The Brian Cashman Master Plan

Frankly, the Yankees are in pretty solid shape for the upcoming season.  Cashman does not have to do a lot.  Here is what I believe should be the Master Plan for Brian Cashman in the 2009-10 offseason. 

1. Get Andy Pettitte re-signed.  

Andy is not likely to sign elsewhere.  He stated that he would either go to the Yankees or retire, but I feel that going to the Astros or Rangers may still be an option for him.  Give him the 1 year deal with the no incentives, he earned it.  

2. Erase Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon's number from his phone.

I'm sorry Hideki, but there is no place for you on the team next year.  Yes, you were the World Series MVP, but your knees are being held together with scotch tape and you could fall apart any second.

Damon was huge also, but his I just frankly believe that he will not be the same Johnny Damon the next couple of years.  I believe the 140 games a year since 1995 and the assorted injuries that he plays through will catch up.  

3. Bring in Mike Cameron.

My opinions on the entire outfield situation keep changing, but as of right now, Cameron is my guy.  He can be had on a cheap one-year deal likely, and will be a good stop-gap for Austin Jackson, assuming he comes around.  His defense is top notch and he can man centerfield, with Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera manning left field. 

4. Consider one of the many starters coming back from injuries/oft-injured ones.

There are many of them out there.  Rich Harden, Eric Bedard, Chien-Ming Wang, Justin Duchscherer, etc.  Back of the rotation options galore.

5.  Bring in a DH on a one-year deal.

There are a lot of these available as well.  My preference would be Adam Dunn, who could absolutely be made available by the Washington Nationals.  He has a reasonable one year deal and is an on-base machine.  The difference between Matsui and Dunn is that Dunn at least has the ability to play in the field when necessary.  I do realize that he is a poor fielder, but it would likely not be very often.  He would only need to do this on days where they want Jorge Posada or maybe Alex Rodriguez to DH, which hopefully, is not too often.  Dunn can play the corner outfield positions and first base if necessary,

6. Bring in one, maybe two guns for the bullpen.

I'm not exactly sure how good this bullpen will be next year as of now, especially with Hughes returning to the rotation.  As of now it looks like some mishmash of David Robertson, Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, Chad Gaudin, Alfredo Aceves, Jon Albaladejo, Damaso Marte, and Mark Melancon, with Mo closing.  I wouldn't mind bringing in one solid veteran to the mix.  Kiko Calero had a fine year with the Marlins and would be a nice addition (I do realize that he is an injury risk.)  Ron Mahay is a consistently decent reliever.  I'm sure that there are other options out there as well.

7. Let Jose Molina walk.

Despite the fact that he became Burnett's personal catcher in the playoffs, there doesn't seem to be a need to pay him $2 million dollars a season when Francisco Cervelli can out-hit him for the league minimum.  

8. Bring back Hairston and let the rest of the bench be a Cage Match.

I really like what Jerry Hairston, Jr. brings to the team.  He has the ability to play every position (besides catcher) and has a solid bat.  He has good speed also.  Then, basically have a bunch of Spring Training battles for the rest of the positions.  For backup infieder: Ramiro Pena can try to fight off Kevin Russo and maybe Reegie Corona, and perhaps a veteran on a minor league deal.  For other back-up outfielder: let Shelley Duncan have an earnest shot this year, while having him try to fight off guys on minor league deals.

Thoughts?