Footprints in the Snow: Yankees

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

When you're the Yankees, the only acceptable end to a season is one that ends with a dogpile on the pitcher's mound and a champagne-soaked locker room. The 2009 season had quite an acceptable ending, then, although it isn't one they'll be able to celebrate for too long.

The nature of expecting a championship every year is that the work toward building the next champion begins before Broadway is cleared of confetti. This year's decisions will revolve around a trio of aging stars from the title squad as well as figuring out how they'll use their leverage as baseball's richest team to improve themselves for run at a 28th title.

As always, the latter means that you'll be seeing a lot of Mad Lib headlines with "The Yankees are interested in _______," and, as always, just about any one of them could wind up being true.

---

---

Who Might Leave

Johnny Damon, OF; Jerry Hairston Jr., UT; Eric Hinske, UT; Hideki Matsui, DH; Jose Molina, C; Xavier Nady, OF; Andy Pettitte, SP

Shopping List

We'll start with their own guys, since there are some big decisions to make. It's safe to assume that Pettitte will be back unless he decides to stay home with his family. He was strong all season for the Yankees and would likely continue to provide solid work behind CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett for at least another season.

Damon and Matsui are trickier propositions. Matsui, the World Series MVP, had a terrific second half and postseason, but his balky knees mean that he can't play the field. For a team that's got a lot of older players, Jorge Posada in particular, opening that spot for a rotating cast taking days off from the field is an intriguing possibility. There's no reason Matsui couldn't be part of that mix, though, especially if he'll take a relatively inexpensive one-year deal.

Over the last four years, Damon proved to be a great signing for the Yankees. His lefty swing was made for Yankee Stadium, producing enough power that the fact that he can't play center field anymore wasn't a problem. The issue here is going to come down to two different years. Damon just turned 36 and there have been mixed signals about how long a contract he's looking for this offseason. The Yankees have a general need to get younger -- their performance this season defied notions about older teams -- and they might see 29-year-old Matt Holliday as a better option for the future.

Even if Pettitte returns, the Yankees could look to add another starting pitcher. There are still more questions than answers about Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes when it comes to their roles on the team. John Lackey is the best starter on the market, but the Yankees may pass on that big-ticket item to hold their cards for a run at Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay a year from now. Or they may sign Lackey and make the same run next year.

It would be surprising, but not shocking, to see the Yankees try to swing a deal for a center fielder who is an upgrade from Melky Cabrera. If they re-sign Damon, that would probably become a more likely scenario. Molina will probably be leaving with Francisco Cervelli moving up to a backup role with the big-league club and you can expect they'll add a reliever or two to a mix that looked shaky at points in the postseason.

Money Matters

Cabrera is in line for a healthy raise after regaining his starting spot and salvaging his floundering career this summer. If the Yankees don't make an outside move, they'd probably be fine with the solid defense and occasional pop Cabrera provides, especially since they also have the speedy Brett Gardner in reserve.

Brian Bruney and Chad Gaudin are both eligible for arbitration, and each of them did enough to earn an invitation back for another chance at rounding out Mariano Rivera's Merry Men. The ongoing drama with Chamberlain and Hughes means that the Yankees will need to have a variety of options in relief.

Look for the Yankees to non-tender Chien Ming-Wang after two seasons plagued by injuries and ineffectiveness. It would be surprising if they didn't try to bring him back under some kind of a lesser contract, however. The drama mentioned in the bullpen will affect the rotation as well, and this was a team that only had three reliable starters in October.

There probably won't be much activity on the extension front, although Derek Jeter's contract is up after the 2010 season. Both sides are fine with waiting to come up with what will likely be the Captain's final deal because neither one is operating under any kind of illusion that he's going anywhere.

Offseason Goals

Like we said up top, the offseason goal in the Bronx is the same as it ever was: Build the best team in baseball through any and all of the available routes. Brian Cashman has said that the team hopes to get younger and more athletic, which are both good ideas, but it would be foolish to think that they'll do those things at the expense of remaining one of the top contenders for a World Series crown.