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After signing Brian McCann, the Yankees are looking to sign more free agents and are currently engaged in some level of discussion with Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Stephen Drew and Hiroki Kuroda. They are also interested in Joe Nathan, Masahiro Tanaka, and Robinson Cano as well.
They are hoping to meet with Cano next week, but if they are unable to come to an agreement, the Yankees might add up to three more free agents. Even if they stick to the $189 million budget plan, they believe they can still afford several other players. That could be one of Beltran, Ellsbury, Choo, Drew, and Kuroda.
They are only interested in Beltran for a two-year deal, but the Royals, Mariners and Rangers could offer up to three. After word spread that he was looking for a three to four-year deal, it's good to know that he can be had for much less. The Yankees have already forfeited their first round pick, so bringing in Beltran won't cost them nearly as much.
They remain interested in bringing Kuroda back and now feel more confident that he is willing to re-sign. He rejected their $14.1 million qualifying offer, so he might be looking for something closer to $15 million, like he made in 2013. The Yankees are also talking to some undisclosed mid-rotation starters, but not Matt Garza or Ubaldo Jimenez.
According to a source, the Yankees were one of the teams willing to pay up to $52 million for Jhonny Peralta. Now that he's signed with the Cardinals, New York will likely take a more involved interest in Stephen Drew. He would work well for the Yankees, moving between shortstop and third base. He wasn't worth a first-round pick, but now they'll have no problem dealing out the money necessary.