New York Yankees

What will the Yankees do with each of their own free agents?

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The Yankees have lots of big decisions to make this winter. Determining the fate of their own free agents will be a high priority for Brian Cashman.

No one inside the New York Yankees organization is pleased with how the 2019 season ended. The campaign isn’t the total failure that many fans seem to think it was, but the goal was absolutely to win the franchise’s 28th World Series title. As such, fans in the Bronx can expect significant changes to the roster this winter.

One of Brian Cashman’s first orders of business will be to decide what to do with the team’s own crop of free agents. It’s a lengthy list headlined by stars like Aroldis Chapman and Didi Gregorius. There’s a lot of speculation about what free agents the Yankees might chase in the offseason, but those targets will be shaped by which of the team’s free agents return for another season in pinstripes.

This piece will walk you through what Cashman should do with each of the team’s top seven potential free agents. The retirement of CC Sabathia removes him from consideration. It’s also assumed that older fringe players like Cory Gearrin and David Hale will be permitted to look elsewhere.

Cameron Maybin

Maybin was acquired during the regular season and managed to work his way into 82 games for the Yankees last season. Letting a player who posted a WAR of 1.5 in such a modest number of games won’t be a comfortable one for Brian Cashman and his front office.

The news that Aaron Hicks is going to miss serious time after undergoing Tommy John surgery also increases the chances of Maybin returning to the team. The team doesn’t have a clear Opening Day starter at center fielder under contract for next season.

Despite all that, the expectation here should be for Maybin to find a better deal elsewhere in free agency. The Yankees will stay in communication with him on the off chance they can retain him via a cheap, one-year deal, but Maybin should do better than that on the open market.

Verdict: Maybin signs a multi-year deal elsewhere

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