It is becoming more and more apparent that the Yankees' plan for next year is not to import a DH, which will give them flexibility in both their usage of their aging veterans and in their payroll.

The first part of this plan has been stated before by me and others, the Yankees will likely use the DH position as rotational spot for Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and, if he makes the team, Jesus Montero. Montero and Posada could receive the bulk of the action there. The Yankees could carry a third, defensively-strong catcher to replace Posada and Montero in late game situations.

What this will do for the payroll is allow the Yankees to use the $5.5 million they allocated for Nick Johnson to offset some of the money they will have to overpay Jeter.

Because even if the Yankees attempt to reduce Jeter's salary, it is hard to imagine he is going to make less than $15 million. That number is about $5-7 million more per year he would get on the open market. That is the money they can make up by not having a new DH.