The New York Yankees have lost seven of their last eight games and relinquished sole possession of first place in the American League East. Principal owner Hal Steinbrenner addressed the media on Wednesday to answer a number of questions regarding the team.
New York's slide probably isn't anything to start panicking about because they simply ran into a bit of trouble against two surging clubs - the Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals - but one can't help but think the Yanks will explore trades before this year's deadline.
Steinbrenner shed some light on the matter when asked about the team searching for upgrades.
"I'm not afraid to spend money. I never am. You know that. So when July rolls around, the trade deadline rolls around, we're going to see where we're really deficient and we'll do what we can," said Steinbrenner, via Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
However, he did (indirectly) indicate that excessive financial commitments are likely out of the question because he is keen on promoting players internally as the team improves their farm system.
"That, hopefully, is the goal in years to come, when [our] long-term contracts hopefully are over," Steinbrenner said of giving the club's homegrown players a shot. "Some of these young kids - the way they do for every other team, it seems - step up, step in and get the job done."
The onerous long-term contracts he's referring to are those of Alex Rodriguez ($275 million), CC Sabathia ($182 million) and Mark Teixeira ($180 million), which means Cole Hamels (owed over $80 million) and Troy Tulowitzki (owed over $100 million) are probably out of the question. That's important to know because the starting rotation is enduring issues right now and they also have no clear option at shortstop as Didi Gregorius and Stephen Drew continue to struggle.
There are a number of potential impending free agents, such as shortstops Ian Desmond and Alexei Ramirez as well as starters Johnny Cueto, David Price, Zack Greinke, Scott Kazmir, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Aaron Harang, Mike Leake, Ian Kennedy, Jeff Samardzija and others who could be of interest to the Yankees. They may have to give up a top prospect or a couple of mid-level prospects for some of the above names, but they won't be inheriting an immense financial commitment.
Or, if New York finds some of these free agents valuable enough to ink to a lucrative extension, they may consider doing that if they manage to deal for one of them. After all, they do need long-term solutions in certain areas of the roster.
While Steinbrenner is willing to spend, it appears as if his investments will be a bit more prudent as the Yankees enter a new era of baseball. They may not be the spending juggernauts they used to be, but Steinbrenner still might dig deep if need be.
