John Lackey picked a heck of an offseason to become an unrestricted free agent. Being arguably the only ace type starter on the market, it’s pretty obvious he’s going to get an AJ Burnett like package or better, the main question is gong to be….who gives it to him?

There’s a lot of hype out there that’s saying the Yankees aren’t going to be spending money on big named free agents this offseason. Who really believes that? I know I don’t. If Andy Petttitte decides to retire, there’s going to be a big hole in that rotation. Okay so they can move Phillip Hughes back to the rotation with Joba. Well, who gets the ball to Mariano in the 9th? Brian Bruney? Come on, let’s pump the brakes on that idea. Lets take a look at the Yankees rotation this offseason with Andy and without him.

Without him- CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Chien Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain…..Phillip Hughes? Andrew Brackman? Another free agent? Pedro Martinez the new daddy? Throw in an injury here or an injury there and all of a sudden, they’re going to be in trouble.

With him- CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Chien Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain.

On paper that rotation looks pretty decent…does it not? What happens if I don’t know…AJ Burnett gets hurt? Or maybe Wang doesn’t come back strong? Joba battles some arm soreness?  Is it crazy to suggest that the Yankees will have to go through Boston next year who likely will be better than they were this year? This is why I have a sneaky feeling that John Lackey ends up in pin stripes this offseason. It flat out makes to much sense to just take a yahoo headline seriously.

John Lackey would bring a nasty 1-2-3 punch especially come next October. Can you really imagine walking into New York with a series against the Yankees facing CC, Lackey, and AJ Burnett? Not an easy task if you ask me. Seriously though, what team is going to over pay for John Lackey? What’s he done to warrant a contract like the one he’s going to get. He hasn’t won a Cy Young or anything and he’s been DL’d to start the year twice. So again, in this economy, whose going to over pay him? The Yankees because they flat out can. With that signing, they could now prep Hughes or Joba as the replacement for Mariano when he decides to walk into the sun light, and it gives them the flexibility to flat out run the table for a long time. I just don’t think the Yankees are going to stand pat this offseason. With the talent just not as good as prior years, teams are going to have to make trades to get significantly better because even the bigger market teams don’t have a ton of green paper this winter. The Yankees always have the money so they’ll continue to be the school yard bully.

They’re offense is going to be just as good next year as it was last year. They could bring in Harry Potter to play left field and he’ll hit 25 homers in that bandbox. There’s a strong chance they could go after Jason Bay or Matt Holliday because well again….why not? Money grows on trees in New York and frankly- they don’t care.  Regardless of what they’ll do- they’ll make a splash somehow. They’re the Yankees and there is no way they’ll let Boston outspend them. I definitely am picturing John Lackey and either Matt Holliday or Jason Bay ending up in New York this winter.