The first five "more important" items on the New York agenda involved the future of the Yankees through the eyes of the current roster and.or players. There were many decisions to be made about players who were key contributors to the 2007 Yankees. The next five areas that will be explored have little to do with the current state of the New York Yankees, but rather focus more on what they can do in the future to improve the ballclub.
Without further ado, here are the second five "more important" things on the New York Agenda:
6) LOCKED UP MONEY
Money is hardly an issue with the Yankees unless they somehow boost their payroll into national-debt range, at which point none of what we are talking about will matter. With no cap on the payroll, the Yankees will still feel obligated to go after the big fish as long as they have some sort of Steinbrenner at the ownership helm.
Would it be financially smart to cut the payroll as the team gets younger? Sure. Will it happen? Probably not. And that is due to the fact that even as the Yankees ship in young, cheap talent, they will be looking to make those $150-200 million free agent signings. The only one currently out there would be Alex Rodriguez, which if Hank and Hal Steinbrenner are smart, will not even be a factor in their offseason plans.
The Yankees still owe Jason Giambi a bundle of money in the seven-year, $120 million dollar deal he signed back in 2002. The problem is that New York is not getting anywhere close to their money's worth on this investment because Giambi has been injury prone. The slugger only played in 83 games in 2007 while hitting 14 homeruns and driving in 39 runs. Those are platoon-type numbers for a guy who was brought to New York to be the cornerstone of the offense. Add to the fact that Giambi is a horrible defensive first baseman, and we create a log jam at DH.
The Yankees also have Johnny Damon for one more season. Damon is no longer the centerfielder in New York, as that position belongs to Melky Cabrera. Cabrera played well and earned that job, but it would be naive to suggest that the decision to move Damon out of centerfield had little to do with his arm.
The move had every bit to do with his arm and diminishing speed. Damon at least played in 141 games in 2007 despite battling leg injuries, mainly cramps in his calfs. That may be a bigger problem than the arm because Damon is a speed guy who needs to run. Take the running part of the game away from Damon and you have a fourth outfielder at best.
These two guys will need significant playing time at DH in 2008, and that is just the problem. There really isn't a good way to platoon the two because niether will be able to get in the day-to-day rhythm that is needed to be a consistent hitter. Giambi is almost unmoveable for the Yankees due to the contract. Look for the Yankees to try to ship Damon away for a few spare pieces.
7) HITTING PROSPECTS
General Manager Brian Cashman has done an outstanding job of changing the philosophy in the front office. He has focused on pitchers in the draft and has stockpiled a handful of them in the farm. Young, quality pitching is the biggest commodity in baseball and is always great traid bait if they cannot be used at the big league level.
Here lies the question. What about the offensive side? We all know about the Yankee lineup and how they lead baseball in runs scored most years. But most of those hitters are big-time free agent signs who will no longer be useful soon as their contracts expire and as age sets in on their careers. The obvious solution would be to throw multimillions at the biggest free-agent in the market when during the winter that they must fill their holes. It is almost counterproductive financially to overpay a player simply because the market is reaching new heights due to the lack of quality talent.
It has been proven time and time again in the postseason the last 5-7 years that teams win with homegrown talent and veterans mixed in. The Yankees have two outfield prospects that grade out to be potential superstars. Austin Jackson is probably the closest to the big leagues, while 19-year-old Jose Tabata has the biggest upside, as he has a chance to be a five-tool type of player.
Outside of those two players, the farm is thin when it comes to production at the plate. The Yankees will need to address that in the coming years so that as they are building their organization around young pitching, they can mix in a couple cost-effective studs in the field as well.
8) MIDDLE RELIEF
The bullpen of the Yankees was the easiest scapegoat for the struggles of the team. In all honesty, that is where the blame should lie, with the starting rotation accepting some of the burden. The backend of the bullpen was great with Joba Chamberlain bridging the gap to Mariano Rivera.
It would behoove New York to bring Rivera back so they can 1) ensure a stable, battle-tested prescense in the ninth inning and 2) move Joba Chamberlain back into the starting rotation and begin to build the future around him and Phil Hughes.
It would not be a bad thing for the Yankees to drop a couple sticks of dynamite on their middle relief corps and start from scratch.
The Bronx Bombers will probably keep Edwar Ramirez around as the chageup specialist can eat up some innings and get some outs, saving the later-inning arms. Ross Ohlendorf got some experience in the bullpen, including an inning in the postseason, and could move into a seventh-inning role. Ohlendorf was acquired from Arizona in the Randy Johnson trade and is a quality arm that should provide some relief.
With those pieces in place, the Yankees still lack a set-up man, at least one lefthander, and a couple other arms to throw in the mix. They wil have to fill those voids via trade as not a whole lot is on the free agent market that isn't named Francisco Cordero. Luckily, the Yankees have a couple quality arms coming back from Tommy John surgery, Mark Melancon and J. Brent Cox, that could surface in New York by 2009.
9) DRAFT
It is always important to draft pitching and stockpiling impressive young arms so they can be used to swing in trades if not to overturn the big league staff. This should be secondary on the list for the Yankees entering the 2008 draft because they already have wealth of it. Their glaring vacancies lie on the offensive side. This would be a good year to collect some bats with good upside, even if they may be high-risk, high-reward type guys. That being said, there are time when you must draft the best overall prospect, and it is likely that guy could be on the hill.
10) INCORPORATING MORE "GRINDERS"
The mental approach to baseball is a part of the game that is overlooked, but is just as important as any other physical aspect. The Yankees seriously lack the "grinder" type of player(s) on their roster, and that could be a big reason why they have been without a World Series championship for seven years. It is awfully tough to win if you have to rely on the 3-run homerun. This is magnified when teams get to the postseason because you are facing the top two pitchers of each team for the majority of the series.
The Yankees do not have a prototypical catalyst on their lineup like Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are for the Red Sox or Chone Figgin and Orlando Cabrera are for the Angels. If the Yankees could mix in a player or two who comes to the ballpark everyday looking to run through some walls andget his uniform dirty, they should undoubtedly be over the top of the losing hill. This is why I beleive Aaron Rowand makes just as much sense as anyone else for the Yankees this offseason. Torrii Hunter is the attractive name, but sometimes a price tag cannot be put on the influence a "grinder" has on a roster and in the clubhouse. The availability of Aaron Rowand marks one of those times for the Yankees, and they should not wait to pull the trigger.
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