The Yankees already have given their outfield a significant makeover, and they may not be done yet.
Now that Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury have agreed to deals to come to The Bronx, Brett Gardner has drawn interest from other teams looking to pry him away from the Yankees.
With deficiencies in the infield, the starting rotation and the minors, Gardner is an attractive potential target.
Some in the organization are hesitant to move Gardner, though, since Ellsbury and Beltran have dealt with injury issues and Alfonso Soriano is a below-average outfielder who may see time at DH. Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells also remain under contract.
“We’re looking at everything,” one Yankees official said. “We’ve shown we haven’t been afraid to make moves this offseason.”
Clearly, the Yankees have more to do, even after the additions of Ellsbury, Beltran and Brian McCann, as well as retaining Hiroki Kuroda, whose signing was announced by the team Saturday. Ellsbury’s seven-year deal worth $153 million with a club option for an eighth year also was made official Saturday. The former Red Sox outfielder will be introduced at Yankee Stadium Friday.
Despite the recent flurry of action, the Yankees believe they can add at least one more significant piece now that Robinson Cano is headed to Seattle — a departure that stunned CC Sabathia.
The lefty said he believed Cano would stay in The Bronx — and the Yankees wouldn’t let him leave.
“I am surprised,” said Sabathia, who was at the Mall at Short Hills Saturday, where his wife, Amber, staged an event for her CCandy clothing line.
“But I know the business of baseball. I know how it works,” Sabathia said. “He made the best decision possible for him and his family. You can’t be mad at him for that.”
Cano, who had a front-row seat to Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour last season, opted to go to Seattle instead of staying with the Yankees.
“Just a player like that, putting on the pinstripes, and being able to play your whole career in New York means something, to me, obviously,” Sabathia said. “It didn’t mean that much to him. It’s a difficult choice being a free agent. And he made a tough choice. I know he’s happy with his decision, and his family’s happy, so that’s good.”
Sabathia said he is impressed with the other moves the Yankees have made.
“I don’t know if you can ever [make up for] what you lose with a guy like Robbie Cano,” Sabathia said. “But those are some pretty good players that we just got to step into some key positions.”
Though the Yankees aren’t a finished product yet, Sabathia said he is pleased with the direction the team is taking.
“As a player, that’s all you can ask for, is to be in a place where you can win every year, and obviously losing a guy like Robbie, you would think we wouldn’t have a chance, but these guys can be creative,” Sabathia said, adding he feels good and is conducting his typical offseason routine. “I’m looking forward to what we’re going to do. It seems like we’re active and still making moves and doing a lot of things … I think it’s going to be a fun offseason.”
Kuroda’s one-year deal is for $16 million, plus $85,000 for a translator, which also will count against the $189 million luxury tax.
— Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff