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Yankees GM wants to 'hit the ground running' at winter meetings

Tom Szczerbowski / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Perhaps no one in baseball was more excited to see the collective bargaining agreement completed than New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

The Yankees have been linked to multiple big-name free agents ever since the winter began, and are widely regarded as a team looking to make a splash - but the uncertainty of the CBA and how the new luxury tax scale might affect them ground their offseason to a bit of a halt.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Cashman revealed he's effectively closed up shop this weekend to study up on the new CBA's nuances, so that he's ready for the start of the winter meetings Monday. Once he has a better understanding of his team's situation, he's hoping all those earlier discussions with agents and potential trade partners will turn into some big winter moves.

"I said (to agents and other teams), 'Listen, give me at least 24, 48 more hours to see what sort of information we can get from baseball,'" Cashman said, according to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. "So hopefully we'll be able to hit the ground running Monday at the latest, but it's in our best interest to know what we're dealing with, first and foremost."

After not signing a major-league free agent during the 2015 offseason, the Yankees - despite trending toward rebuilding around young talent - have been linked to many of the big names on the market, including slugger Edwin Encarnacion, and a potential reunion with flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman.

The CBA's completion is likely to make the free-agent market pick up in earnest - particularly in the case of Encarnacion, whose agent, Paul Kinzer, told the Post's George A. King III that a deal "could get done during the winter meetings" - but Cashman believes his choice to delay making a push on his preferred targets until Monday won't impact their chances of landing players.

"I don't feel like we've missed out on any opportunity that was realistic," Cashman said, according to Christian Red of the New York Daily News. "This market is saturated with bats. The bullpen market, you've got a lot of different choices. I think we still have time on that."

In addition to Chapman and Encarnacion, the Yankees have recently been linked to several veteran bats, including Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran.

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