Johnson came up through the Yankees system and played with the team through 2003. Although he’s not a very good defensive player and doesn’t have much power, he’s very good at getting on base. He had a .426 on-base percentage last season and a .402 on-base percentage for his career. Since leaving the Yankees, Johnson played for the Washington Nationals and the Florida Marlins.

Damon hit .282 last season to go along with 24 homers, 82 RBIs, 107 runs and 12 stolen bases. In the postseason, he hit .281with two homers, nine RBIs and ten runs. In the World Series, he had a classic play in which he stole two bases on one play — which ended up being a turning point for New York.

Not re-signing Damon isn’t a huge surprise. Even after winning the World Series, the Yankees wanted to get younger and more athletic. Since Damon is 36, the team is hesitant to pay him a premium salary.

Johnny Damon may have seen his last day in pinstripes (Image: Zuma Press)

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In his first three starts of 2009, Wang gave up 23 earned runs in six innings. He pitched better as the season went on but he still finished the year with scary bad numbers — a 9.64 ERA, a 2.02 WHIP and a record of 1-6 for the eventual World Series champions.

In 2006 and 2007, Wang won 19 games in each season. In 2006, he had an ERA of 3.63, while his 2007 ERA was 3.70. But after getting injured in interleague play in 2008, Wang has never been the same.

Even though he’s a free agent, there’s a chance that the Yankees will try to bring him back. If they do, it’s likely that New York will only offer a minor league contract. The more likely scenario is another team will try to buy low on a starting pitcher who was pretty good not that long ago.

Chien-Ming Wang is now a free agent (Image: Zuma Press)

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Granderson is a left-handed hitter who is especially good against righties. The 28-year-old hit .249 last season with 30 homers, 71 RBIs, 91 runs and 20 stolen bases. While he set a career-high in homers, his batting average was a bit of a disappointment. The previous two seasons, Granderson hit .280 and .302, respectively.

With the Yankees, Granderson will likely hit second against righties and ninth against lefties. His speed and athleticism will provide the team a nice boost considering how old the roster was before the move.

In the deal, the Tigers received Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees in addition to Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson were sent to the Diamondbacks to complete the trade.

Curtis Granderson traded to the Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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Here’s a look at possible destinations for Matt Holliday in free agency:

St. Louis Cardinals
Matt Holliday finished the 2009 baseball season with the St. Louis Cardinals. However, since the Cardinals aren’t in a huge market and will have to break the bank to keep Albert Pujols around, many experts believe Holliday will end up elsewhere.

New York Yankees
The Yankees are coming off yet another championship but they are looking to get younger and more athletic. Holliday fits that bill and we all know the Yankees have enough money to make a play at him.

New York Mets
Since Holliday seems to play better in the National League, the Mets might make the most sense. They need another bat and Holliday could finally help the Mets reach the postseason.

Boston Red Sox
Another big money team, the Red Sox need a slugger to replace David Ortiz if Ortiz continues going downhill. For that reason, Holliday makes a lot of sense.

Matt Holliday is the big fish (Image: Zuma Press)

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Randy and Alan Hendricks are Chapman’s agents. The Hendricks brothers are known for representing a number of players including Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees.

Why Chapman decided to switch agents has been made public. That said, it probably boils down to one thing: money. Going with veteran agents with established relationships with teams should hypothetically allow Chapman to cash in.

Chapman’s main selling points: He’s a lefty. He can throw over 100 MPH. Those two things combined will make him an overnight millionaire. The only question is how many millions.

Earlier this month, we looked at Aroldis Chapman potential destinations. Take a look to see if your favorite team is on the list.

Aroldis Chapman went big time (Image: Zuma Press)

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Joe Mauer, the catcher for the Twins, didn’t catch a whole bunch of attention in 2009 but he had one of the best seasons ever for a player at his position. He hit .365, had an on-base percentage of .444, a slugging percentage of .587 and an OPS of 1.031. His more tradition stats were stout as well — 28 homers, 96 RBIs, 94 runs and 30 doubles.

The 26-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota set career-highs in homers, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. The only possible case you can make against him is the fact that he missed the first month of the season due to a back injury. But game for game, there’s no one in the American League that can sniff his production.

We’ll find out if the attention that Jeter and Teixeira got this season will beat out Mauer’s true value. Hopefully not, for baseball’s sake.

Here's the 2009 AL MVP in Action (Image: Zuma Press)

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After establishing residency in the tiny country of Andorra, Chapman is now a free agent. There has already been talk that a big league team may be interested in paying him upwards of $50 million. Which teams are possible destinations for Aroldis Chapman? Let’s take a look:

New York Yankees
The Yankees always like to spend money. Considering that starting pitching depth was their weakness this season, signing Chapman makes a lot of sense if they believe he’s a future starter.

Boston Red Sox
Like the Yankees, the Red Sox can use more starting pitching depth. Boston hasn’t backed down from going after international players and Chapman is yet another intriguing prospect.

New York Mets
The Mets need another top of the line pitcher if they hope to become playoff contenders in the National League. Plus, their pockets are deep enough to snag Chapman.

Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have one factor that may make Chapman happy — warm weather. Chapman already said he’s not a fan of the cold. Oh and yeah, the Angels need more starting pitching help.

Florida Marlins
It’s an extreme longshot but the Marlins would be able to keep Chapman close to Cuba. Plus having Chapman on board would likely draw more fans to their ballpark, which is always a concern for the Marlins.

Aroldis Chapman has many possible destinations (Image: Zuma Press)

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As it turns out, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision for the Rays. Last year, the 28-year-old left fielder had arguably his best season. He finished with a .305 batting average to go along with 15 homers, 68 RBIs, 96 runs and 60 steals. The 60 steals were a new career-high and he also posted a career-high on-base percentage of .364.

Crawford is a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and is arguably the best player in franchise history. He tops the Rays record books in games, hits, triples, RBIs, runs and stolen bases.

The Yankees owe a bit of their World Series title to Crawford since Crawford was the MVP of the All-Star Game. The American League winning the game gave New York home field advantage and that proved important in the series against the Phillies.

Carl Crawford - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

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Hideki Matsui, who was named the World Series MVP, was the big bat in New York’s lineup in Game 6. He drove in six of their seven runs on the night. He started things off with a two-run blast in the second inning. In the third, he hit a two-run single. Finally, in the fifth inning, Matsui hit a two-run double.

Getting the win was Andy Pettitte. In 5.2 innings of work, he gave up three earned runs. Mariano Rivera got the final five outs to cement his legacy as the best closer in the history of baseball.

For the Phillies, it was close but no cigar. They put up a great fight in making it back to the World Series, however they just didn’t have quite the talent that the Yankees boast in nearly all facets of the game.

After an offseason that saw the Yankees spend hundreds of millions of dollars to bring a winner back to the Big Apple, the only thing that can be said is mission accomplished.

The New York Yankees are Champions for the 27th Time (Image: Zuma Press)

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After Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees on the board first in the top of the first inning via an RBI double, Utley smashed a three-run blast in the bottom of the first inning. In the seventh inning, Utley hit a solo homer to give the Phillies a 7-2 lead.

Utley now has five homers in the World Series, which ties Reggie Jackson for the all-time World Series record. On the night, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, three runs and four RBIs.

Despite Utley’s power display, the Phillies had to hold their breath near the end of the contest. Rodriguez had a two-run double in the eighth inning to make the score 8-4. Later in the inning, Robinson Cano’s sac fly made it 8-5.

In the ninth, the Phillies decided to turn to Ryan Madson instead of Brad Lidge — who has given up three runs in the previous night. Madson got in a jam but got Derek Jeter to ground into a double play and then struck out Mark Teixeira to end the inning.

The World Series now heads to New York for Game 6 with the Yankees up 3-2. The Phillies are a longshot to win both in New York but as this team proved in Game 5, they still have a lot of fight left.

Chase Utley has authored a historic World Series (Image: Zuma Press)

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