Despite packing a brand new stadium in the Bronx, drawing record ratings for both their regular season and post-season games and securing their 27th World Series title, the Yankees are going to cut their spending for 2010, Brian Cashman said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters at the premiere of the 2009 World Series DVD, Cashman spoke at length about the team’s off-season spending plans. Although he has yet to meet with the Steinbrenners to assess the club’s 2010 budget, he cautioned against an off-season free agent spree similar to last year’s binge. During the winter of 2008-2009, the Yanks brought aboard Mark Teixeira, CC Sabthia and A.J. Burnett at contracts that could total as much as $429 million before 2016 is out.
“We spent a lot of money last year. We’re not going to spend as much this year,” Cashman said. I’m real pleased with the financial commitment we were able to make last year. It puts us in a much better position as we move forward.”
The Yankees, furthermore, are in no rush to leap into the free agent fray. In that sense, though, they are not unlike the 29 other teams who have been largely silent this winter. “We haven’t game-planned yet,” Cashman said. “That’s what we’re going through. Once I get firm numbers, then I can go ahead and start putting ideas together.”
For some Yankee fans, this news might be a bit dismaying. After all, even if we assume that Andy Pettitte comes back, the team still has at least $26 million coming off the books between Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon alone. Furthermore, the club needs a corner outfielder, a designated hitter and maybe even another starting pitcher. Buster Olney claims that the club is going to focus on the bullpen, but the Yanks’ pen M.O. has been to eschew overspending for relievers when replacements are easy to find. It worked last year, and Cashman has no reason to shift that approach now.
So then, fans might wonder, how can the Yanks fill their holes without spending? On a closer look, though, it’s clear that the Yankees could still be very willing to spend. Cashman simply said that the team is not going to spend “as much this year” as they did last. Considering that the free agents out there don’t stack up well with Sabathia, Teixeira and even Burnett, one team would be hard pressed to find $429 million worth of contracts out there.
The Yanks have some flexibility. Even if they shoot for the $200-$210 million payroll range of 2009, the team can go out and spend on the players they need. Signing a Matt Holliday may be cost-prohibitive and a bad use of future resources, but reupping with either Matsui or Damon and Pettitte while bringing aboard an adequate DH/OF — a Nick Johnson perhaps (but more on him later tonight) — certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibilities. In the end, it’s all about spending wisely, and the Yankees certainly know that.
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