Every off-season brings roster turnover, this year is no different. The following Yankees should not be retained:

Jason Giambi: Giambi really belted out the final year of his 7-year $120M contract sporting a line of .247/.373/.502 in 145 games, which is the most he’s played since 2003. Even though durability wasn’t a problem this year, it is still a concern going forward, even more so with Giambi being 38 next year. With two time Gold Glove first basemen Mark Teixeira a free agent this year, Giambi’s poor fielding (-10 FRAA) must also be considered. Giambi had five really good seasons in his seven years in New York and I think we’ll all look back on the Giambi era in NY as a fun memory.

Bobby Abreu: The only Yankee to stay healthy and productive this year, Abreu played 151 or more games for the eleventh year in a row in 2008. What’s his secret to staying on the field? Well, you’d have to ask him. I’d say it’s his ability to stay away from balls near the wall and not risking injury. It shows in his fielding numbers as Bob was a -14 FRAA for the Yankees this year. Offensively, Abreu is simply in decline. I appreciate the type of player that he is. I love guys that really work the count, but the Bobby Abreu that has played for the Yankees is an aging one. He has posted only his career worst OBPs with us (.371 in ‘08, .369 in ‘07). Abreu will be 35 next year and is not the player he once was, he is no longer the answer in right field.

It’s time for the Yankees to get younger and better defensively.

The Brewers and Angels have been eliminated from the playoffs. C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are now free agents. The Yankees should be heavily interested in both of these players.

“I don’t like what shows up in the newspapers,” Cashman said. “I don’t like that people forget that I have been here since 1986, that I was part of this franchise when it wasn’t very good. I was part of the rebuilding process as an assistant GM. I was the assistant GM under Gene Michael for four years and Bob Watson for two when we were rebuilding this thing. I was the assistant farm director when we had the core we have here today. Some people forget that, and the story line that was going to be written if I left, I wouldn’t agree with. I wasn’t going to let that story be written. If I left, the story that was going to be written wasn’t going to be accurate. I have given my heart and my soul to the franchise. I am not going to let an inaccurate story stick. The only way to change that is to change the story. I am not saying it’s going to be changed overnight, but I am saying it’s not going to be written inaccurately.” (Source)

In an interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesca Tuesday, GM Brian Cashman said the following:

There are only two starters with spots in the ‘09 rotation: Wang and Chamberlain.

Joe Girardi did not manage the media well.

Jason Giambi’s option won’t be picked up, but it is still to be decided if he will be retained.

NEW YORK — In the end, a key component of what pushed Brian Cashman to return as the general manager of the Yankees turned out to be what would have been written had he not finished the job.

Recalling Reggie Jackson’s oft-repeated comment: “When you have a bat in your hands, you can always change the story,” Cashman insists that he will not see his legacy in pinstripes cemented with 2008, a year that saw the third-place Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.

“I’m staying to change the story, that’s the fact,” Cashman said. “I’m not telling you that it’s going to change overnight, but I am telling you that it’s not going to be written inaccurately. (Source)