Who do the Yankees need to re-sign for 2018?

The Yankees have a number of free agents in 2018, which leads to some tough choices. Who do the Yankees need to bring back?

Free agency is one of the most hectic times of the baseball season. Players are faced with the decision on where to take their talents, often influenced by a large payday. The Yankees have five unrestricted free agents for 2018, in CC Sabathia, Jaime Garcia, Michael Pineda, Todd Frazier and Matt Holliday.

Who should they bring back, and whom should they let walk?

Before you can field a team, there needs to be people to build and run the team. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman’s contracts are both up as of next month. Cashman should be brought back no question, but Girardi’s situation is complicated.

Girardi has accomplished a lot during his tenure as Yankees manager. In his 10 years, the Yanks have never had a losing season, highlighted by winning the 2009 World Series title.

Yet only three AL East titles and the one World Series appearance isn’t exactly the Yankee Way. But after leading his ball club to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series this season, Girardi proved that this is his ball club.

His players respect him, and he respects them. Girardi was noticeably emotional after the season ended, being brought to tears when discussing the 2017 season.

Girardi knew that he might not return as manager, but it’s clear to see he wants to return and lead this club to the fall classic. The Yankees need to bring back Joe for 2018, but keep him on a short leash.

Of the five free agents on the roster, the Yankees should only bring back two of them. Todd Frazier has been the emotional leader of the 2017 New York Yankees since being traded for in July.

Frazier is loved by his teammates and is credited with adopting the thumbs down battle cry. He might not be the best hitter on the planet, with his average at .213 for the season but he can drive the ball out of the ballpark in a moments notice.

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Sure his strikeout numbers are high, but he’s one of the greatest locker room guys in the game and has already said he wants to play for the Yankees again. He should be offered a contract extension before his name comes off the market.

The other player the Yankees need back in 2018 is CC Sabathia, for obvious reasons. He had a resurgent year in 2017, posting a 14-5 record with a 3.69 ERA. His postseason performance was also legendary, pitching to a 2.37 ERA over 19 innings. Sabathia’s career was in question with recent knee issues but he has reinvented himself as a crafty lefty.

CC too, has said that he wants to come back and finish his career as a Yankee — and after his impressive ’17, he has earned the right to put on the pinstripes yet again.

As for Holliday, Garcia and Pineda, the Yankees front office should let them walk. Holliday had a very uneventful season for the Yankees, and with all the young talent coming on the scene, the Yankees will find their full-time DH elsewhere.

Garcia will be the odd man out in the rotation for the Yankees and will likely sign somewhere where he can be a fixture in a rotation. Pineda has been a liability over his tenure as a Yankee, and it might be time for that relationship to end.

Next: What the Yanks proved in 2017

Cashman, Girardi, Sabathia and Frazier are all must signs that the Yankees need to bring back. They are the key pieces that picked the Yankees up when they needed it most, and should be rewarded with contracts to return to the Bronx.