The LoHud Yankees Blog

Real quickly: Joe Girardi finished fifth in American League Manager of the Year voting. Joe Maddon won it for the second time. Girardi got three second-place votes and five third-place votes. Now, as for the latest events here in Milwaukee… 

Baseball’s owners are starting to arrive at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel, and most have scooted through the lobby without saying much to the media. Hal Steinbrenner was an exception to the rule, stopping to chat for a little more than five minutes.

Given Brian Cashman’s talk about a conservative offseason approach, would the Yankees owner be surprised if the Yankees made it all the way through the winter without a major free agent addition?

“It’s too early,” Steinbrenner said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we did. It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t. Hate to be vague, but it is mid November.”

Steinbrenner mentioned the same specifics we’ve been hearing all winter — need to bolster the rotation, could use left-handed relief, fairly satisfied with the lineup — and promised to look into every available option.

“We’re pretty close to the team we were last year, which had the best record in the American League,” Steinbrenner said. “We let the fans down in the playoffs. There’s no doubt about it. They know that, I know that, Cashman knows that. But our team from last year is, for the most part, intact. There’s some concerns. We’re going to address them.”

A few other notes from Steinbrenner…

• The failed Kei Igawa experiment will not affect the way the Yankees approach other Japanese pitchers. “No, it will not,” Steinbrenner said. “Every person is different. Every player is different. We’re going to look at every single one. We’re going to look at every single option, and we’re going to analyze it. It will be a go or no-go, but we look at each person as an individual.”

• Steinbrenner said he will trust his scouts when it comes to high-priced foreign players. “Anytime it’s a significant amount of money — really, anytime it’s any kind of money — yes, of course I ask those questions,” Steinbrenner said. “That’s not my expertise, so I really have to heavily rely on our scouting and out player development people, particularly when it comes to young kids in foreign countries, like I think you’re referring to.”

• Steinbrenner still has not had any conversations with Jorge Posada.

• On the budget: “I’m not going to get into where we’re at. We have a team practically in place right now, with CC coming back, that had the best record in the American League. So we’ve got a good team. We have a couple of areas we’ve addressed where were need to improve. And we’re going to look to do that, but I’m not going to get into how much or who or anything else. We’ve looking at everybody, as we do every offseason.”

• On Alex Rodriguez: “I think we all need Alex to be Alex again. The fans expect it. The fans want it. Alex expects it, and he knows that. Nobody’s harder on himself than him. He will show up in spring ready to play. He’ll be in shape and he’ll be doing his work. He knows he needs to do better than that.”

• On CC Sabathia: “You know, it was good. Everybody wanted CC to be a Yankee. He’s a great Yankee, we all know that. Great guy. Great clubhouse guy. Great team player. It needed to get done, and I think both sides worked pretty diligently to do just that.”

• Will the Yankees again look into low-cost options, similar to Freddy Garcia and Eric Chavez last winter? “As I tell all the New York guys until I’m blue in the face, we look at every option,” Steinbrenner said. “We’re going to look at every option out there. And absolutely, that’s something we’d consider. Absolutely. And it did work out well last year.”

This morning has been a lot like yesterday morning: Not much happening, and not even much of a buzz through the lobby or the media workroom. It’s just another early day in the offseason.

The Yankees have reportedly made a minor move by signing lefty Mike O’Connor. That’s obviously bullpen depth for Triple-A. He’s made 13 big league appearances the past five years. Triple-A lefties hit .207 against him in 2011, but they hit .269 against him in 2010 (he had reverse splits that year). Unless the Yankees move someone like Shaeffer Hall to the bullpen next year — which seems possible simply because of an overcrowded Triple-A rotation — they’re fairly thin on lefty relievers, and O’Connor is just helping to fill that gap. Nothing significant here.

Otherwise, it’s the same old story. We’re still waiting for the collective bargaining agreement to become official, but expectations about a changing free agent compensation system remain the same. Joel Sherman tweeted this morning that, even if Type B free agents are eliminated, there will still be Type Bs this winter. That matters to the Yankees because Freddy Garcia is a Type B.

As baseball settles in for Day 2 of the General Managers Meetings, there is still no new collective bargaining agreement, but Brian Cashman  said yesterday that an uncertain CBA is having no impact on his offseason approach.

“I don’t think so,” Cashman said. “The CBA will affect us, but they haven’t kept us informed about what’s going on and where they’re at… Right now, we’re operating under the same rules, so that’s all I can go off of. Everything else, I don’t know what to believe of what I read to be honest. People obviously have their contacts. What’s accurate and what’s not, I don’t know.”

For now, the immediate, short-term impact of a CBA change would involve draft pick compensation; what the Yankees might give up in signing a top free agent, and what they might gain from losing Freddy Garcia. Cashman, though, said he has not been waiting to make a move because of the CBA. He’ll deal with the new rules whenever they’re in place. For now, it’s business as usual.

“I assume it’s my best interest not to speculate on what think it’s going to be like to be honest,” Cashman said. “Because A) I wouldn’t know what I’m talking about, and B) I wouldn’t want to compromise whatever they’re trying to accomplish.”

On this first day of the GM Meetings, Brian Cashman’s most significant conversation might have been a face-to-face meeting with C.J. Wilson’s agent, but Cashman has engaged in trade talks with several teams this winter.

“I’ve got teams expressing interest in varying aspects of our roster from the Major League 25, as well as our stuff in the minor leagues,” Cashman said. “We’re looking at a lot of different potential opportunities, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about right now. I don’t feel there’s anything close.”

Cashman specifically named four big league players who teams have called about: Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Russell Martin and — when asked — Cashman said that, yes, teams have called about A.J. Burnett.

“No one has asked me about Granderson just because he’s a potential MVP candidate,” Cashman said. “I don’t think they want to bother… But those are all tradeable pieces, to varying degrees. Soriano. Robertson. Phil Hughes. I could trade Robbie Cano if I wanted to, I just don’t want to. I don’t want to trade any of these guys, to be honest.”

As he searches for ways to bolster the rotation and add depth to the bench, though, a trade is obviously a consideration. His most valuable trade chip remains prospect catcher Jesus Montero, but that sort of deal remains unlikely.

“I’ve had his name mentioned earlier today in a text message,” Cashman said. “Somebody proposed an idea and said, ‘Hey, if you don’t do this, I’d have to ask about a guy I know you’re going to say no on, and that’s Montero.’ … It’s easy for me to trade him, it’s just hard to part with him. So it makes no sense for me to define what I would or wouldn’t do. It’s in our best interests to keep him, and that’s how I’ve always felt unless a unique circumstance happened. (Cliff) Lee was a unique circumstance and prior to that, and post that, nothing has presented itself that would make me think about it.”

• Wilson’s agent, Bob Garber, seems happy with today’s conversation with Cashman. He told Marc Carig that the Yankees have asked for another meeting in New York to talk about Wilson. Garber said that today’s conversation had much more to do with Wilson than Roy Oswalt.

• Cashman is not optimistic about finding a second left-hander for the bullpen: “Do we need a lefty?” he said. “Obviously it would be a luxury to have a left hander, but with Joba coming back you have Soriano, Robertson and Joba, they all get lefties out, so we have I think one of the best bullpens in the game. Can we get it better with an additional lefty? Yeah, but I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s going to be available to us. I don’t predict a successful conclusion to that as we go through the winter.”

• On the rotation: “I expect Hughes and Nova to be in my rotation without a doubt,” Cashman said. “I expect that, but they have to continue earning that spot. Hughes in the end finished out of our pen and kind of got pushed out by circumstance but he’s better than that. He’s a rotation guy… I expect it to be CC, AJ, Hughes, Nova and the rest of it is going to come from that pack below or it will come from an outside source that we have negotiated with or trade for.”

• Cashman confirmed a report that Hughes is once again working with Athletes Performance to improve his conditioning this offseason. It was Hughes’ idea, not the Yankees, but the team is happy about it. “I think physical conditioning got him out of the gate slow when he showed up to spring training, but I don’t think it had anything to do with his season,” Cashman said. “We got him in shape. Him, Joba, we have a few guys on a yearly basis that we put into fat camp. I think (Hughes) was eight pounds over when he showed up for spring training, but we knocked it out, and he took care of it with the extra work in the spring. I don’t think that had anything to do with his season.”

• Cashman still has not heard whether Eric Chavez wants to play next season. He did say that — given the fact Alex Rodriguez clearly didn’t have his timing back — Chavez might have been a better option at third base in the postseason. “Alex belonged there,” Cashman said. “He belonged playing there. Unfortunately, the results didn’t follow.”

• Cashman once again said he’s interested in bringing any of Chavez, Andruw Jones, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon back to the Yankees, but some of those might price themselves beyond what the Yankees want to spend.

• On keeping players out of Venezuelan winter ball after the Wilson Ramos situation: “I’m not going to worry about something I can’t control,” Cashman said. “It’s home (for some players)… It’s nothing I can control. Unfortunately, Hugo Chavez has created the dynamic down in Venezuela that’s not necessarily good for his people.”

• Cashman said he’s hoping to have time to meet with more agents while he’s in Milwaukee the next day and a half. “I texted a number of them back,” Cashman said. “It’s just trying to find time.”

Associated Press photos

Brian Cashman just met with a small group of reporters here in Milwaukee. A lot of smaller notes came out of it, but the closest thing to legitimate news was Cashman acknowledging that he met today with Bob Garber, the agent for both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt. Cashman said they talked about both pitchers, but Cashman wouldn’t characterize his interest level in either.

“We spoke in a non-descriptive fashion,” he said, finding a new way to say something without saying anything at all.

Cashman said several agents have asked to speak here in Milwaukee. The Garber meeting happened around 4 p.m., strictly because each side had time to meet up right then. Otherwise, Cashman said he hasn’t met with any agents since getting to town, but he’d like to if and when he has time.

The Yankees still have no free agent offers on the table.

Brett Gardner plans to begin baseball workouts soon after Thanksgiving, and his focus will be on improving his timing at the plate. Gardner’s already planning a January training session with hitting coach Kevin Long.

“I’m either going to go out to Arizona (to Long’s home) or he’s going to come to South Carolina,” Gardner told Newsday. “Or I might actually meet him down in Miami and work out with him and Alex (Rodriguez) and a couple other guy. I’m excited to do a little work and maybe make a few adjustments with him.”

Erik Boland talked to Gardner this morning at P.S. 130 Elementary in the Bronx, where the Yankees left fielder was reading to kids. Gardner said that he believes inconsistent timing at the plate is what led to inconsistent results in the box score this season.

“Without good timing, you don’t really have anything,” Gardner said. “It doesn’t matter how good your mechanics are.”

Associated Press photo

Just like Ivan Nova in the Rookie of the Year voting, Yankees ace CC Sabathia has finished fourth in the American League Cy Young race.

Justin Verlander was — of course — a runaway winner, getting all 28 first-place votes. Jered Weaver and James Shields finished second and third. Sabathia received five second-place votes, the same number as Shields, and finished just three points out of the top three. Jose Valverde was fifth by a surprising margin (to me, anyway).

Sabathia was a stronger Cy Young candidate in the first half. He was 13-4 with a 2.72 ERA at the break. After the break, he went 6-4 with a 3.44, that’s including a 4.68 ERA in August. Another strong season for the big man, but Verlander was clearly the best in baseball and an easy choice for the award.

The Cy Young ballot lets writers choose their top five candidates, and Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got four fifth-place votes. He finished eighth, one spot ahead of Josh Beckett. Yankees setup man Dave Robertson received one fifth-place vote.

Full results are available at bbwaa.com.

Associated Press photo

No kidding, word is that the Internet is somehow broken throughout the city of Milwaukee. That’s honestly the rumor in the hotel lobby. The only way anyone can connect is through their phones or air cards, so a slow morning has gotten even slower through a lack of technology.

Not that any of us has much to report.

Things are generally quiet (as expected). Jose Reyes is being discussed a little bit, but that’s mostly reporters speculating with one another. The collective bargaining agreement seems to be the biggest topic of discussion, and Joel Sherman reported late this morning that Type B free agents might be eliminated this offseason — so much for an arbitration offer to Freddy Garcia — but apparently teams were assured that Type A compensation will remain the same this winter.

Otherwise, significant news has been slow and hard to find. All of the GMs are meeting with reporters later this afternoon.

I got into Milwaukee fairly late last night. I got to the downtown hotel where the general managers meetings are being held, and happened to walk through the front door with Brian Cashman. We made some small talk for a while, but Cashman said he wouldn’t be talking much baseball until the meetings got underway.

That begins today.

The general sense I got in the hotel lobby last night was that there’s not much expected to happen this week. The new collective bargaining agreement is the game’s biggest issue at the moment, and that might be the primary topic of discussion the next few days. Otherwise, it will be the usual trade and free agency questions, most of which will be probably lead to vague answers while the market is still beginning to establish itself.

It’s still early in the process, but most of the game’s decision makers are gathered in one place. Welcome to the GM Meetings, Day 1.

When he signed a new three-year contract earlier this month, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman pledged a conservative, no-need-to-panic approach to the offseason. So far, it’s been exactly that.

Still in the early stages of a so-far quiet offseason, Cashman and the rest of baseball’s general managers will settle into Milwaukee this week for the annual GM Meetings. The GM Meetings run Tuesday and Wednesday, followed immediately by the Owners Meetings. Everyone will be out of town by Thursday night.

Cashman will certainly be gone by then. He’s attending the 15th Annual Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Dinner on Staten Island on Thursday night.

So what to expect from these three days? Probably best to into these meetings expecting very little. A lot of GMs will talk, but the free agent market is just beginning to come into focus, and the GM Meetings are never as exciting as next month’s Winter Meetings. The GM Meetings are usually a lot of talk and little action.

Certainly the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be a topic of discussion, but there is reportedly little reason to expect a resolution this week. The final sticking points seem to involve fairly significant changes to the draft, including the possibility of a bonus ceiling, which would certainly impact the Yankees.

As for player moves: Today’s not much different than yesterday, which means it’s not much different than two or three weeks ago. The Yankees are in the market for pitching, they’re in the market for role players, and they have the prospects to swing a significant trade if they so desire.

Cashman has publicly taken a conservative stance, but you never know what he has up his sleeve.

Associated Press photo