The Rest of The Offseason.

The remaining big name offensive players are listed below.

Mark Teixeira
Manny Ramirez
Orlando Hudson
Ty Wiggington
Milton Bradley
Bobby Abreu
Pat Burrell
Adam Dunn

The Yankees have recently been linked to both Teixeira and Ramirez. Ramirez is not a guy I want on the team as I have said many times. Teixeira is good, but overrated and will get too much money and too many years. I think the Red Sox will land him, at which point I expect the Angels to make a strong push for Manny. Angels' manager Mike Scioscia says he could see Manny as an Angel. I see the Yankees avoiding a Manny signing because I think Girardi wouldn't want him in the clubhouse. Usually teams use managers to talk to a player about joining a team, and in this case I could see that making everything fall apart.
The Yankees were linked to Orlando Hudson a while back, but I don't see another risky long-term contract in the works, especially for someone who wouldn't fill a hole. The only way we would get O-dawg is if he would play center field, or if we were offered a young pitcher or centerfielder for Robinson Cano. If the Mets can get rid of Luis Castillo in some sort of a bad contract swap, then I see them as his most likely landing spot, otherwise I could see the Royals' making a surprise bid, pairing him with Mike Aviles up the middle. They missed out on Rafael Furcal, and getting the other top middle infielder might interest them.
Ty Wigginton has played 1B, 2B, 3B, and the OF in his career. He had a career year this year, and it wasn't even that impressive. He'll end up in Houston, San Francisco or Cincinatti. The Yanks should pursue a defensive, athletic, speedy utility guy, not someone like Wigginton.
Milton Bradley had a good season this year in Texas. However, it was the first year he has played over 100 games since 2004, when he had his career high of 141. He's a frequent visitor to the DL and he has an attitude. Like Manny, but on a much smaller scale, he's a good hitter, but he wouldn't be a good fit for the clubhouse.
The Yankees' 2008 right fielder, Bobby Abreu, is a great player, however, at age 35 he wants a multi-year deal. Bobby, who is well known for his patience at the plate, has seen his walk numbers go down over the past few years. He only walked 73 times in 08, and 84 times in 2007.
From 1999 to 2006 he had over 100 walks a year. Bobby is a great guy, and a great player, but he isn't a good investment.
Pat Burrell is a good hitter. He is 32, and most likely won't need more than 2 or 3 years. He has appeared in at least 144 games every year since 2001. He has great plate discipline, and has had an OBP at least 100 points higher than his average each year since 2003. Burrell does not have great speed, in fact he hasn't even attempted to steal a base since 2004. His fielding has never been praised either. Burrell would either DH or play left field. If he was signed the Yanks might look to trade right fielder Xavier Nady. Burrell isn't a perfect fit, but I certainly wouldn't mind having him on the team.
The best fit for the Yanks, as I have said before, is Adam Dunn. Dunn is the definition of consistent. He has drawn at least 100 walks every year since 2004. His OBP has been at least 120 points higher than his average every year since 2002. He has hit exactly 40 homeruns every year since 05, and in 06 he hit 46. His average has been between .236 and .266 every year since 04. He has slugged at least .490 every year since 04. Basically, you know exactly what Dunn will give you year in and year out. Baseball traditionalists hate him because of his batting average, but people who know the game love him. He brings power which the Yanks will lose with the departing Abreu and Jason Giambi. He also brings the patience we will lose without those two. This means he will make opposing pitchers throw more pitches, and get on base more often. This will lead to the Yankees breaking into other teams' bullpens earlier and more often. Dunn will most likely get between $16mm-19mm a year for 3-5 years. At age 29, that means he would at the latest, be gone by age 33. This would allow the Yanks to keep their goal of creating a team of younger talent, and not relying on aging players as much.
Just as a fun comparison, Adam Dunn has hit more homeruns than Manny Ramirez 4 of the 5 past years. Dunn has walked more every year since 04. Of course Manny gets more hits, but these other factors are pretty important. In my opinion age, patience, power, consistency are just as important as hits. And of course the knowledge that the player won't consistently make stupid comments and stupid mistakes is helpful. It's also good to know that the player won't force his way out of town.