ORLANDO – The total is now at approximately $331 million. That is how much Joe Torre, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera have so far rejected in Yankee offers.
So the Yankees currently do not have a catcher under control on their 40-man roster. If the season began today, their corner infielders likely would be Wilson Betemit and Shelley Duncan. Their most dependable lefty starter would be Kei Igawa. Their closer by default would be Joba Chamberlain, whom they desperately want to put in the rotation.
If possible, the Yankees are staring at a November worse than their October. They might remember their date with the Lake Erie midge as the good old days.
Yet here is the key element for the Yankees, right now: Don’t panic. At this moment, the Yankees could do far more damage to their 2009-2014 teams than they could do to assist the 2008 roster.
“I’ve proven over time that I will not panic,” GM Brian Cashman said. “I am a patient, methodical person.”
The 2008 roster, in many ways, is at the mercy of Posada, Rivera and Pettitte. If all three return, the 2008 Yanks almost certainly will be a strong contender. If they don’t, well, there is really no way to adequately replace that trio plus A-Rod. The Yanks would never concede a season, that is just not who they are. But their chances of contending would drop precipitously.
Right now, they appear ready to be, if not the high bidders on Posada and Rivera, then pretty darn close. They remain the strong favorite for both. There are signs Pettitte really might retire. That would be devastating for the Yanks. But, again, what could they do? The free-agent market, in a word provided by an NL GM, is “garbage.”
Cashman has staked his Yankee career and the franchise’s short-term future on what one AL executive called, “the best young pitching in the majors. I love their young pitching. Look, they had offense to spare (from last year). They might end up a more balanced team. My concern for them is will their three young pitchers (Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy) be able to shoulder the load (of a full season)?”
In many ways, that is as big a question facing the Yankees as any. They pledge, that as there were relief rules for Chamberlain, there will be strict rules for usage to attempt to get Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy through their first foray into being major league starters for six and, possibly, seven months.
“For the most part, we are going to stay the course and build around young pitching,” Cashman said. “But talk is cheap. Let’s see where I am standing in February.”
That is Cashman’s way of saying he is being bombarded by offers for his best prospects. And, as even he said, “why wouldn’t I be asked.” Those three pitchers have already had success in the AL East, they are low cost and they are high ceiling. The temptation is going to be great, and Cashman is going to have to think about the likelihood that all three are really going to reach lofty levels.
The model would be the trio Oakland nurtured in Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. But the idea that all three are going to stay healthy and productive to that level is slim. Cashman also most fear a repeat of “Generation K,” and how the injury/failure of Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson significantly retarded the organization.
It seems Cashman has dug in and decided to gamble his job and the team’s near future on the youngsters. It is the right move. The only way he should consider otherwise is if there is a chance to make a deal in the mode of the one Boston completed two years ago of star prospect (Hanley Ramirez) for established, twentysomething star (Josh Beckett) that the club believes it can retain long term.
That enticement is already there with the very available Miguel Cabrera. And there is a possibility that aces such as Erik Bedard, Jake Peavy and Johan Santana could go on the trade market.
It is going to be that kind of winter for Cashman, playing the delicate balancing act of today against tomorrow.