Can The Yankees Be Fixed?

So, I was doing a little research for this post today.  I was trying to figure out who were some nice bargain free agents that can come in and help the Yankees next season.  I was trying to figure out if they can really afford to pay Robinson Cano all the money he wants.  I was trying to figure out how to fix the pinstripes without breaking the bank that much.  The answer to all of these conundrums?  I have no idea.

I am not sure how to fix the Bronx Bombers.  I am in my late-20s.  The Yankees have been good pretty much my entire life.  And let's not pretend that they are a horrible team.  They have 82 wins right now.  But they aren't THOSE Yankees anymore.  Pettite and Mariano are retiring.  Jeter might as well retire soon because he seems to be made of glass now.  How can they possibly recover from losing their franchise's faces?  Plus, you have to deal with A-Roid, a suddenly struggling CC, and the departure of many players (and possibly a manager).  There is no easy answer.

Here is the one thing I am sure about if I am the Yankees, though- There is no way in hell that I am giving a 2nd baseman $300 million dollars.  I know that Cano is the best player on that team.  I know that the Dodgers are going to be willing to pay some massive amount of cash like that to make one of the best infields I have ever seen.  But the Yankees can't afford to do that right now.  I mean, they can obviously AFFORD to, but they shouldn't.  At some point the old Steinbrenner way needs to change.  You can't always buy a title.  Hell, look at the Angels.  They can't even buy a playoff appearance, and they have (probably) the best young player in baseball on their team.  The new way to build a franchise is with home grown talent.  That is what was the core of those great Yankees teams.  They don't have that right now, and their minor league system is apparently garbage.

That brings me to one of the only fixes I can think of for the Yankees- Qualifying Offers!  Cano, Curtis Granderson and Hiroki Kuroda are all free agents that the Yankees wouldn't mind having back at the QO price of $14 million for one year.  Kuroda may sign that, and that's fine.  The other two won't, which means that the Yankees will get two compensatory draft picks for their loss.  If you are a team looking to rebuild, this is a great thing.  The Yankees did this last year after Rafael Soriano signed with my Nationals (over 40 saves, which I like, but it was never easy).  They ended up with 3 of the top 33 picks in the draft, a solid move in rebuilding your minor league system.  The move could work!

Or maybe I am wrong.

The Yankees are kind of dependent on Cano.  They don't even have another 2B on the active roster, and only one more on the 40 man roster, but still in the minors.  He leads them in every offensive category.  Do the mini-Steinbrenners really want to stop paying all the money to star players, putting butts in the ridiculously expensive seats?  No clue.  Can they resist signing Cano, Brian McCann and Tim Lincecum in the offseason?  No idea.

I just know that, if I was in charge of the Yankees, I would look hard at the talent I have available. It may be worth it to be not-so-great for a year or two in order to build another potential dynasty on your own players.