It makes no difference if they’re in a hotel room in Dallas or their Yankee Stadium offices: the Yankees aren’t abandoning their patient approach to altering the roster.
Brian Cashman departed the Winter Meetings Thursday not optimistic about signing a free agent or making a trade to upgrade the starting rotation.
According to the general manager, progress wasn’t made yesterday, a day after he admitted, “I am ready to rock and roll. The Yankees are open for business.’’
But the Yankees believe the price on free-agent arms such as Edwin Jackson is too high and teams with hurlers to deal are asking for too much. Thus, the lack of movement.
In the aftermath of the Angels signing Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 million deal and inking lefty starter C.J. Wilson to a five-year pact for $77.5 million Thursday, the Angels are willing to listen to teams about right-hander Ervin Santana, who is owed $11.2 million this season. However, Yankee talent evaluators aren’t wild about Santana.
As they were throughout the Winter Meetings, the price tags on lefty starters Gio Gonzalez and John Danks remain high. And the Yankees are sending out signals Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish isn’t worth the possible $80 to $100 million investment it could take to sign him after the bid portion of the posting process ends Wednesday at 5 p.m.
While the Yankees wait for something they like from both a talent and money standpoint, the baseball landscape was littered with post-meetings speculation.
One NL executive said he heard the Rangers were looking to sign free- agent first baseman Prince Fielder and deal first baseman Mitch Moreland to the Rays for pitcher Wade Davis in the wake of Pujols going to an AL West rival.
However, a person with knowledge of the Rangers’ plans, said those scenarios weren’t close to materializing.
The Rangers have an interest in the Brewers’ Casey McGehee to play first. That would enable them to deal Moreland to the Rays for Davis, who might not crack Tampa Bay’s rotation.
* Agent Fernando Cuzatalked to Mariano Riverayesterday, the first day MLB’s all-time leading closer was able to speak following last week’s surgery to remove polyps from his vocal cords.
“He was talking low but was very happy that everything came back negative,’’ Cuza said.
* The Yankees announced the re-signing of Freddy Garciato a one-year deal worth north of $4 million. . . . According to a Yankee source, a report in Japan the club had offered pitcher Hiroki Kuroda $12 million was inaccurate.