Good morning, folks! Day three is underway from Nashville, and we’re covering all the action on a minute-by-minute basis at BronxPinstripes.com.
- 8:10 AM: Last night, Brian Cashman met with the media and revealed that he has spoken to the agent for at least five separate players – Ichiro Suzuki, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, Kevin Youkilis, and A.J. Pierzynski. There was no mention of Jeff Keppinger, who the Yankees reportedly have been aggressively pursuing.
- Cashman’s quotes seem to corroborate that the Yankees were likely the mystery team that had a deal in place for Asdrubal Cabrera, only to have it fall apart when the Indians pushed too hard for a third prospect in addition to a major league pitcher.
- Update 10:08 AM: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Yankees are interested in Jack Hannahan. Hannahan was non-tendered by the Indians last week and batted .244/.312/.341 with four home runs, 29 RBI and a .654 OPS over 318 plate appearances this past season.
- Update 11:01 AM: ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Yankees are the favorites to land OF Nate Schierholtz.
- Update 1:30 PM: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has tweeted that third-baseman Jeff Keppinger has agreed to a three-year deal with the Chicago White Sox. Earlier in the week, we had learned that the Yankees had been pushing hard for Keppinger to fill in at the hot corner, but obviously, years were the issue here. A Kevin Youkilis signing is viewed as unlikely, so the free-agent market for 3B is dwindling. A platoon of Eric Chavez, if he is still available, and a defensively inept Eduardo Nunez may be the solution, although Cashman is comitted to keeping Nunez at one position – shortstop.
- Diamondbacks have signed infielder Eric Chavez to a one-year, $3 million contract
- Cubs have signed Nate Schierholtz to a one-year, $2.25 million contract.
Yankees lost out on both players that they have shown interest – back to the drawing board for Cash.
