Brian Cashman promises he has a plan. So far this offseason the New York Yankees have been quiet despite the need of upgrades on the roster. They have sat back while big names like David Price, Zack Greinke and Jeff Samardzija sign marquee deals. Many believed the Yankees would show interest in several of the ace pitchers, but they have remained patient as Cashman tells the media that trades are more favored than over-priced contracts.
According to Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal, Cashman is preferring trades this offseason over signing big-named players. Cashman has no plans of chasing the marquee pitchers, Jason Heyward or Daniel Murphy in free agency. Instead, the Yankees could try shopping a few key players in hopes of getting an infielder, starting pitcher and some bullpen help. That will be easier said than done which could end up forcing the Yankees to try and sign at least one big name.
Barbarisi reports that the Yankees have no plans on trading young closer Andrew Miller or Brett Gardner. The outfielder's name has been mentioned a few times in trade talks, but the Yankees are not budging. Nor do they plan on trading Jacoby Ellisbury in any deals which makes getting quality in return a difficult task for the Yankees.
Ryan Hatch of NJ.com believes the Yankees would be wise to get in on the Shelby Miller race. The Atlanta Braves attempted to get Luis Severino in a deal from the Yankees, but that was declined. New York could try and offer a package that includes someone like Ivan Nova and potentially someone like Rob Refsnyder who could be expendable in the right deal. The interest in Nova should be high considering his numbers before the Tommy John surgery. He was rusty in his return, but can improve. According to Cashman, the Yankees are hopeful to be aggressive in moves.
Typically if you follow our pattern, we are aggressive more so when we have significant dollars coming off," Cashman said, according to NJ.com. "The winters we have gone aggressive in free agency were winters where we had significant money coming off. This particular winter we do not have significant money coming off."
According to NJ.com, the Yankees could still be in the market for Heyward depending on his demands. He is the best young bat available right now and someone that could greatly improve the team. Justin Upton remains another option along with Yoenis Cespedes. They will be high-priced, but they would be a significant upgrade to the team.