Brian Cashman: New York Yankees Not Interested In Albert Pujols

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said today on the Dan Patrick Show that the team will likely not pursue free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols this offseason.

“Despite him being fantastic, it’s not an efficient way to allocate our resources,” Cashman said in response to a question about the Yankees’ interest in arguably baseball’s top free-agent.

“Offensive is not an issue here,” Cashman continued, “Our priority is pitching.”

The Yankees currently have major money invested in All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira, however the club has had a reputation in the past of making a play for the top free-agent available, no matter the cost. Last year Cashman publically stated that the team did not have interest in signing relief pitcher Rafael Soriano because the closer position was already secured by Mariano Rivera. Later that offseason, the Yankees signed Soriano to a multi-million dollar contract.

The Yankees won the American League East division by six games this year over the Tampa Bay Rays, which marked the seventh time they've won baseball's most contentious division in the past 10 years. New York was eventually eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers after being defeated three games to two in the series.