Recap of Offseason Thus Far

Well, as always it's been a while, but finals will do that to you. The Yankees have made plenty of moves so far in the off season, so lets take a look at what they have done so far, analyze it all and find out what we think!

Lets do this in chronological order:

Yankees trade RP Brian Bruney to the Nationals for a PTBNL:

Brian Bruney was traded to the Nationals on the first day of the Winter Meetings, for a Player to be Named Later. That player ended up being the Nationals #1 pick in the Rule 5 draft. Bruney was a solid reliever for the Yankees, posting ERA's of 0.87, 4.68, 1.83 and 3.92, but with the Yankees trying to use their money more efficiently, a reliever of his caliber who is good, but walks too many people considering a 6.2 BB/9 and was due a raise through arbitration of about $3 million, that money could be used better, and any old reliever could put up similar numbers for $2.5 mil less. Mark Melancon anybody?

Overall consider this a win for the Yankees. Bruney can be replaced by any 'ol reliever and the Yanks also save some money in the deal as well.

Yankees trade OF Austin Jackson, SP Ian Kennedy and RP Phil Coke in a 3-team deal to acquire CF Curtis Granderson

First, lets talk about what the Yankees gave up in this trade. Austin Jackson was probably the Yankees number one offensive prospect (slightly ahead of Jesus Montero, simply for the fact that Jackson was older and had a full year at AAA under his belt). Jackson played well at AAA, winning the International Leagues Rookie of the Year award, but unfortunately for him, he struck out too much and his power simply did not develop the way the Yankees had hoped. Without power, Jackson is simply a good prospect, not great. If he develops power, he will be missed, but Granderson is still young (will be 29 on Opening Day), so it isn't the worst thing in the world to trade a guy who can be good, for a young guy who we already know is good. Jackson will be the opening day CF for the Tigers, so we will learn very soon what he will become.

Ian Kennedy was another guy who I was a big fan of, but he simply was never going to contribute to the New York Yankees. In the NL, he has the ability to be a #3, but in the AL East, he simply was not going to do anything special. Concerns about his attitude were also raised and while he may be good for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the best thing he could ever do for the Yankees is be a key part of a trade.

Phil Coke also got traded. Who cares? I like Coke, I was a fan of his, despite his ability to give up home runs to left handed hitters in the most important situations, but he can be replaced easily. Damaso Marte showed us in the playoffs what he could do, and the Yankees think very highly of Mike Dunn as well, who was originally a part of this deal. He will be 27 next year, but this was a just an extra piece of the trade. I liked him, but he won't be missed.

Now, onto what we did receive. Our new Center Fielder, Curtis Granderson. Granderson will bat at the bottom of the order, probably around the six spot, and be sure to drive in runs. He hit 30 home runs last year, 10 of which came in a home ballpark that is not hitter-friendly. He has the potential to hit 40 home runs in the new Yankee Stadium according to some, and the fact that he led the league in triples in 2007 and 2008 and had 20 steals last year surely doesn't hurt anything. Granderson is also a fantastic fielder, posting a 5.2 UZR/150 for his career, and although I do not think Melky Cabrera will, or should be the opening day LF, as of right now he is, and his defense is much better suited for left, so Granderson makes the entire OF better. Granderson is also a great clubhouse guy, great to the media and charitable in the community. He was the Detroit Tigers winner of the Roberto Clemente award and is known as one of the nicest guys in baseball.

Granderson does have flaws, he strikes out too much, can't hit lefties and last year his BA dropped to .249. With that said, he had an abnormally high fly ball rate last year, an abnormally low BABIP and an abnormally low infield hit rate last year as well. These are the reasons we have a hitting coach. According to Ken Davidoff via Twitter, Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said he would be able to fix Granderson against lefties in 10 seconds. Add that to the assumed bounce back year for his BABIP, some of those fly balls turning into Home Runs in the new Yankee Stadium and a potential bat off the bench who can face some tough lefties and this is a fantastic addition for the Yankees. Somewhere down the road Austin Jackson may turn into something good, but he does not project to be anything better than Granderson, so nobody will take any notice.

By the way, Granderson is owed a very affordable $25.75 mil over the next three years with a $13 mil option when it is all said and done.

Yankees sign Andy Pettitte to a one year $11.75 mil deal

Did the Yankees overpay for Pettitte? Yes. Does it matter? Not really. I thought Pettitte was going to get a one year deal around $9 mil or so, but whats an extra couple of million for a guy like Pettitte? You know what you're going to get from him and there aren't going to be any surprises. He has won at least 14 games over the past five years, never with an ERA over 4.54 (his 2nd worst ERA over the past five years was 4.20), made at least 32 starts and was a veteran presence. Even though we overpaid, considering how the market has been this year, the Yankees are getting a bit of a discount technically. If Randy Wolf can secure a 3 year deal worth almost $30 mil, Pettitte would be able to get at least $40 mil on the open market if he wanted a long-term deal and was willing to talk to any team other than the Yankees. Locking up Pettitte quickly was important, adds a strong #3 with no surprises and there is no need for negotiations to linger into January like they did last year.

Yankees get OF Jamie Hoffman to complete Brian Bruney deal

Jamie Hoffman is an OF who can play all three OF positions well, and he can hit lefties. That will be his role on this team, to face lefties. Considering he was taken in the rule 5 draft, you can't expect much, if anything out of him. If he hits lefties well enough to stay on the team, great! If not, he was a Rule 5 pick, so it's not like anything was expected out of him. Good pick-up because it can potentially fill a need the Yankees have, but this won't affect too much this year.

Pending a physical, Yankees sign 1B/DH Nick Johnson to a 1 year $5.5 mil deal

Nick Johnson, who came up through the Yankees system is back, this time in an almost full-time DH role. He will get about 5-6 starts at 1B this year, but that is it. Johnson and his fantastic .402 career OB% will fit very nicely in the number two hole and although he has had a career of injuries about as bad as Carl Pavano, keeping him off the field and getting normal rest will only help him stay healthy. The Yankees kept Hideki Matsui healthy last year, and he wasn't human from the knees down, they should be able to keep Nick the Stick healthy as well. He has faced injuries such as a broken leg, a broken cheek bone and most recently, a fractured wrist, but last year he was able to mostly stay healthy and play in 133 games, missing only two weeks in the middle of the season. Ever since the Yankees traded him away after 2003, he has been eager to play for a winner, and that is why he was willing to turn down a larger offer he received from the San Francisco Giants, always good in my book. He was one of my favorites when I was younger and now he is turning down extra money to play in NY making me only like this guy more. I will miss Hideki Matsui very much and I look forward to the Yankees home opener so I can stand and applaud him, but Nick Johnson will be a wonderful fit in NY.

Oh, by the way, Johnson's .426 OB% last year was the third best in the majors. He was only beaten by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer, whoever those guys are....

So overall, the Yankees traded Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Phil Coke and Brian Bruney, lost Hideki Matsui to the Angels, and probably lost Johnny Damon as well because his asking prices were positively demonic, all while gaining a great young CF in Curtin Granderson, a new DH in Nick Johnson, a potential lefty killer in Jamie Hoffman and re-signed Andy Pettitte. So far, this has been a productive off season for the Yanks. Oh yea, the Yankees also non-tendered Chien-Ming Wang and then he turned down a split contract to stay with the Yankees. So long Chien-Ming!

So what should the Yankees do next? Do they need another starter? Are you OK with Melky being the opening day LF? Well, the answer's are clear, yes they need another starter and no, Melky should not be in the field on opening day. Brian Cahsman has said himself that they are not done yet. The Yankees need a left fielder and with Johnny Damon's demands being out of this world, they will have to look at all their options. Is Mark DeRosa a nice fit considering he can play left, right and all the infield positions? If Matt Holliday's best offer is truly 5 years and around $80 mil, can the Yankees simply let him go if they can get him so cheap? Will they get in on Jason Bay? What trades are possible? Or will they simply let Melky be the starter? As for pitchers, the Yankees have been seriously linked to Ben Sheets, and linked to Justin Duchscherer as well. I believe one of them will surely end up in the Bronx. they won't cost too much and could be a very nice piece of the rotation, all while giving the Yankees plenty of starting pitching depth.

So what do you guys think? Do you like Granderson and Nicky J.? Did we overpay Pettitte? Are you going to miss Damon and Matsui? And what should we do from here? Is Melky OK or should be bring in a new LF via trade or free agency? Also, who do you like more, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer or sticking with Gaudin/Mitre/Aceves? Tell me what you guys think!