"After locking up CC Sabathia with a five-year deal last week, Brian Cashman said he planned to take a "conservative" approach to the free-agent market. That approach is underway.

Cashman spoke Saturday with Bob Garber, the agent that represents both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, calling it nothing more than a "basic expression of interest."

Cashman's annual winter routine consists of speaking with virtually every agent that represents a player on the market, so it's premature to read into any conversations the Yankee general manager is having this early in the process.

"It's just the beginning of the process," Cashman said. "I'm talking to all agents and expressing interest in those we feel can help.""