Free agency begins quietly for Yankees

Day 1 of free agency for the Yankees fulfilled the prediction most around the team made going in.

Quiet.

"I think we're going to be the tortoise this year, not the hare," one official said Thursday.

It was a reference to the Yankees making their interest in last offseason's prize, Cliff Lee, known from the start, touching base with the lefthander just after midnight on the first day of free agency, then visiting him and his wife at their Arkansas home shortly thereafter.

General manager Brian Cashman wasn't on the road Thursday, spending much of the day at the Stadium fielding calls from agents running through their rosters of available players, part of a mostly feeling-out process that takes place in the early stages of free agency.

This year's best free-agent pitcher is the Rangers' C.J. Wilson, in whom the Yankees have an interest but see as a No. 3-caliber starter, which would fit perfectly in a rotation that needs depth behind CC Sabathia. The issue? "He thinks he's a one," the official said.

If Wilson, 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA in 2011, can get the kind of contract commensurate with No. 1 status -- and he might, given the weak free-agent pitching market -- it won't be from the Yankees. But they will monitor.

The next tier of starters includes Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt and Hiroki Kuroda, whom the Yankees pursued at the trade deadline before he invoked his no-trade clause with the Dodgers.

In a conference call Tuesday, Cashman said that with Sabathia re-signed, his approach in free agency will be looking at potential bargains and trying to be "creative." He defined that Thursday.

" 'Creative' meaning focusing on things media and fans don't necessarily think are as obvious that we feel could be just as important," Cashman said.

Examples of that from last offseason were the pickups of Andruw Jones, Eric Chavez, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. "I like pursuing a whole wide field rather than targeting one specific item that's big and expensive," Cashman said. "I'd rather not go that route. I'd rather explore in a more deliberate process."