Yankees Turn Up The Hot Stove; Jeter, Rivera, Crawford, Martin

Other than the back and forth bickering about Derek Jeter through media outlets, the New York Yankees had been fairly quiet this offseason. Sure, they have been talking with free agent right hander Cliff Lee, but we all expected that.

Other side of those topics, the Yankees remained quiet, until now. The Hot Stove is official heating up in New York.

According to reports, Jeter and the Yankees have met once again and are finally moving closer to a deal. Jeter and his agent have lowered their asking price while the Yankees have increased their offer. The team now awaits the shortstops response to their latest offer. The Yankees still appear reluctant to guarantee a fourth year in the contract however.

Another Yankee legend, closer Mariano Rivera is apparently close to resigning with the team. All reports sound as if Rivera and the Yankees are ready to sign a two year contract worth $30 million. Rivera is still the best closer in baseball and the has been the anchor of the Yankees bullpen for years.

While it was never a question whether Rivera would return, the Red Sox and Angels both showed interest in the veteran closer.

The Yankees will likely wait as long as they need to for Cliff Lee to make a decision on his future. Does the team have enough budget room to land another big name free agent while they wait?

New York has been in contact with free agent left fielder Carl Crawford. Possibly the biggest name free agent outside of Lee, Crawford will gte a big deal. The Yankees probably look at Crawford as a backup plan in case they do not get Lee. I do not see a scenario in which the Yankees sign both free agents.

The Yankees do have three good outfielders in Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher. The three do however have contracts that would be very tradeable.

Earlier this offseason, the Yankees told Jorge Posada that he would move to the DH role. They plan to let young catchers Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, and Austin Romine compete for the catching spots.

It now appears that the Yankees may be looking to bring in a veteran catcher to compete as well. The Dodgers have Yankees have been in talks about possibly trading for Russell Martin. New York is one of about six teams interested in the catcher whom the Dodgers Non-Tendered this week.

The Yankees and Dodgers went as far as to exchange medical reports on players. It is reported that the Yankees discussed sending Cervelli to the Dodgers in return for Martin.