New York Yankees

Mariano Rivera continued to be showered with recognition this past week, as the corner of East 4th Street and Broadway was temporarily re-named "Mariano Rivera Way" on November 21.

This offseason the New York Yankees expect to be a very busy organization. 

Following a season in which they failed to reach the playoffs for only the second time since 1995, changes will be extensive and rumors as to whom GM Brian Cashman is pursuing have been a daily occurrence.

This article will take a look at the five most talked-about targets in the Yankees' crosshairs and what the pros and cons to each are.

Expect the New York Yankees to be at the epicenter of everything free agency this offseason.

Not only are they the franchise with the most money to spend. They also have extremely large holes to fill.

The Yankees will be a possible landing spot for what seems like just about every top free agent available on the market.

After keeping it holstered last winter, the word is that the New York Yankees are ready to get their checkbook out again this winter, and that they're not going to be messing around when they do.

That will be the case as far as their pursuit of Japanese right-handed pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is concerned anyway, and yours truly is inclined to say "Rightfully so!" to the idea.

The New York Yankees may have problems, but let's not go overboard. New York and the Yankees are still a draw, still an attractive destination for players.

Even if the team happens to be coming off a playoff-less 2013 campaign, it was only the second such over the past 19 season.

In New York, the Yankees are preparing to spend money like it's 2008 all over again. Five years after drowning their third-place finish sorrows away by spending over $400 million combined on CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees are poised to hand out big-money deals. The names have changed, but the objective remains to spend.

The anticipation and speculation leading up to a Major League Baseball season is unlike that of any other sport.  As soon as the last out of the final game of a World Series is recorded, the calculation and dreaming for a campaign still five months away begins.

For the New York Yankees, 2014 can't get here fast enough.  The sooner they can get the disappointment of 2013 in their rear-view mirror, the better.

The New York Yankees are preparing for life after Robinson Cano, or so it seems.

According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, the Yankees have made contact with the Cincinnati Reds about second baseman Brandon Phillips:

The New York Yankees are certainly afraid that second baseman Robinson Cano might be leaving in free agency, as general manager Brian Cashman has reached out to Cincinnati Reds GM Walt Jocketty regarding the availability of All-Star second baseman Brandon Phillips, according to 

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