Yankees, Left Field and Brian Cashman

When Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he wouldn’t be adding a “big piece” to play left field for the Yankees after they traded Melky Cabrera and some minor league players to the Braves for Javier Vazquez, I didn’t believe him. As time goes by and free agents are being swooped up off the market, I’m starting to believe that Cashman and the Yankees are ready to have Brett Gardner or a different “smaller piece” be their everyday left fielder.

The left field free agent market is dwindling. Jason Bay signed with the Mets, Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs, Mike Cameron signed with the Red Sox and Mark DeRosa signed with the Giants. Matt Holliday and Johnny Damon have ridiculous high price tags.  An addition of a “big piece” for left field is becoming increasingly less likely.

Who is still out there for the Yankees to grab that won’t cost a major chunk of cash? Reed Johnson and Jermaine Dye would all be worth a look if their price tags are in the Yankees’ range. Other than those guys, Gardner may be the best option for the Yankees at left field.

Brett Gardner would be a viable outfielder for most teams. He’s an athletic player with outstanding  speed and plays good defense. He will steal bases, have a bunch of infield hits and will hit more triples than home runs. Typically, corner outfielders are more known for their power, but the addition of Granderson in center field allows them to play a guy like Gardner in left. Having Melky and Gardner starting in the outfield would not have made sense. With Granderson in center, Gardner in left works.

The Yankees pride themselves on having a deep lineup with no easy outs. They strive to bring out a lineup that can kill you at any spot in the order. Comparable to the rest of the lineup, Gardner would be an easy out. It’s uncertain how Gardner will do over the course of an entire season. Can he sustain a .270 average over 500 at-bats? That has yet to be determined.

Brian Cashman is always looking ahead. He’s already thinking one, two or even three years down the road. The moves he makes, or doesn’t make, is telling of that. He didn’t pull the trigger on the Santana deal a few years ago because he knew that CC Sabathia would be a free agent the following year. He made a trade for Javier Vazquez because Vazquez has one year left on his contract and if he turns out to be a bust, the Yankees won’t have to live with it long. Vazquez for one year is better than signing a second-tier free agent pitcher like Jason Marquis or Joel Piniero and being tied up with a guy that could be a bust for three years. Cashman can see that the free agent pitching class is stronger next year.

The same thing goes with a left fielder. Cashman doesn’t want to overpay for a left fielder. Holliday and Damon are asking for way too much. That doesn’t fit in with the Yankees’ goal of keep payroll down below $200 million, although it doesn’t look like they’ll be below that mark anyway. The Yankees have a lot of players in-house to deal with next year (Jeter and Mariano) and there are also some big names that could potentially be on the free agent market (Mauer, Crawford and Cliff Lee). Putting a ton of money into Holliday or another left fielder isn’t the best thing for the Yankees to do right now.

Cashman isn’t only worried about the 2010 Yankees. He’s worried about the team for 2011, 2012 and beyond. Joe Girardi is high on Gardner so it looks like we could be looking at him being the opening day left fielder. He was the Yankees 2009 opening day center fielder after all. If the Yankees sign somebody his name won’t be Holliday. If Damon doesn’t find a suitor at the price he covets, the Yankees and Damon could converge on a one-year deal for $5-7 million. I wouldn’t be surprised if Damon drops his price tag by late January if he’s still on the market.