New York Yankees: Decisions Loom

The New York Yankees have arguably the best season as far as it came to the trades they were able to pull off. Now that the deadline has come to pass, you can be sure that management has already started to think about the difficult offseason decisions that loom.

Of course, a lot of the credence that goes into personnel decisions will come to light over the next few months during the stretch run and playoffs. However, the complex situations the Yankees will face forces top brass to start brainstorming.

The Yanks have some big name free agents: Andy Pettitte, Richie Sexson, Mike Mussina, Bobby Abreu, and Ivan Rodriguez. They are all free to seek employment elsewhere next year. Damaso Marte and Jason Giambi have options that the team needs to decide on.

The Giambi Dilemma

Giambi certainly has not been the Ruthian slugger Yankees fans thought they were getting coming off his MVP campaign in 2001. Giambi brought scandal to the Yankees, but showed an amazing perseverance earning Comeback Player of the Year honors and showing he could still hit the ball.

The Giambino has an option for $22 million next year and a $5 million dollar buyout if the Yankees do not pick up the option.

The solution: Let him go. When the Yankees signed him, they were expecting the .300 BA, 40 HR, and 120 RBI production. Since he's been in the Bronx, Giambi has hit 40 HR twice (his first two years), batted .300 once (his first year), and driven in 120 RBI once (his first year).

He's been injury plagued since coming off the juice and paying $5 million to be able to renegotiate is worth it. The Yanks could end up getting him to sign a two or three year deal for $12-$13 million, a significant amount of savings.

Add into the dilemma that Mark Teixeira. It's worth losing Giambi to make a run at the 28-year-old. Teixeira is averaging 36 HR, 120 RBI, and batting .280. He's only making $12.5 million this year. There will be a bidding war, but I'd gladly pay the $22 million a year for an upgrade of this proportion, even if we lose the $5 million dollar buyout.

Worst case scenario: The Yanks lose both Giambi and Teixeira to the market. They will then have options. They can either convert one of many players to first base (Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady). Of course, they could sign Rich Aurilla or Carlos Delgado for a season or two. In 2010, they can try to convince an aging Chipper Jones to split time between first base/DH.

They should resign Sexson. He's great against lefties and he's a solid backup defensively.

The Outfield Situation

Bobby Abreu wants to come back and he's lobbying hard for it. He knows that the pickup of Nady puts a lot of pressure on his back. He also knows that Justin Christian, Brett Gardner, and Austin Jackson are almost ready for the bigs.

This, of course, makes an already crowded outfield ridiculous. Mingle in the fact that Damon and Matsui usually have to DH a day or two a week, and it makes it even more complicated. Abreu is having a decent year, but he'll be 35 next year and is making $16 million. Is an insurance policy worth that much?

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