MLB

Cone: Blue Jays, not Yankees, team to beat in AL East

David Cone said he was so impressed with the haul the Blue Jays got from the Marlins, he thinks Toronto is the team to beat in the division.

“I would think they’d have to be the favorite, right now, in the American League East,” Cone said.

Though the Blue Jays have fooled people into thinking they could contend before, the addition of Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle in a trade that is being reviewed by MLB — coupled with the Yankees’ focus on reducing their payroll — makes them a force to be reckoned with, according to Cone.

“If [Andy] Pettitte says no and [Hiroki] Kuroda says no, that leaves some gaping holes in the rotation,” Cone said of the free agents. “Then [general manager Brian] Cashman’s got more work to do. He’s already got a tough job this winter.”

Cashman, at a fundraiser for Covenant House last night, wasn’t ready to concede the division.

“They’re certainly attempting to make a statement, no doubt about that,” Cashman said of the trade. “People feel that way, we want to convince them that we’re the team to beat.”

That convincing would be tougher to come by if Pettitte decides to retire and Kuroda opts to sign elsewhere.

“I think Andy wants to play,” said manager Joe Girardi, who has been in contact with the left-hander. “That’s my feeling from what I saw last year. But there are family decisions he has to make.”

Girardi and Cone were at Yankee Stadium yesterday, as the Yankees partnered with the USO to pack and send boxes to troops serving in Afghanistan.

Cone, who played in both The Bronx and Toronto, said he still is adjusting to the new landscape in which the Yankees are focused on reducing their payroll.

“It’s shaken up the free agent market,” Cone said. “Free agents do not need to apply here, as far as right now. … Every other team is catching up. There’s a lot more money to be spent and the Yankees are in a position where they have to get down.”

Cone said he anticipates the Yankees’ approach to change after 2014, once they get below the $189 million payroll threshold.

“I think there’s a hunger to win, but it’s a different philosophy,” Cone said of the Yankees under owner Hal Steinbrenner as opposed to his father, George. “For a year or two they’re going to have to get creative.”

Cone, a YES analyst, said he also wants them to become less reliant on home runs.

“They were a little too one-dimensional, though Ichiro [Suzuki] did give them a spark at the end,” Cone said. “[Brett] Gardner may give it to them.”

For now, though, there are more questions than answers, including the fate of the pitching staff and Russell Martin.

“I’m sure other teams are interested in Russell, just like we are,” said Girardi, who thought some combination of Austin Romine, Chris Stewart and Francisco Cervelli could be used if Martin departs. “It’s something I think we’ll look at. I think those guys have the ability to do the job. Does a Romine have enough experience right now? I don’t know. But the other two have been big league catchers and performed well.”

It seems highly unlikely the Yankees would start the season with any of those as their starting backstop, regardless of future payroll restrictions- but it’s becoming increasingly apparent the days of a nearly limitless budget to provide quick fixes isn’t realistic, either.