Cashman's job at the General Managers meetings: See what's up for "Next Man Up."

The annual GM meetings launch today at the Omni Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Monteluciatsdale, Arizona, Here is where, in boozy late night hookups, trades will be conceived. Surely, Brian "Cooperstown" Cashman will keep a four-day running bar tab, and constantly prowl the hotel lobby for young, scantily clad GMs, flashing their rotations. Make no mistake, Coop will will a powerful, primal urge within his loins to couple up with someone. He needs a deal.

Fans of the Death Star should not expect Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner to abandon his policies of austerity and suddenly throw $35 million at Gerrit Cole. It. Will. Not. Happen. Yeah, it's fun to imagine - the franchise restored to marquee status, as baseball's team to beat - but nothing suggests that Hal will change. To solve their pitching woes, Cashman must make trades.

Critical to everything is the status of the five players who embodied last year's "Next Man Up" spirit: Clint Frazier, Mike Tauchman, Gio Urshela, Cameron Maybin and Luke Voit. They each showed flashes of brilliance, but one question always remains: Can they now adjust to the adjustments? Let's take a quick look at each.

Frazier: He gave us a great June - .324 with some clutch hits - and we howled when Cash did what he always does, traded for Old Man Encarnacion, who kept breaking down. But "Red Thunder" fell apart in August and September, didn't even break .200, and the only question now is whether he so damaged his value that he's not worth trading. If the roster were set today, he'd be back in Scranton, which nobody - not even the people of Scranton - wants to see. Once upon a time, Cashman boasted about Frazier's "legendary bat speed." Everything seemed to collapse following one terrible night in the field, broadcast on national television. WTF happened? 

Four months ago, every Yank fan in captivity assumed this was Brett Gardner's final year in pinstripes, his exit clearing a path for "the Red Menace." Now, following Aaron Hicks' latest injury, Gardy's on the verge of returning. That leaves Frazier, who only recently turned 25, on the block, and this time, probably for good.

Tauchman: He had a blazing July - .426 - and then tailed off to a serviceable August (.274 with more HRs) and September (.278), before getting hurt and missing the playoffs. One of the weirder scenarios of the World Series was the notion that Tauchman was supposedly ready to play. 

He has three huge advantages over Frazier: 1) He's LH. 2) He's a solid fielder. 3) He can play CF. He surely will stay. He turns 29 next month. It's now or never for him. 

Urshela: He had two rotten, very bad, awful months - June (.232) and September (.207) - surrounded by hot streaks. In other words, he made adjustments. He was one of our better hitters in the post-season (though that's not saying much.) Like Tauchman, his glove is for real, and his ability to play multiple infield positions makes him a valuable asset. He just turned 28. 

But if Miguel Andujar fully returns, and he's capable of playing 3B, could Urshela be moved? The Yankees would surely get something in return. The problem with that scenario is that spring training is too far off. It's hard to see Urshela being dangled this week.

Maybin: He peaked in June-July, nearly hitting .400. In August, he fell into a correction - .235 - and flattened out (.256) in September. We always knew he wouldn't hit .330, but for a fifth outfielder, he was a steal. That said, he's free to move around the cabin, and I get the feeling he'll want a longer deal, probably with another team. 

The point about Maybin is that cagey vets like him are always out there, sitting on the scrap heap, waiting to be signed. He'll be 33 in April. One mitigating factor: He is said to be a great clubhouse presence. (If it comes down to him and Frazier, that could make a difference.)

Voit: A regular season spark plug, then a sad sack in October, when he failed to make the playoffs roster. He turns 28 in February. Luke carried the team in June (.333), batting third, then slipped in each successive month. It reached critical mass in September, when hampered by a sports hernia, he hit .194. As the season progressed, he seemed bent on pulling every ball, rather than hitting to RF. Voit's continued decay, coupled with his lame-ass fielding, raises a concern. If Didi Gregorius leaves, then DJ LeMahieu probably shifts to 2B, and the team will desperately need a good glove at 1B. This is a problem. 

Cash better have an unlimited bar tab. He's going to need it.