According to ESPNNewYork.com, the team's front office that includes general manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner is putting together an offseason plan for the Yankees to spend in upwards of $300 million dollars. Team organizational meetings begin on Monday.
For a team who’s motto is “win at all costs”, this really shouldn’t be that surprising. However, the Yanks are still hoping to keep its payroll under the $189 million dollar mark.
Some of the names that are being talked about right now are Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Japenese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, as well as the team re-signing Robinson Cano. After the Yankees missed the playoffs in 2008, the team had a major spending spree that resulted in the signings of Mark Teixeira, AJ Burnett, and CC Sabathia.
The 24-year-old Tanaka was freakishly dominant in Japan last year, going 24-0. No, that’s not a typo. Along with that, he had an other-worldy 1.27 ERA. With Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and possibly Hiroki Kuroda leaving, the Yankees will need to add more to their pitching rotation.
With the success of Yu Darvish the last few years, and how dominant Tanaka has been, the bidding is expected to be even higher than it was for Darvish. The Yankees could definitely use Tanaka who could be a front-end starter for over a decade.
It’s clear that the Yankees need a reliable every day catcher, because no offense to Chris Stewart, but if he’s your everyday catcher that’s a problem. In 109 games last season, Stewart hit .211 with 25 RBIs. Those numbers speak for themselves.
Adding Brian McCann would be a brilliant move for the Yankees, especially considering that this past season was a bit of a down year for McCann-standards. He’s a consistent 20-home run guy, and can drive in between 70-90 RBIs.
The third big name is Carlos Beltran, who the Yankees really wanted prior to the 2005 season but ended up going with Johnny Damon. Beltran is up there in age, as he will be 37 in April of 2014. Besides striking out in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, he is an incredible post-season hitter.
There just may not be enough room on the team for Beltran with fellow veterans including Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro, and Vernon Wells to go along with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson, who is also a free agent.
No matter who the Yankees end up with though, it’s a good sign that the front office won’t tolerate another third-place finish.
Because in Yankee land, that’s unacceptable.
[Standing O Sports]
