1) Bring back Matsui on a one year deal
The World Series MVP will also probably win the Comeback Player of the Year award for the American League. Coming into the year, people were worried about his knees and the fact that he was incapable of playing the outfield. Well, that's turned out to be true. However, he's found a home in the DH spot and had a monster year with the bat. He put up a wOBA of .378 while remaining the classy professional he has always been. His year with the bat really shouldn't have been any surprise. His EQA's for the past three years have been .287, .271, and .293. All respectable numbers. As long as he stays at DH, his knee problems shouldn't be an issue and he should be back on a one year deal to help the Yanks defend their title.
2. Bring back Johnny Damon or sign Mike Cameron
Obviously, the Yankees are going to need a leftfielder for 2010 and neither Matt Holliday nor Jason Bay strike me as a good fit. Holliday stands to get a massive long term contract and I just don't think he's worth that kind of money. Nor do I think that so soon after signing Teixeira, they're ready to make a similar commitment. Bay has made the transition from being one of the most underrated players in baseball to being one of the most overrated in the past year or so and he also stands to get more money than he's really worth. Signing him would be a purely reactionary move to hurt the Red Sox, the kind of thing they need to stay away from.
My preference is to see Damon back in pinstripes for another year, maybe two. He's a clutch player who has an excellent reputation in the clubhouse. His defense is thoroughly unimpressive but he can flat out hit. If Boras is serious about getting his client a three or four year deal though, the Yanks are going to need to look elsewhere and the eternally underrated Mike Cameron could be the man for the job. He's not nearly as good as his competitors at the plate. However, he's still a fantastic centerfielder. According to WAR, he's been worth an average of 15.5 million dollars over the past three years, most because of his incredible defense. He's not going to command nearly that and an outfield of Gardner-Cameron-Swisher would save plenty of runs in the fielder.
3. Bring Back Andy Pettitte
This is an obvious move that all Yankees fans seem to agree on. He's a complete professional and is as reliable as any other pitcher you can find. Pettitte has topped 200 innings in every year since his injury plagued 2004, that's five straight seasons. Although we saw signs of decline last year in his lower GB% and his higher BB rate, he's still a quality pitcher. His tRA for the past three years have been 4.35, 4.42, and 4.69. All solid rates that anybody would happy to see from a third starter. If he decides he wants to come back, he won't go anywhere other than the Bronx and won't demand more than a one year deal. The only question is whether or not this is the year that he finally decides to retire. I'd be shocked if he did but its always a possibility. Andy's a a big game pitcher who will give you over 200 quality innings. For a one year deal worth around 12 million, you can' ask for much more than that. Yankees fans would welcome him back for another year.
4) Sign Justin Duchscherer
Its not a rumor we've heard at all but it still makes a world of sense for the Yankees to make a serious run at this guy. Of all the buy low, sell high candidates of this year, he has to be the most intriguing. Although plagued by injuries throughout his career, he's been as good as anybody in baseball at times. The 31 year old's stats are impressive, a career 3.14 ERA, a career 3.81 FIP, and a career 4.24 tRA. He's spent time both in the bullpen and the rotation, so if he doesn' make the rotation its an easy transition out to left field. The only question mark about him is whether or not he can stay on the mound and I think its worth the gamble of the relatively small contract he's going to command. If the Yanks get lucky, they'll have one of the best pitchers in baseball behind Sabathia and Burnett. If it doesn't work out, they're only going to lose a couple million. On paper it makes perfect sense. That said, Duscherer may be able to handle New York and I'd be surprised if he ever donned the pinstripes. Erik Bedard could be another free agent in the same mold who I wouldn't mind them taking a run at.
5) Bring Back Wang
Similar to Duscherer, Wang is a low risk, high reward option. In Wang's case though, the Yankees would be absolute fools to let him get away. It wasn't all that long ago that he was the anchor of their staff and people where arguing over whether he was truly an "ace" or not. Despite the low strikeout totals he put up fantastic numbers from 2005 through 2008. We all know how good this guy was and if they could add him to a 2010 rotation already featuring C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett it would be devestating for the rest of the American League. He has had injury problems, even if you ignore the freak accidents of the past two years or so. However, he's well worth the risk of 5 million dollars or so. Especially if Dr. James Andrews' latest prediction of an April return is accurate. Unless they decide to spend huge on Lackey or make a blockbuster trade for Halladay, the back of the rotation is going to be a little weak and they need as many high potential arms trying out for those last two spots as possible. Since his rookie season, he's been worth more than five million dollars every single year, with the exception of 2009. He's well worth the risk.
6) Sign Alroldis Chapman
Hardly a winter goes by without the Yankees making a splash and giving out a big contract. Though I don't believe any of the big ML free agents are good fits this year, I am confident that the Yanks are still going to flex their financial muscle. Their are no guarentees with Cuban pitchers, for every El Duque their is a Jose Contreras, but this guy seems like the real deal. He may not be ready for the major leagues yet but that's okay. The farm is looking a little weak right now. Behind Jesus Montero, nobody else in the higher levels really seems to show star potential. Sure, we have A-Jax who looks like he'll be a solid centerfielder one day and we have McAllister who could be a nice middle of the rotation starter. None of these guys really seem like big time difference makers though. Chapman and his high 90's fastball seem like just what the doctor ordered. This is an opportunity for the Yanks to take advantage of their deep pockets and keep him out of Boston.
7) Bring Back Eric Hinske
Eric Hinske was a nice addition to the bench early on when he was sent over by Pittsburgh. He gave us a little pop off the bench and was a useful guy to have. He can play all four corner spots and rest some of the guys that need the rest most. Not a great fielder but that's what Ramiro Pena is for. That extra power hitter on the bench can help win a couple extra games and keep the main guys rested. He certainly won't demand all that much and I assume he's going to want to stay in pinstripes after a World Championship. Its not a major need but I'd like to see Eric Hinske back with the Yankees for the 2010 campaign.
I think that all these moves would put the Yankees in a good position to repeat in 2010. It keeps the core of the team intact while giving some of the younger players a chance to step forward and claim their role in the major leagues. It give them a deep team that can withstand some serious injuries if need be both in the rotation and the outfield.
Any thoughts on this?
