Heading into the offseason the New York Yankees will have some tough decisions to make on the impending free agents to be. Principal owner and managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman, and manager Aaron Boone will have some tricky choices to make to regarding upcoming free agents.

The Yankees have nine pending unrestricted free agents and they are all veterans who have played a large role the entire season. The million-dollar question is: which players should the Yankees’ brass look to bring back.

Here are a few names that should be strongly considered:

J.A. Happ

JA Happ is a perfect fit for the 2019 Yankees. Can’t see the Yankees passing on him this offseason. — Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) September 23, 2018

Since being traded to the Yankees, Happ has been nothing short of lights out for the Bombers posting a 6-0 record with a 2.35 ERA in 10 starts. He provides a different experience for batters as he is a rare lefty in the rotation. With some playoff experience, Happ has everything the Yankees could need moving forward. Don’t be surprised if he starts the postseason on the mound.

C.C. Sabathia

"I'm going to play next year." CC Sabathia confirms he'll be back for 2019 after earning his 20th career win against the Orioles. pic.twitter.com/ilxi6LSEb8 — YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 22, 2018

If there was ever a sure thing, this would be it in re-signing Sabathia. He still pitches with a lot of fire and passion even at age 38. This season CC is 8-7 with a respectable 3.77 ERA with 135 strikeouts. Sabathia is a vocal leader in the clubhouse and being on a small one-year deal keeps that fire burning inside for him and doesn’t restrict the Yankees to him. Doing another one-year deal like this year would be a smart move for the Yankees heading into 2019.

Brett Gardner

Brett Gardner. Mercy. What a play to save two runs. pic.twitter.com/3PLuQ7nXio — Jesse Foster (@Jesse__Foster) September 25, 2018

Entering 2019, the Yankees have a team option on Gardner for 12.5 million. This will be a tough decision for the front office as Gardy has been a team leader since joining the team in 2005. He struggled this season only batting .237 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI. With the depth in the batting lineup, the Yankees might not need to bring Gardy back. However, his teammates still value his presence, like Sabathia, so a one-year deal might be great here as he could be inserted in the lineup sporadically.

David Robertson

David Robertson, Knuckle Curve movement. pic.twitter.com/5JIuLD6H1e — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) January 19, 2018

Another tricky decision is Robertson. He has had a nice season for the Yankees in their bullpen with a 8-3 record, 3.26 ERA, and 90 strikeouts. By the way, he has contributed late in games with five saves as well. Robertson will be 34 next season so he might be another candidate for a one-year deal. D-Rob has been a key piece to the Yankees bullpen that has been very strong. Bringing Robertson back for another year could just very well strengthen their bullpen again in 2019.

Re-signing any of these players back would be a key factor to another strong run in 2019. The Yankees front office will face some tough decisions this offseason. Look for Cashman and the rest of Yankees’ brass to make those hard decisions and put together another strong roster.

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