having Damon batting second would help to maximize Granderson's value lower in the lineup to cover up his tendencies toward high strikeout totals, a statement heavy in truth.

But the market seems to be developing slowly for Damon, and while Cashman doesn't feel like he's waiting anyone out, he and Boras spoke sparingly this week. As for Matsui, Cashman suggested no urgency in the DH market, with plenty of bats outside and slugger Juan Miranda as an in-house choice.

"We've pushed through some things that we think will help, and we hope this stuff makes us better and fortifies areas of need. We're going to find out."
-- Yankees GM Brian Cashman
"We have people that we can play in that position internally right now," Cashman said. "I'm not trying to oversell anyone, but Juan Miranda would do a nice job against right-handed pitching as a DH, if that's what we have to do."

That'd be the low-budget choice, and Cashman is insistent that the Yankees aren't being given unlimited funds by Hal Steinbrenner. The deals for Granderson and Pettitte have soaked up some of what they had to spend, especially after he was "murdered" last year on free-agent pitching.

Sure, the next big move might just be one phone call away -- remember, Steinbrenner somehow found Teixeira's $180 million in the couch cushions last December when the Yankees claimed to have already spent their cash on Sabathia ($161 million) and Burnett ($82.5 million).

But that was a calculated gamble because they did not adore the 2009-10 free-agent market, knowing there would be no player like Teixeira to snap up this winter. If the Yankees can get down to Steinbrenner Field without cutting those kinds of checks again, they might just do it.

"We have a certain amount of money we can spend," Cashman said. "I know what my budget is, and it's a very fluid situation out there. We will try to get something done with anything that makes sense. "

Deals done: Acquired OF Granderson from the Tigers in a three-team trade that sent RHP Kennedy to the D-backs, with OF Jackson and LHP Coke going to Detroit; traded RHP Brian Bruney to the Nationals for a player to be named later (OF Jamie Hoffmann); signed LHP Pettitte to a one-year, $11.75 million contract.

Rule 5 Draft activity: The Yankees instructed the Nationals to take Hoffmann with the first overall pick of the Draft, then had two players selected by other teams in the Major League phase -- LHP Zach Kroenke (by Arizona with the sixth pick) and RHP Kanekoa Texeira (by Seattle with the 14th pick). The Yankees did not select any players.

Goals accomplished: Priority No. 1 for the Yankees was signing Pettitte, which gives them a solid No. 3 to go behind Sabathia and Burnett in the rotation. The deal for Granderson had been discussed since November, and now the Yankees are closer to settling their outfield mix.

Unfinished business: The Yankees are still looking at starting pitching, though the price seems to be too high right now. As for the trade front -- Halladay? -- nothing seems imminent. Acquiring another starter would allow them to move either Chamberlain or Hughes into the bullpen. The Yankees will keep checking into outfielders and designated hitters, with Damon and Matsui still on the radar. Adding bullpen help is possible but not necessarily a high priority, with Michael Dunn potentially replacing Coke as a left-handed choice. They'll also look at free agent Aroldis Chapman, but that's not something that will affect the 2010 Major League roster.

GM's bottom line: "I'm hesitant to move certain young players because of what they can do for us in the future. At the same time, for the right player, I'll move anybody." -- Cashman