The way I see it, only 9 Yankees are sure to return in 2009.
Chien Ming Wang,
Joba Chamberlain,
Damaso Marte,Mariano Rivera,Jose Molina,Jorge
Posada,Derek
Jeter,Alex Rodriguez,and Xavier Nady.Everyone else is trade bait.The Yankees must get younger. A good way to start is not to resign any of their Free Agents.
Pettitte will be 38 and should retire.
Mussina will be 40.
Pavano will be 34,but he probably has the arm of a 24 because he has not pitched much in the last 3 years,plus he has a rebuilt arm. I-Rod will be 38,who is playing like he is 48.
Giambi will be 39,enough said about him.
Abreu will be 36 and does not like to get near outfield fences. By not signing these 6 players the Yankees free up 89 million dollars. Think about this for a second. If playing
ss for the Yankees is such a prestige thing as is playing cf,
Jeter should think about switching to cf.This will prolong his career and help the Yankees.He will be 35 next year, and he range is not the best anymore. This move will allow the Yankees to go out and sign a free agent
ss such as Rafael
Furcal, the best
ss arm in baseball,and only 30 years old.Other free agents they should sign are Orlando Hudson for 2B,
Cano will be traded in the winter.They should zero in on CC
Sabathia, Jon Garland,and or John Lackey. The Yankees need some role players which they
dont have.Now for some trades.......... How about Hughes,
Cano, Cabrera,
Bruney,and Romaine to the Giants for Matt Cain,
Bengie Molina,and Randy Winn. A trade with Colorado for Matt
Holliday,with Kennedy,Ramirez,Damon and Marques going to Colorado.Next go get
ss Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh ,now we have some depth. You notice I did not
mention Mark
Teixeira. Stay away from him. Pour the money into pitching. They can plug
Posada and Miranda into 1B. I also believe the will be some new coaches next year. I see Willie Randolph being named the bench coach with Tommy John or Rick Peterson the new pitching coach. Sandy
Giacomini