MLB

Veterans, Yankees ponder pinstriped future

Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Andy Pettitte will be with the Yankees when they bask in the glory of a ticker-tape parade today up the Canyon of Heroes as World Series champions.

However, when the three step off the floats, will they be headed to Tampa for spring training?

Matsui, Damon and Pettitte are expected to file for free agency before the midnight, Nov. 19 deadline.

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Because all three played big parts in the Yankees beating the Phillies in six games to cop the organization’s record 27th World Series title, there are decisions to be made.

If they return, at what price? If they don’t, who will replace them?

Matsui, who tied a single-game record with six RBIs in the clinching Game 6 Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, was the Series MVP thanks to a .615 average (8-for-13) with three homers and eight RBIs despite not starting Games 3, 4 and 5 when the designated hitter was removed from play.

Damon, who had to come out of Game 6 in the fourth inning with a calf injury, batted .364 (8-for-22), scored six runs and ignited a game-winning, ninth-inning rally in Game 4 with a two-out single and stealing second and third on the same play.

Pettitte, the winner of the clincher, was 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts.

“We haven’t thought about any of that yet either way,” general manager Brian Cashman said yesterday when asked if the trio’s World Series performances had altered what the Yankees had believed before the postseason started. “We haven’t had our pro scouting meeting or met with the coaching staff and the manger. And we haven’t met with ownership to see about 2010.”

Cashman said he will assemble his pro scouts after next week’s GM meetings in Chicago are finished.

Damon, who turned 36 yesterday, didn’t get into specifics, but indicated it’s going to take more than a one-year deal to keep him in pinstripes.

“I want something fair,” said Damon, who batted .282 with 24 homers and 82 RBIs in the final year of a four-year, $52 million deal. “I think New York is capable of doing that.”

Agent Scott Boras tossed around big names when comparing Damon’s durability.

“He is the Greg Maddux of the present players,” Boras said of the All-Star pitcher known for his consistency. “He has played 140 games [or more] 12 years in a row. Guys like Pete Rose and Hank Aaron, when they did that, they played at a high level until they were 40.”

Due to surgeries on each knee in the previous two offseasons, Matsui didn’t play an out in the field this year because manager Joe Girardi didn’t want to risk losing Matsui’s productive bat in the DH spot. The strategy worked very well because Matsui batted .274 with 28 homers and 90 RBIs in 142 games as the DH and a pinch-hitter in the final year of a four-year, $52 million pact.

Asked if he expected to be a Yankee in 2010 after Game 6, Matsui said, “No, I have no idea right now.”

It’s unlikely the Yankees will want to go more than one year with a 35-year-old player with suspect knees who doesn’t play in the field. And though the Game 6 performance was brilliant, it’s not likely to change the way the Yankees — or other teams — view Matsui as a free agent.

As for the 37-year-old Pettitte, he finished the season healthy and with a 14-8 record working as the third starter behind CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. He was brilliant in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Twins, allowing one run, three hits and fanning seven in 6 1/3 innings.

Pettitte, who made $16 million in 2008 and was paid a base salary of $5.5 million this year plus $5 million in bonuses, has the best chance of the three to return.

george.king@nypost.com