New York Yankees: Smart to Pursue Only One-Year Deals for Jackson, Kuroda?

In an uncertain free-agent market, it appears general manager Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees will continue to tread lightly and not make a desperation move. This was made evident with the news that the Yanks are only seeking one-year deals for either Edwin Jackson or Hiroki Kuroda, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

The one-year deal stance will enable the Yankees to throw enough money to entice either player while not making the Bombers susceptible to signing a mistake of a long-term deal (see: A.J. Burnett).

The reasons for this approach with these two specific pitchers are two-fold:

1. Jackson is an unproven commodity, asking for a five-year deal around $12 million per according to ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews. Far too much money and years for the Yanks to commit to.

2. Kuroda is going to be 37 years old, and there's no telling if age or a better hitting division will greatly inflate his ERA of 3.07 from 2011.

With that logic, it's easy to see why the Yanks don't want to commit to these pitchers long-term, as they have clearly learned their lesson from years past.

Many in the Yankeeland got a little paranoid when reports surfaced that New York might be realistically negotiating with Jackson specifically.

With all the doubts about their rotation going into the 2012 season, if the Yanks can escape this offseason with either Kuroda or Jackson on a one-year deal, I think that's something Yankees fans can live with.

It would give the Yanks better rotation depth, but neither puts them over the top for the future. Consider signing Jackson or Kuroda, if it happens, a Band-Aid for now. Cashman certainly wouldn't be done and will be spending the entirety of the 2012 season still looking for his guy.