Red Sox Nation can put their worries to rest. Jon Lester won't be playing in the Bronx next season after all, nor will Max Scherzer, Pablo Sandoval and James Shields.
That's right, the Yankees basically announced so earlier today. Or, to put it more formally, they said that they have no plans to pursue this offseason's top free agents, a source recently told The New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand.
From Feinsand's report:
"Instead [of going after the top free agents], the Yankees are interested in bringing back two of their own, free agents Brandon McCarthy and Chase Headley, neither of whom was eligible to receive a qualifying offer after being traded to the Bronx this past July. A source said the Yankees would engage the pair aggressively in an attempt to lock them up.
McCarthy, who went 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 14 starts after being traded from Arizona last July, would slot in behind Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda as a No. 3 starter, also joining CC Sabathia in the rotation."
According to Feinsand, the Yankees don't want to commit to another $100 million contract this winter after last year's spending spree. He wrote that the Yankees want to lower their current payroll going into 2015, especially since it was baseball's second-highest this season.
The Dodgers, a team often nicknamed the Yankees of the west, were first on that list.