As free agency opened, the Yankees were reportedly in a wait-and-see mode. Unlike last season, when the club had to act quickly in starting the process on several big moves to erase the taste of a playoff-free 2008, this year the Yankees can savor their World Series title.

Not that the team operates that way, necessarily, but there just is not as much of a panic to chase the big contracts. And probably not as much a desire to, either.

While the Yankees reportedly inquired about Toronto ace Roy Halladay, they do not need to make as desperate a push for him as, say, the other New York team. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are available as free agents without the price of prospects, but after last year's nearly half-billion haul, the Yankees aren't likely to spend on such...