Brian Cashman is letting the free agent river run down River Avenue to his Yankee Stadium door.
According to the World Champion Yankees GM, he doesn’t have concrete ideas about retaining his free agents or signing free agents from other teams.
“Agents are calling me but I haven’t returned their calls,” Cashman said yesterday. “I haven’t talked to agents about players. I saw Arn Tellem in Chicago (at the GM meetings) but I told him we had to wait to see about payroll.”
Tellem represents World Series MVP Hideki Matsui who, with Johnny Damon and Andy Pettitte, is a free agent.
The Yankees have exclusive negotiating rights to the trio until midnight Thursday. After that, any team can talk money with them.
Ditto John Lackey, whose reps have contacted the Yankees, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. They are the biggest names on the free-agent market outside of the Yankees’ universe.
Cashman will chair the pro scout meetings that start tomorrow, so the Yankees may know better what the markets — trade and free agency — look like.
After that, Cashman will take the ideas and estimated money to the Steinbrenner family.
“I don’t see anybody hot to do anything,” an industry source said. “Everybody seems to be in a wait-and-see mode and that plays into how the Yankees have been working. Take Jason Bay, they can wait around like they did with Mark Teixeira last winter.”
It strongly appeared the switch-hitting first baseman was Boston bound until the Yankees snagged him with an eight-year, $180 million deal.
Bay could replace Damon in left if the Yankees don’t want to go multiple years with the 36-year-old.
The Yankees might not re-sign Damon or Matsui, but if they don’t, they are going to have to find a way to replace the combined 52 left-handed homers they hit playing in a ballpark built for lefty swingers.
Acquiring Tigers center fielder and left-handed hitter Curtis Granderson is an intriguing option, even if it means parting with Joba Chamberlain.
An agent who doesn’t represent Lackey said the right-hander could command a Barry Zito-like contract. Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million deal with the Giants that started in 2007.
After spending $161 million on CC Sabathia and $82.5 million on A.J. Burnett last offseason and likely having to give Pettitte a bump from the $5 million base salary he earned last year if the veteran lefty wants to return, a Zito-like deal for Lackey might be too rich for the Yankees.
An alternative could be Ben Sheets, who missed last year due to flexor tendon surgery on his right arm.
“We will go through the scouting reports and see where the market is,” Cashman said when asked about the 31-year-old Sheets who, when healthy, was a stud for the Brewers.
“After we decide what it is, that will determine if we have less or more (interest).”
According to agent Casey Close, teams have called to tell him to keep them in the loop concerning Sheets, who underwent the surgery last February.
“More than a half-dozen clubs have called to tell us to keep them posted,” said Close, who has been told by surgeon Dr. James Andrews that Sheets will be 100 percent for the start of spring training. “It’s the same operation Andy (Pettitte) had and he came back great. (Sheets) is doing very well in the rehab process.”