Yankees rumors: New York not interested in pursuing Pablo Sandoval, Max Scherzer, or Jon Lester

Mark Feinsand from the New York Daily News heard from a source that the Yankees don't intend to pursue free agents Pablo Sandoval, Max Scherzer, or Jon Lester this offseason. The good news is that the source claims the team is focused on bringing back third baseman Chase Headley and starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy, both of whom made strong impressions after being traded to New York in the middle of last season.

With Alex Rodriguez and Martin Prado already under contract on top of their interest in Chase Headley, not pursuing Sandoval seems like an obvious choice. The Giants' third baseman is going to get one of the top contracts of the offseason for his services. Avoiding Scherzer might make sense if the team doesn't want to give up their first round draft pick after their huge spending spree last offseason. The decision on Lester might make a bit less sense, considering that he wouldn't be tied to draft pick compensation after being traded to the Athletics over the summer. It's possible that the team feels like the deal he will receive is just too lofty for what they want to spend. Headley and McCarthy are likely seen as bargains by comparison, and the team still could go after Stephen Drew for shortstop instead of one of the bigger names like Asdrubal Cabrera.

One name that is noticeably absent from the list of free agents the Yankees won't be going after is Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez, like Sandoval, will likely get one of the biggest contracts of the offseason. Could the Yankees bring him in to try to replace Derek Jeter at shortstop? There are obvious concerns about Ramirez's durability which gives the situation some pause. However, if the Yankees want to make a splash to put people in seats for next season with renewed excitement, going after Hanley might be one of the few ways to accomplish that if they are going to pass on Scherzer and Lester.

Bringing back McCarthy for the rotation would mean that the starters would be some combination of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Shane Greene, CC Sabathia, and McCarthy until Ivan Nova returns. David Phelps would likely be the next man up in case of injury. There are, unfortunately, a lot of question marks there. Sabathia's degenerative knee condition seems like it could be a ticking time bomb, and Tanaka's elbow is no sure thing either. Pineda has also dealt with his fair share of injury concerns. It seems like going into 2015 with that rotation requires everything breaking just right and hoping for the best. Lester or Scherzer would undoubtedly serve as a pretty nice insurance policy in case some of those things don't go right, which is usually a safe bet.

Do you agree with the rumored approach of the team? Should they reconsider their position on any of these free agents?