wow, I never even thought of Hawpe–and unlike Holliday, he doesn’t get that much of a Coors Field discount (.887 OPS at home, .864 on the road for his career, as opposed to Holliday and his 250 point OPS split)

What I would try to do if I was running the NYY:

The Yankees have stated numerous times that they want to get younger and more athletic. So if I were them I would look into acquiring Curtis Granderson. He won’t turn 29 till March of 2010 and the rest of his contract looks like this: $5.5 million in 2010, $8.25 million in 2011 and $10 million in 2012 and a team option of $13 million for 2013 with a $2 million buyout.
This senario would allow them to get younger, move Cabera to left field and give the outfield defense alot of range. Also that contract makes Granderson extremly affordable.
Now I bring up Granderson b/c there have been many rumors about how Detroit wants to trade his contract and because NYY won’t be sacraficing anything on the field. Granderson had 20 stolen bases and hit 30 homeruns while playing 1/2 his games in spacious Comerica Park. Also he played 160 games which makes his durable and he could slide right into the 2 spot as lefty in between Jeter and Tex.
Also if Austin Jackson turns into a adequate outfielder than he could challenge Cabera in left or Swisher in right and than eventually move into CF down the road.

Offer Matsui a one year deal. It would be utterly crass not to, especially given that *in 2010* it would be hard to replace his bat. But more than a one year deal would be stupid unless his knees miraculously return to where he could play LF.

I might offer Damon a 2 year deal but would be happier with a single year plus team option for 2011. Bring up Austin Jackson later in the year, maybe as late as a September callup depending on how things go.

Pitching and outfield are my other concerns. Starting pitchers will be hard to come by this winter, as a lot of teams will be in the market — including Boston, and possibly both LA teams. I suspect someone will offer Ben Sheets $7.5M/year in the end, and I can’t see the Yankees spending that on him.

The outfield… is a more complicated issue.

You re-sign Matsui. I just don’t think that the Yanks’ll have a catcher worthy of taking at-bats at C away from JoPo. The con arguments explain my position on Damon as well as the fact that he’s always nicked up. Besides, Matsui can, at least, be a 2004 Ruben Sierra. I think you have to go Holliday. I don’t have much faith in AJax and Carl Crawford is more frustrating than people think.

As for a pitcher–Ben Sheets. He’s already recovered (or close to it) from his surgery and could provide about 90-100 quality innings for, say, $4-6M.

I think if we can sign Damon to a one year contract, they might platoon him with Austin Jackson in the second half the year to help bridge the transition. I love Matsui but unless you get him real cheap….I don’t see how you can do it.

I haven’t decided who I’d rather have yet. I’d probably say it’s whoever will take just one year. If you’re concerned about Holliday’s defense, Brad Hawpe isn’t a guy who should be in the discussion. -82 runs by UZR over the past three seasons!