here's a list of what's left out there:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/freeagents

i think a few guys i'd consider signing at this point are:

Chris Young SP (not sure about his health status but reports have the Mets interested)
Brad Penny SP
Justin Duchscherer SP (not sure about his health status)
Erik Bedard SP (not sure about his health status)

Jose Veras RP (ex-Yank w/a lively arm)
Chris Ray RP
Grant Balfour RP
Jon Rauch RP
Kevin Gregg RP
Brian Fuentes RP
Elmer Dessenz RP
JP Howell RP
Scot Shields RP
Rafael Soriano RP (would make an awesome setup guy, but he'll probably wanna be a closer)

Melky Cabrera OF
Marcus Thames OF
Jerry Hairston Jr. UT

Finestrg wrote:

TMS wrote:here's the article about the Delcarmen trade:

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=5516683

Wow. No kidding..My bad. Well that's another semi-decent reliever off the table..Not a lot of options left out there..I wonder if the Yanks already made up some 2nd place T-shirts for next year..Pathetic off-season bro. No way around it.

Try 3rd place

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101202&content_id=16244864&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea

See I would've taken a chance on him -- would've been a great option to slide right into Pettitte's vacated spot..His stuff was still very impressive when he went down in '09 -- 93-94 MPH fastball with one of the best hooks in the game from the left side..Ahh maybe he was never an option - I could see if he decided to remain loyal to the Mariners after they stuck by him and payed him big bucks the last 2 years..Who knows...

Duchscherer's coming off hip surgery -- I know he's had success recently (esp. ERA-wise) but to be honest I gotta question his stuff even when healthy. Dude's a junkballer -- this guy just doesn't do it for me..Penny, on the other hand, was throwing well (mid-90s) and having success before he was forced to shut it down with a back strain..I don't think he'll be going back to St. Louis -- supposedly the Cards were upset that Penny shut himself down a few times during rehab despite medical reports saying there was no additional damage beyond the initial 'mild back strain' diagnosis. I guess they didn't feel he took coming back serious enough. That definitely raises an eyebrow, but 96-97 MPH is still impressive for a mid/back of the rotation guy. If Penny's healthy I'm a little more interested in him over over guys like Bonderman & Freddy Garcia. Chris Ray for the pen wouldn't be a bad pickup provided he's healthy, maybe Dotel too if we can get either guy on the cheap..

See this is what I'm talking about -- we miss out on Cliff Lee, pass on Zack Greinke but then haven't done anything else to improve the pitching beyond Pedro Feliciano and Mark Prior?!?!?! That's nuts..It's not enough, not by a longshot...Right after we lost out on Lee, it was time to survey the landscape on these remaining guys yet for some reason we've surprisingly remained idle..What the hell are we waiting for?? It's not like we can sit back and wait for spring training and expect to get it from within -- Nova's in the mix but guys like Andy Brackman and Dellin Betances are a year or 2 away, at least..

Finestrg wrote:I would've loved Bedard but I think the Mariners brought him back on a super-smart, low-risk deal (1 yr, $1M)..Missed all of last season with a 2nd shoulder surgery (in '09 he had successful shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum -- last year's was performed to shave down a bone spur in the shoulder) but supposedly 2 different doctors confirmed he'll be fully healthy and ready to go by spring training:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101202&content_id=16244864&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea

See I would've taken a chance on him -- would've been a great option to slide right into Pettitte's vacated spot..His stuff was still very impressive when he went down in '09 -- 93-94 MPH fastball with one of the best hooks in the game from the left side..Ahh maybe he was never an option - I could see if he decided to remain loyal to the Mariners after they stuck by him and payed him big bucks the last 2 years..Who knows...

Duchscherer's coming off hip surgery -- I know he's had success recently (esp. ERA-wise) but to be honest I gotta question his stuff even when healthy. Dude's a junkballer -- this guy just doesn't do it for me..Penny, on the other hand, was throwing well (mid-90s) and having success before he was forced to shut it down with a back strain..I don't think he'll be going back to St. Louis -- supposedly the Cards were upset that Penny shut himself down a few times during rehab despite medical reports saying there was no additional damage beyond the initial 'mild back strain' diagnosis. I guess they didn't feel he took coming back serious enough. That definitely raises an eyebrow, but 96-97 MPH is still impressive for a mid/back of the rotation guy. If Penny's healthy I'm a little more interested in him over over guys like Bonderman & Freddy Garcia. Chris Ray for the pen wouldn't be a bad pickup provided he's healthy, maybe Dotel too if we can get either guy on the cheap..

See this is what I'm talking about -- we miss out on Cliff Lee, pass on Zack Greinke but then haven't done anything else to improve the pitching beyond Pedro Feliciano and Mark Prior?!?!?! That's nuts..It's not enough, not by a longshot...Right after we lost out on Lee, it was time to survey the landscape on these remaining guys yet for some reason we've surprisingly remained idle..What the hell are we waiting for?? It's not like we can sit back and wait for spring training and expect to get it from within -- Nova's in the mix but guys like Andy Brackman and Dellin Betances are a year or 2 away, at least..

interesting stuff about Penny... but i still think he's a better option than most of the other guys on the list... there's really not much left out there at this point... waiting on Lee has really screwed us bigtime.

i think joba will have somewhat of a resurgence this year, if he does all the better!

VDesai wrote:Someone told me about an unsubstantiated rumor of Joba+Montero+ another prospect to the dodgers for Chad Billingsley and Jonathon Broxton. To be honest with you I don't think Billingsley would be good here.

VDesai wrote:Someone told me about an unsubstantiated rumor of Joba+Montero+ another prospect to the dodgers for Chad Billingsley and Jonathon Broxton. To be honest with you I don't think Billingsley would be good here.

i like Billingsley but if Montero is what the Yankees say he is, then i don't make that deal... for Montero, Joba + prospects, i want a better pitcher in his prime... Billingsley has been OK the past couple seasons but pitching in a weak hitting NL... not sure his 2008 #'s would translate in the AL East... Broxton is a nice filler for Joba but i'd sooner sign Soriano & save Montero for a bigger trade later on if we're going to deal him.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2011/01/07/cashman-i-will-not-lose-our-no-1-draft-pick/

TMS wrote:Cashman was willing to include Jesus Montero & Eduardo Nunez (the prospect that we lost out on Cliff Lee last summer cuz we weren't willing to part with) in a deal to get Joakim Soria to be our setup guy, but wasn't willing to give up a 1st round pick (#31 pick) in the draft to sign Rafael Soriano??? does this make any sense to anyone?

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2011/01/08/2011-01-08_royals_refusal_to_listen_to_offers_for_joakim_soria_adds_to_winter_woes_for_bria.html

for Soria, who has a 2.01 ERA, 132 saves and 281 strikeouts in 255 innings for his first four seasons in the big leagues, the Yankees are willing to part with their top prospect, Jesus Montero, the power-hitting catcher they initially had penciled in to take over for Jorge Posada this season before signing Russell Martin as veteran insurance, and Eduardo Nunez, the shortstop/second baseman they refused to include in the package for Lee that scuttled that deal with Seattle last summer. The Yankees envisioned the 26-year-old Soria as the natural successor to Mariano Rivera, which is why they were willing to part with Montero and Nunez.

no sense at all