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The Yankees began their organizational meetings on Monday. The meetings will be continuing all week and will include Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, executive vice president Felix Lopez, president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman. Neither Mark Newman or Damon Oppenheimer are expected to attend.
In a meeting with the Yankees' pro scouting department, the front office discusses free agents and potential trade candidates. The list of free agents on the team's radar include Masahiro Tanaka, Shin-Soo Choo, Paul Maholm, Brian McCann, and Stephen Drew.
It has been rumored that the Yankees could go on a spending spree in the offseason and sign multiple big time free agents. However, before they can commit any free agent dollars they will need to know how much money they will be saving from an Alex Rodriguez suspension and whether or not they can retain free agent Robinson Cano. Once those two issues are settled they can begin signing players. Unfortunately, A-Rod's hearing is expected to run through November and Cano won't be in a hurry to sign, so many of these players could come off the market before the Yankees can even determine a budget.
While the organization has had reservations when it comes to signing high priced international players, they are reportedly going in big for Tanaka. The Yankees tried to sign Drew on as a third baseman last offseason before he went to the Red Sox and now with Derek Jeter's uncertain health, they will need a fallback option. McCann would be the best catcher on the open market for a team that had one of the worst catching corps in Major League Baseball.
Choo would be a huge investment for a team that already has a full outfield. Whether they sign him or Curtis Granderson accepts a qualifying offer, the Yankees could ultimately release Vernon Wells or try to trade Ichiro Suzuki. Maholm would be a great way to fill out the back end of the rotation now that three starters are off the team.