Yankees Have Plenty of Free Agent Questions to Answer

The Yankees have some huge names hitting the free agent market this year. Some will surely be back, some most certainly will not; then there are those who may or may not be back. There are also other free agents hitting the market that could be good fits for the Yankees. Let's take a quick look at where the team stands now.


Three of the "Core Four" go first:

Derek Jeter: He made $21M this season in the last year of his $189M contract. Of course he'll be back, you  can bet your last Sammy Sosa rookie card that he'll be paid as well. At 36 and clearly declining he will probably make between $15-20M a year because of who he is and what he means to the team, city, fans and the game itself.

Mariano Rivera: He's 40, but he's still at the top of his game. He stumbled a little this year towards the end but he will be back unless he decides to retire. Expect him to make about roughly the same amount he made this season: $15M.

Andy Pettitte: He had one of his best years this season despite being 38 years old. Unless he decides to retire he will be back.

Now onto the others, ranked by salary made this season:

Lance Berkman: His $14M+ salary was the last year of a contract he signed while he was a superstar player in Houston. He will not be back in NY and he will not make anywhere near that type of money again. Expect him to be a DH for $10M or so a year.

Javier Vasquez: No chance.

Kerry Wood: Though the Yankees may want him back after his dominance in the playoffs, he will want the closer money he has earned and deserves. He made $10.5M this year and will likely find a closer's job elsewhere for a raise unless he takes less to stay in pinstripes for a shot at a title next year.

Nick Johnson: No chance he will ever play in NY again unless he's in the visitor's clubhouse. He will not make anywhere near the $5.75M the Yankees signed him for either. He will sign a one year, $2M deal somewhere though.

Marcus Thames: For only $900K he did a spectacular job off the bench for the bombers this year. Although it would be nice to keep him, he will probably want to be a starter. The Yankees have enough older players to rotate in and out of the DH role that they will not really need to sign a full time DH this year.

Last, but not least, is manager Joe Girardi. He made $2.5M this year in the final year of a 3 year $7.5M contract with a $300K signing bonus and other undisclosed incentives. The Yankees should want him back. Unless he decides to move on he will most likely be a Yankee for around $3-4M a year. Watch him sign a two year deal with an eye on the Cubs job opening up again in 2013.

We'll take a look at potential open market signings for the Yankees tomorrow.