The LoHud Yankees Blog

Hey look, it’s Don Mattingly. The former Yankees first baseman and current Dodgers manager spoke this afternoon on Day Two of baseball’s Winter Meetings. Joe Girardi’s official media session is tomorrow, though at this point, it’s hard to expect him to say much.

“I talked to Cash a little bit,” Girardi said when he arrived this afternoon. “It doesn’t seem like there’s ever a whole lot that goes on here, but I think there’s a lot of groundwork a lot of times that’s kind of started here.”

That’s not always true. Two years ago, the Yankees made big moves at the Winter Meetings, signing Andy Pettitte and trading for Curtis Granderson. A year before that — though not necessarily at the Winter Meetings — the Yankees traded for Nick Swisher and signed CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira.

Obviously this is a different kind of winter.

“We had a lot of money coming off of our payroll in ’08,” Brian Cashman said. “So the decisions we made in the winter of ‘09, that was kind of like our 2010 and 2011 Winter Meetings combined. We’re still living off a lot of those decisions that we made that winter, and it’s benefited us. We’ve improved our club or tried to in various ways since then, but that obviously was a big, defining winter for us, no different than what Miami seems to be trying to do right now for them.”

• There have been no talks about a multi-year deal with Russell Martin, but Cashman said he’s not opposed to such a thing. “Russell, I don’t mind at all having here in the short or the long term,” he said. “I haven’t had any discussion with him whatsoever, and that doesn’t mean we’ll have that, but he lived up to everything I hoped he could.”

• Cashman said the trade market includes pitchers who would clearly upgrade the Yankees rotation — he’s been offered pitchers he likes — but those pieces aren’t worth the current cost. “I’m very comfortable turning down everything that’s been offered my way so far,” he said. “I think if I made it public, I think everyone in this room would say no to those things too.”

• As he’s said for a while now, Cashman again pointed to the Yankees already-high payroll to suggest he won’t be making any major moves. “It’s hard to add to that,” he said. “It’s hard to look at ownership and say, is there any more to do? Don’t get me wrong, I’ll ask, it’s just not as easy getting a yes anymore on that stuff, and understandably so.”

• Cashman wouldn’t say which agents he met with this afternoon, but he called those conversations “informative” rather than productive. “Productive implies I feel like we’re going to get somewhere,” he said. “Right now, productive is too strong a word. We’re working. We’re working. But I think it’s going to be hard to add to what we have currently.”

• The Yankees still do not have their coaching staff in place, but Cashman said that’s not an indication of anything. He’s just prioritizing the free agent market before he settles on coaching contracts.

• Former Yankees farmhand — and brief big league contributor — Juan Miranda has signed a minor league deal with the Rays. So has Jhonny Nunez, another former Yankees minor leaguer.

• Girardi on his former team, the Marlins, spending big this winter: “It’s good for baseball. They have a new stadium and they’re excited about it. It’s good for baseball. They had hoped they would get their new stadium and they would be able to do those type of things. Our roster is pretty set (with the Yankees). We have a lot of guys on long-term deals already, so that’s why maybe there’s not a lot happening for us.”

Associated Press photos

Joe Girardi just arrived in Dallas. He said he’s been only loosely following the Winter Meetings, but he certainly knows the Yankees haven’t done much this offseason.

“Obviously those role players that did so well for us last year, those are roles that have not been filled yet,” Girardi said. “I think that’s important to our club, because we do have some age and we do like to give guys a day off here and there. I thought Andruw Jones did a tremendous job for us and I thought Chavez did a tremendous job for us as well. We missed Chavez when he went down for that two and a half months, so I think those are important roles that we need to fill. I know we’re trying to increase our starting depth, and if not, some kids are probably going to get a chance to maybe step up this year.”

The Yankees have made it clear that they’re prioritizing rotation depth ahead of bench players.

“It’s kind of what we did last year, and that depth became extremely important for us,” Girardi said. “We saw some teams struggle with that; as guys got hurt, they were hard to replace. We were fortunate enough that we had depth, so that’s important going into spring training. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Brian Cashman just met with the Yankees beat writers. The first question was whether he feels any closer to a move today than yesterday. His answer was simple.

“Nope.”

Cashman said he’s met with general managers and agents since arriving in Dallas. He said there are upgrades available on the trade market, but the asking prices are so high that he’s not seriously considering any offers. He said his meetings with agents have been “informative” but not necessarily productive.

I’ll have more soon, but that’s the general idea. As expected, not much has changed in the past 24 hours.

Late this morning, Jean Afterman walked quickly through the Hilton hotel lobby. Several minutes later, Billy Eppler came through. Several minutes after that, it was Brian Cashman’s turn. Not one of them stopped to talk — not that I saw, anyway — and Cashman came through with a cell phone to his ear.

Unless big things are happening behind closed doors, that’s the extent of the Yankees action today.

Random Yankees sighting of the day: Greg Golson is at the trade show helping to promote the bat company that he uses. His company makes all of its bats by hand, one-by-one. Golson said there are three guys who make the bats, including one who was making bats in front of everyone. There were flakes of wood flying everywhere.

For what it’s worth, Golson said he hasn’t stopped hitting since the end of the season. Said he took maybe a week and a half “off,” but kept getting the itch to swing a bat.

Non-Yankees news centers on the Blue Jays trade for Sergio Santos and the ongoing Albert Pujols situation, but things still seem fairly slow.

The Winter Meetings are less than 48 hours old, and already the Marlins have introduced Heath Bell as their new closer and signed Jose Reyes as their new shortstop. They’re the making the biggest splash in Dallas, and they might not be done.

The Marlins are said to be in full pursuit of Albert Pujols, essentially making this a two-team race between the Marlins and Cardinals (with the Cubs possibly still in that mix somewhere).

With a new stadium, a new name and a small payroll, the Marlins are clearly the most aggressive team out there right now. They’re the anti-Yankees, except the roles are the exact opposite of what we’ve come to expect in recent years.

Brian Cashman has arrived. The top Yankees brass are finally in Dallas, and the Winter Meetings are in full swing. It’s Day Two, and the Yankees are still positioning themselves as a team with no pressing needs and no sense of panic.

But things can change, and Cashman will continue to have his conversations with agents and opposing general managers.

As for the writers, there’s a BBWAA meeting this morning, but otherwise things are the same as ever: A lot of waiting and talking and looking for some sort of news.

Welcome to Day Two.

Just a few notes from around the big leagues to wrap up Day One of the Winter Meetings. Today brought no signing bigger than last night’s Jose Reyes deal.

• A report saying the Nationals offered C.J. Wilson a six-year deal was quickly shot down, and Jon Paul Morosi says the Red Sox are still in the hunt for Wilson. 

• Then again, maybe the Red Sox aren’t in the hunt. Ben Cherington said Boston isn’t going after any big-time free agent pitcher. That link has several other Red Sox notes from Pete Abraham.

• Former Yankees utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. has signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers. 

• Speaking of brief Yankees careers: Former Rule 5 pick Jamie Hoffmann was claimed off waivers by the Rockies.

• The Twins are bringing back Matt Capps. The reliever market seems to be moving faster than any other with Papelbon, Bell, Broxton, Nathan and now Capps already signed.

• The starting pitcher market is moving slower, but the Dodgers are reportedly working toward a two-year deal with Aaron Harang. Might help set the market for second or third-tier starters.

This was probably the line of night from Brian Cashman, and it pretty well sums up the Yankees situation heading into these Winter Meetings.

“This isn’t the old seat-of-the-pants, get drunk in the lobby and write names on the napkin,” Cashman said. “People don’t conduct business that way any more. They just don’t.”

The Yankees are not doing anything by the seat of their pants this winter. They aren’t making any sudden moves, and they aren’t making any decisions that aren’t carefully considered. When Cashman walked into the Hilton Anatole some 24 hours after most baseball executives, it was with no sense of urgency or panic.

Like it or not, this is the way the Yankees are going about things this winter.

“I’m not down here to sit back and order room service for four days and be content,” Cashman said. “I’m going to keep trying, but I just don’t want to be stupid. Obviously if we do something, I want it to be something we feel really good about. I’m not going to do something just to do something because that’s what you do at this time of year… I think it’s best to not feel good about anything. I know we have a good team. I know we have a lot of talent, but I don’t think it’s the right mindset.”

• As of the moment he arrived at the hotel, Cashman had no meetings — with GMs or agents — scheduled, but he said that would change pretty quickly.

• Cashman has had “very little, so far” contact with Andruw Jones or Eric Chavez, but he said he does have interest in bringing both of them back. He’s not looking to address the bench right now, so those two will wait.

• Cashman also has interest in Bartolo Colon but wouldn’t guarantee him a rotation spot. “When we signed him last year we told him rotation or bullpen,” Cashman said. “If we sign him again this year, it’d be the same circumstance.

• On trade offers: “I’ve got a lot of teams expressing interest in Nova, Gardner, Hughes, Montero, Noesi, Banuelos, Betances; I’ve had teams ask me about Robertson,” Cashman said. “The ones that people don’t ask me about are Cano and Granderson. Outside of that, I’ve had basically hits on everybody else. All those guys are either future high performers or currently high performers, they’re under control and they’re cheap. It’s, ‘Hey, take my older, expensive, over-the-hill guy for your young, better-performing guy.’ I’m like, ‘Let me think about that and get back to you.’”

• Cashman on his own trade proposals: “I’m sure my ideas are as distasteful as the ones I’ve received.”

• A team source indicated that the Yankees could take someone in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft, but they pick so late they’re not sure any of their targets will still be available.

• A rival executive thought it was possible a team like the Yankees — though not the Yankees specifically — might spend huge money on the international market this winter because of the new CBA. The same executive said he likes Yoenis Cespedes, but the asking price is astronomical. He also likes Yu Darvish, but has concerns about his stuff translating in the big leagues.

• Cashman in response to the Post story that the Yankees are focusing on future spending in the wake of the new collective bargaining agreement: “I haven’t commented so far on the new CBT, so I’m going to maintain that at this stage. But everything is clearly relevant, so you have to factor it all in.”

Associated Press photos

Brian Cashman walked into the Hilton this afternoon with no new expectations. He had several conversations over the weekend, he said, but he feels no closer to making any sort of deal.

For now, he’s still focused on the starting rotation, looking for either depth or better options. He knows he still has to address the bench, but that’s on the back burner for now. He’ll focus on the rotation, then spend on the bench with whatever’s leftover.

“The focus on the front of the winter has mostly been on higher-end type things so that can reinforce our pitching,” Cashman said. “I have to watch our payroll, so I can’t spend a lot on the smaller stuff right now — even though they’re important players — that kind of restricts me from doing something that might come along that’s still a bit bigger, or a lot bigger. That’s why I’m making sure I exploit all the various potential pitching acquisitions, both on the free agent and trade market.

“When I get a strong-enough feel for how that’s going to go or not go, then I’ll focus on the bench.”

Cashman said not to believe any reports that he’s focusing on a left-handed reliever. Right now, he’s looking at pieces for the rotation. Everything else is secondary.

“I would like to get another lefty, but I don’t think any of you here should focus on how I’m going to do that, because I don’t anticipate that whatsoever,” Cashman said. “Is it on the wish list? It is. If anybody tells you that we’re focused on any left-handed reliever, they’re lying.”

I’ll have more on the blog later, but right now I need to write for the newspaper. Cashman didn’t drop any significant news, but I’ll pass along what he had to say.

Based on today’s chat, there’s still some hope out there that the Yankees will be able to trade for Hanley Ramirez now that the Marlins have signed Jose Reyes. Makes sense — Ramirez is an elite young shortstop who’s been replaced, the Yankees have an aging shortstop who can’t play the position forever — but the Marlins are clearly positioning themselves to play both Ramirez and Reyes on the left side of the infield.

“Hanley is super professional,” Marlins president Jeffrey Loria just said in the halls of the Hilton. “We will work with him to make everything comfortable for him.”

As for the Marlins making another significant move, Loria said he’ll have to “talk some more” with his people, but “there are some opportunities we want to pursue.” Basically, the Marlins have their new stadium, and they’re clearly trying to win now with the best pieces they can get.

“We have a play a few years ago,” Loria said. “There’s a reason Mike Stanton is there, and Logan Morrison is there, and Hanley is there.”

—

As you can probably tell, things are still very quiet for the Yankees. Brian Cashman still hasn’t arrived, and the closest thing to Yankees “news” I’ve heard is that the team might make a selection in the Rule 5 draft, but they pick so late, there’s a chance all the players they like will be gone.