Hideki Matsui is a free agent and wants to return, but do the Yankees risk losing more than just a slugger if they do not re-sign him? Is possibly keeping him purely about baseball or is it a decision that strays into the Yankees' global business interests, too?

Outfielder and top Yankee prospect Austin Jackson was one of seven players added to the 40-man roster Friday, protecting them from being selected in next month's Rule5 Draft.

If Brian Cashman thinks he's got his hands full figuring out what to do with free-agent fan favorites Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte, imagine what he'll face next year when Derek Jeter's contract expires.

Hideki Matsui may or may not return to the Yankees next season, but according to his agent, the World Series MVP won't be heading back to his native Japan to play in 2010.

Although Johnny Damon has told friends that he would take a shorter deal to remain in pinstripes, agent Scott Boras didn't sound intent on settling for a one- or two-year contract.

Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain finished the season as relievers, but Brian Cashman believes the two youngsters will enter spring training as starting pitchers. "I look at them as starters that can relieve," Cashman said.

It took a World Series title, but fans are finally warming up to A-Rod. Yet, there are still doubters out there. Of the close to 500,0000 votes cast in the News' Keep 'Em or Dump 'Em online poll, 93% said the he should stick around.

More than a half-dozen general managers surveyed Tuesday unanimously agreed that Hideki Matsui's days as an outfielder were behind him, leaving a very limited market for his services.

The fever-pitch excitement is ending, the adrenaline rush is waning and Yankees fans will soon find themselves with no excuse to stay up late. Why does end of the series letdown feel so much worse this time?

Derek Jeter has won his fourth Gold Glove at shortstop, joining Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira among the American League players honored for fielding excellence.

One of Yankees' focuses for 2010 could be John Lackey. With questions surrounding the futures of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, Lackey would fill a spot in the rotation, and assuming Andy Pettitte returns, would allow the two youngsters to compete for the fifth spot, with one returning to the bullpen.

The Yankees plan to let the free-agent market develop before showering players with lavish offers. That's especially true since Brian Cashman has yet to speak with ownership to determine what the payroll will be next season.

The free agency signing period kicks off at 12:01 a.m. Friday, but don't expect the Yankees to storm out of the gate. Unlike their counterparts in the NFL, baseball general managers tend to take a slower, more cautious approach.

Is Mark DeRosa headed for a happy homecoming? According to a source, the Yankees are interested in the super-utility man, who can begin fielding offers when free agency begins Thursday night at midnight.

For any other team, even a team like the 2009 Yankees that finished 101-48 after A-Rod returned, you would say now comes the hard part, deciding which players they should keep and which they should let go. But these are the Yankees.

The new Yankee Stadium has a baseball history now, to go along with the rough birthing that led to this moment in time. The billion-dollar building in the Bronx that stood as a monument to extravagance suddenly stands, also, as a testimony to teamwork.

It won't be a quiet offseason - they're the Yankees, aren't they? We offer thoughts on the best way for the Yankees to put themselves in position to repeat, breaking the decision-making that lies ahead into 10 categories.

Turns out the only thing longer than the baseball season this year was the Yankees' World Series victory parade and ceremony. Now that they've finally concluded, it's right back to business for the Yankee high command as the baseball winter waits for no man.

What would a Yankee championship season be without a few hurdles? The franchise with a winning tradition has never let its Lindsay Lohan-esque capacity for news-making thwart it on the field.

The Creatures don't want to complain. We really don't. But that parade Friday was so badly paced, so bogus, it looked like it was produced by Fox Sports. It could have been a parade for the Kansas City Royals, or the Pittsburgh Pirates.