By Art Davidson / Daily News staff Saturday, February 10, 2007 - Updated: 11:30 PM EST
By Yankee standards this offseason has been downright bizarre. New York has actually reduced its payroll and has significantly improved its farm system by trading some veterans for several young players.
The Yankees acquired seven excellent prospects in trades for pitchers Randy Johnson and Jaret Wright and outfielder Gary Sheffield.
"We are very excited about some of the young players we've received," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "We are always going to pursue free agents, but now we have a considerable amount of top-level talent within our own organization. Hopefully, some of those players will make an impact for us, like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano did when we promoted them from our farm system."
The Yankees won their ninth straight AL East title last season, but were defeated by Detroit in the Division Series. After losing the series opener, the Tigers rebounded by winning the next three games.
It was speculated that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner might fire manager Joe Torre or that the team might trade Alex Rodriguez, but neither occurred.
New York's lineup should be even more potent this season. Outfielders Hideki Matsui and Sheffield both missed significant portions of last season with injuries. The trading-deadline deal which brought Bobby Abreu to New York prompted the Yankees to ship Sheffield to Detroit last November.
The Yankees' biggest concern entering spring training is their starting rotation. Chien-Ming Wang has become New York's top starter. The 26-year-old right-hander was 19-6 last season.
The departure of Johnson puts more pressure on 38-year-old Mike Mussina, who is coming off a good, but unspectacular 15-7 season.
The Yankees' most significant offseason acquisition was bringing back Andy Pettitte for his second tour of duty in the Bronx. Pettitte, 34, has spent the last three seasons with Houston. New York didn't ardently attempt to re-sign Pettitte after he filed for free agency following the 2003 seasons because Cashman had concerns about his left elbow. Those worries seemed justified when Pettitte was hampered by injuries in 2004, but he's pitched more than 200 innings in each of the last two seasons. Pettitte was 14-13 in 36 games last year.
Does the return of Pettitte mean that Roger Clemens might also decide to move from Houston to New York and pitch for the Yankees again?
"If Roger Clemens wants to pitch this year we are certainly going to be interested in talking to him, like we did last year," said Cashman. "He made it clear last year that the only teams he would consider playing for are Houston, ourselves and the Red Sox."
Cashman admits that he was disappointed that the Yankees weren't able to sign Daisuke Matsuzaka and that he ended up with the Red Sox.
"There were indications that it wasn't going to be us," said Cashman. "Once that happened I was hoping that our main rival wasn't going to win the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka. The Red Sox have added a very good pitcher."
The Yankees settled for signing Japanese southpaw Kei Igawa, who was 14-9 with a 2.97 ERA last season for Hanshin. Igawa, 27, doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but he's led the Central League in strikeouts three times.
New York posted a bid of $26 million to win the right to sign Igawa. The Yankees then gave him a five-year deal worth $20 million.
"He's not Matsuzaka, but he's someone who we believe is going to be a long-term asset to us," said Cashman.
The Yankees' fifth starter could be Carl Pavano, who claims he's finally healthy. Pavano hasn't pitched in a major league game since June, 2005.
For the last two years Philip Hughes has been New York's best prospect. He could make the jump from Double A to the major leagues, but the Yankees would like him to get at least some experience at the Triple A level. Two other young hurlers, Humberto Sanchez, who was obtained in the Sheffield deal, and Tyler Clippard, also will be given an opportunity in Florida to earn pinstripes.
New York's effective bullpen has been bolstered by the addition of Luis Vizcaino, who is the most senior of the four players the Yankees received from Arizona for Johnson. The Yankees still have future Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera as their closer. Conversely, Boston's closer remains a mystery.
The only new non-pitcher who is likely going to receive a significant amount of playing time is former Red Sox first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who spent last season in exile in Kansas City.
