A Quick Hot Stove Preview

November 8th, 2009 | by Craig Williams |

Because When You’re A Yankees Fan, There Is No Off-season

Certainly, the Empire is still buzzing over our first World Series victory since 2000 and, rightfully so, nobody is ready to dive headfirst into the Hot Stove quite yet. However,the Hot Stove season is going to start – with or without us. So let’s at least take a quick look at what awaits the Yankees and the fans this off-season.

Expiring Contracts

Andy Pettitte – Pettitte still has some juice left in the tank and I think he’ll be willing to come back. After his second half resurgence, I also think the Yankees will bring him back for another year.

Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui – We have two aging DH/poor LF types and the likelihood is high that we only keep one – at the most. I’ll focus more on this “battle” in the coming days.

Jerry Hairston – Hairston was a great weapon to have come off of the bench and if he is willing to accept a bench role and bench role money, I can see the Yankees bringing him back.

Xavier Nady – I think Nady could’ve been a nice asset to our squad this season but, unfortunately, he went down with an elbow injury and I do not think he will be back.

Chien-Ming Wang – Not an expiring contract in the same sense as the names above but, after an injury riddled and ineffective season, the Yankees may choose to non-tender Wang, thus making him a Free Agent.

Chad Gaudin – Gaudin helped us down the stretch but he would be a 5th starter for us at the very, very best. Unless he is content with providing us with extra depth and pitching in AAA, Gaudin won’t be back in Yankee pinstripes.

Jose Molina – Molina, Burnett’s personal catcher, is a decent backup but we also have Francisco Cervelli waiting in the wings to overtake the backup role. We’ll keep an eye on this but I think the chances are high that we’ll let him walk.

Eric Hinske – Hinske was a nice lefty power bat to have off of the bench. I could see us bringing him back for the same role at the market price but I don’t really see him taking it. If he wants to play on a more consistent basis, Hinske can find an MLB team that is willing to platoon him or play in Japan where some teams have some interest in him.

Brian Bruney – Bruney had an up and down season. The Yankees could probably bring him back for cheap but we’ll have to see how the rest of the bullpen breaks down.

Key Free Agents

Aroldis Chapman – 21 year old lefty who throws gas. This is the guy we need to spend our Hot Stove money on.

John Lackey – Word is the Angels won’t be able to afford him if he wants A.J. Burnett – type money.

Rich Harden – Injury prone but electric when healthy. Harden is a guy I’d be happy to have but he is not the guy to offer a big contract to given his health history.

Jason Bay – Let’s just hope he costs the Red Sox an arm and a leg. Bay knows the Red Sox need him so he’s got the leverage.

Matt Holliday – Maybe the biggest name on this years market. Which Holliday will the team be getting though, the .286 Oakland A’s version who hit 11 HR in 93 games or the .353 St. Louis Cardinals version who hit 13 bombs in 63 games?

Chone Figgins- Solid all-around player who, barring some sort of trade, would not have a spot on our squad.

Farm System

We don’t have a lot of young talent waiting in the wings and ready to produce at the Major League level but there are a few guys who should provide some help early on in 2010 or at least before the All-Star break.

Austin Jackson – Yanks would love to leave him in AAA for a little more development. Jackson will try to force management’s hand with a good Spring Training.

Mark Melancon/Michael Dunn – Melancon has been tabbed as the heir to Mo so we’ll want to give him the time he needs to establish himself as a reliable reliever. Dunn, described as a Phil Coke with more stuff and less control, will probably arrive sometime after Melancon – if and when he shows he is ready.

Ian Kennedy – Kennedy will be looking at a relief role if he starts 2010 in The Show.

Needs

Unlike last year, there are not any glaring holes that we will be looking to fill through free agency. Would Matt Holliday’s bat look nice in our lineup? Absolutely, but thankfully, we are not in a spot where we need his bat. We’ve got a good group of arms – both in the ‘pen and rotation but you can never have too much pitching. Additionally, when a young talent like Aroldis Chapman comes around you ignore “need” and go get him. For right now, the most important thing for the Yankees to do is take care of any players we want to re-sign and establish roles and/or inning limits for guys like Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Dave Robertson, Mark Melancon, etc. Once we figure out where everyone is going to fit we can start identifying and addressing weaknesses.

I’m sure there were a few names that I overlooked but I just wanted to give a quick overview of the bigger Hot Stove topics that we’d be addressing this off-season. There will be plenty more dedicated to these off-season developments in the coming months.