So far, I am very happy with the way Cashman has been approaching this offseason. This goes against many of the past Yankee offseasons which were characterized by the signing of big name sluggers with little defense. The New York Yankees announced today that they have acquired switch-hitting first baseman/outfielder Nick "Dirty 30" Swisher and right-handed pitcher Kanekoa Texeira from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit and right-handed pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Some of these guys show promise, but they are have yet to prove anything, so it is still hard to gauge how good this deal really is. Swisher will provide something that the Yanks have been missing since the days of Tino Martinez at 1st base: defense. Now that I think about it, Swisher reminds me a lot of Tino as a player. Of course Tino hit for higher average in his career, but Swisher is still young. He turns 28 in 12 days. Swisher hits for power, draws lots of walks, and plays great defense. He can also play outfield, if need be. Overall, I would say he is an upgrade from Giambi.

In older news, the Yanks signed Marte to a 3 year deal worth 12 million. That seems reasonable given his nasty stuff and the idea of having a guy who can get the ball to Mariano who is not Joba. Having a lefty like him is especially valuable in the AL East. Need I say more?

Tomorrow is the day the Yanks are expected to make an offer for Sabathia. Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Yanks will make an initial bid of 6 years in the $150 million range. While that kind of money would entice most people, I'm still convinced we will see Carsten Charles in Dodger Blue come March/April. When you make as much money as Sabathia does, you have to wonder if he will pitch where the money is or where his heart lies. I think the Dodgers will make a nice offer that will fall short of the Yanks' offer, but will be enough for CC. I've stated in a previous post why Sabathia likes the Dodgers.

In other non-Yankee related news, Kerry Wood will not be returning to the Cubs since Kevin Gregg was just acquired. The Mets will certainly have an interest in Wood's services. The Matt Holliday trade is huge news. It is uncharacteristic Billy Beane since he traded a bunch of moneyball type players for one superstar. I think the A's will make a run in the weak AL West this season.Billy Beane could potentially be on the buy side this offseason to round out his team. While he lost Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, he now has an upgraded outfield with Holliday, Ryan Sweeney, and Matt Murton. If the A's become buyers, there is a lot of speculation that Beane will pursue Furcal, who is one of the premier Shortstops in the game. The A's would certainly be contenders if they were able to jumpstart their offense to supplement their already excellent pitching.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I wanted to wait for the World Series to end and for the GM meetings in Dana Point to conclude. As I predicted, the Phillies would beat the Rays. But congrats to the Rays. Even though I have been critical of them in the past, they have overcome so much adversity and managed to come away as the victors of the toughest division in Baseball. I do think that if the Red Sox had faced the White Sox in the first round and made it to the World Series then they would have been champions.

Since I don't want to write a 20 page paper, I will focus mostly on the Yankee's future and I will detail my picks for Free Agent Frenzy. Since the Yanks are usually the biggest offseason player, I will probably end up detailing many of the free agents around the league. To keep up with what has been going on, I have been reading mlbtraderumors.com. It's a great site if you want to find out about all the latest deals and rumors instantaneously. There's been a lot of talk this Winter Meetings and this may just be another record-breaking season. Every year, it seems like more and more trades are occurring. I think it has something to do with the dynamic aspect of the sport that makes it much more interesting than other sports.

I really think the Yanks will sign Oliver Perez. He's a Scott Boras client and he seems to be a great fit for the team. He's turning 28 years old and he has nasty stuff. In previous posts, I discussed his ability to render lefties useless at the plate. The Mets are a possibility, but I think Minaya will focus more on his bullpen than his starting rotation this offseason. This brings up another free agent in K-Rod. I am 90% sure that K-Rod will be a Met next year. He would perfectly fill the late inning void within the organization and you know how Minaya loves those hispanic players. K-Rod may get a record breaking deal, since he did break Bobby Thigpen's record for most saves in a season. Sabathia is also at the forefront of the free agent pitching dilemma the Yankees are facing. I do believe that the Dodgers will ultimately offer him enough to get him to go to LA. Derek Lowe seems unlikely for the Yanks. I doubt that he can still pitch in the AL East and he is 34. He's extremely inconsistent and would be a bad fit for the Yanks. I expect the Tigers to come out of nowhere and sign him. They are in need of starting pitching and bullpen help. Expect them to be players in the free agent reliever market.

I am convinced that Jake Peavy will be a Brave next season. He is from Alabama and has certainly expressed interest in being able to live close to home. Also, now that Tim Hudson will miss a majority of the '09 season, Atlanta GM Frank Wren will be looking for all the starting pitching he can get. It seems like he has the most enticing prospects out of all the GMs who are competing for Peavy's services. I highly doubt that the Yanks would want to give up what Padres GM Kevin Towers wants.

As Yankee beat writer Peter Abraham has stated repeatedly, the Yanks will most likely give up either Hughes or Kennedy in a trade this offseason. Cashman has a lot of faith in Hughes and it would take a lot to give him up. so that means Kennedy will most likely be gone before the start of next season. Kennedy may turn into something good, but his future is not as bright as Hughes'. I am confident that the Yankees will re-sign Abreu. He is a first class right fielder who has been nothing but clutch for a team that seemed to struggle with RISP this past season.

Cashman has been insisting that he will look for a legit first baseman as opposed to a convert who wants to take one for the team. Teixeira is likely to be re-signed by the Angels. They have the resources and the desire to keep him. Giambi's chances of being re-signed aren't very high. The amount of money he is demanding will prove too much for his services. Giambi will either be in Oakland or Seattle next season. Seattle seems more likely since they can afford him. I think Cashman will be looking to shop Matsui and Kennedy for a solid first baseman. Please feel free to give your input on who this candidate may be since I don't have any ideas at the moment.

Cashman's focus this offseason will be starting pitching and first base. The bullpen really came together this past season, so there likely won't be any big FA moves there. Any Matt Holliday-Yankee rumors are likely just rumors since the Yanks have so many outfielders as it is. Manny is also unlikely since it would undermine Cashman's efforts to create a younger, well-rounded team. Manny will most likely be re-signed by LA.

To conclude my post, I will give you all an idea of where I think some of the notable free agents will end up in 2009. I am playing the mlb.com fantasy game called Free Agent Frenzy. If I get the most correct, I can win opening day tickets; so let's hope I am right. 15 is the highest confidence. 1 is the lowest.

Player Name | 2008 Team | 2009 Team | Confidence level
Bobby Abreu | NYY | NYY | 14
Milton Bradley | Tex | Tor | 6
A.J. Burnett |Tor | Bal | 5
Pat Burrell |Phi | Tb | 3
Ryan Dempster |CHC | Tex | 1
Adam Dunn |ARI | WSH | 2
Rafael Furcal |LAD | LAD | 13
Derek Lowe |LAD | DET | 4
Oliver Perez |NYM | NYY | 7
Manny Ramirez |LAD | LAD | 10
Francisco Rodriguez |LAA | NYM | 11
CC Sabathia |MIL | LAD | 12
Ben Sheets | MIL | ATL | 9
Mark Teixeira | LAA | LAA | 15
Kerry Wood | CHC | CHC | 8