Are the Red Sox a lock to win the AL East?
Sure looks like it at this juncture. Let’s put it this way: the AL East is Boston’s to lose. The trade for Adrian Gonzalez and the signing of Carl Crawford have been Boston’s two major headline-grabbing moves. But what has really helped solidify Boston’s top dog status has been the team’s recent effort to patch up their biggest hole—the bullpen—with the recent acquisitions of Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler.
Meanwhile, down in the Bronx, the New York Yankees are in a rare position. So far this winter, they’ve been beaten at their own game. The Yankees aren’t pulling the biggest trades or signing the priciest free agents. New York tossed all of their eggs into the Cliff Lee basket only to lose out to the Phillies, despite their longer and more lucrative contract offer.
You don’t think the Yankees would like a mulligan on the past two months? GM Brian Cashman never did as much as make an offer to Carl Crawford, who would have been a perfect fit in the Bronx. Ditto for Jayson Werth.
But aren’t the Yankees still a great team?
Yes. And despite taking their lumps this winter, New York is still a team full of star players and, perhaps more importantly, they still have their willingness and ability to spend. The money the Steinbrenner brothers so desperately wanted to give to Lee is still theirs to spend. While most of the big names on the trading block or up for free agency have found new homes, there are still many players out there that the Yankees are looking at.
With Lee no longer a factor in their finances, the Yankees will have to turn to other players to plug their gaps. They’ve already begun this process in part with the signings of catcher Russell Martin and left-handed reliever Pedro Feliciano.
Without further adieu, the 10 possible deals that the Yankees might consider…