The Yankees have picked up 30-year old switch-hitting RF Nick Swisher’s club option for 2012, valued at $10.25 million bucks. Swisher played in 150 games for the Yankees last year and he was 137 for 526 (.260 avg, .822 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 23 homers, 85 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 450 games in his first three years with the Yankees and he is 424 for 1,590 (.267 avg, .854 OPS) with 256 runs scored, 81 homers, 256 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Yankees might have picked up Swisher’s option so that they could deal him for some starting pitching. Stay tuned.

The Yankees have picked up 29-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano’s club option worth $14 million bucks for 2012. Cano played in 159 games for the Yankees last year and he was 188 for 623 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 28 homers, 118 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played 7 years for the Yankees in which he has played in 1,053 games and he is 1,263 for 4,104 (.308 avg, .843 OPS) with 613 runs scored, 144 homers, 621 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. This was a no-brainer for the Yankees, as Cano has been one of their most productive hitters since the day he arrived in the Bronx.

The New York Yankees have some key free agents (Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and maybe C.C. Sabathia) heading into this winter as well as nine other ones to decide on. Here is a look at who I think will be staying and leaving:

Robinson Cano: The Yankees hold a club option worth $14 million bucks for 2012 with a $2 million dollar buyout. Cano played in 159 games for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 188 for 623 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 28 homers, 118 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. PREDICTION: STAYING

Eric Chavez: 33-year old lefty swinging 3B/1B Eric Chavez played in 58 games for the Yankees last year and he was 42 for 160 (.263 avg, .676 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers and 26 RBIs. He is said to be leaning towards retirement. PREDICTION: HANGING UP THE CLEATS

Andruw Jones: 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Andruw Jones played in 77 games for the Yankees last year and he was 47 of 190 (.247 avg, .851 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 13 homers and 33 RBIs. The Yankees probably want to keep Jones, but someone might make him an offer that he can’t refuse: PREDICTION: LEAVING

Nick Swisher: 30-year old switch-hitting RF/1B Nick Swisher played in 150 games for the Yankees last year and he was 137 of 526 (.260 avg, .822 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 23 homers, 85 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Yankees hold a $10.25 million dollar option for 2012 on Swisher with a $1 million dollar buyout. PREDICTION: STAYING

Jorge Posada: 40-year old switch-hitting DH/C Jorge Posada played in 115 games for the Yankees last year and he was 81 for 344 (.235 avg, .714 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 14 homers and 44 RBIs. PREDICTION: LEAVING OR RETIRING

Freddy Garcia: 35-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia proved that he still had a little bit left in the gas tank in 2011. He pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Bartolo Colon: 38-year old righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon revived his career with the Yankees in 2011. He pitched in 29 games (26 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Sergio Mitre: 30-year old righty reliever Sergio Mitre pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 0-0 with a 11.81 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) overall last year for the Brewers & Yankees and he was 0-1 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. PREDICTION: LEAVING

C.C. Sabathia: 31-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia is likely to opt out of the last four years of his contract, valued at $92 million bucks. This is a high stakes risk for Sabathia as the Yankees might not give him an offer of the value of the current last four years of his contract. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. PREDICTION: STAYING

Rafael Soriano: 31-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 2-3 with 2 saves, a 4.12 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has a player option worth $11 million bucks for the 2012 season with a $1.5 million dollar buyout. PREDICTION: STAYING

Luis Ayala: 33-year old righty reliever Luis Ayala pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 2-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. I think he will get an offer for more than the Yankees think he’s worth. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Damaso Marte: 36-year old lefty reliever Damaso Marte pitched in 1 game out of the bullpen in Rookie Ball last year and he was 0-1 with a 81.00 ERA and a 9.00 WHIP. He gave up 6 hits and 6 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. The Yankees hold a $4 million dollar option for 2012 on Marte, but they are going to pay him the $250,000 buyout to leave. PREDICTION: LEAVING

34-year old righty reliever Scott Proctor has decided to become a free agent. Proctor pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.82 WHIP. Proctor pitched in 198 games (1 start) in his five years with the Yankees and he was 11-13 with 1 save, a 4.51 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The Yankees won’t miss Proctor in 2012 or beyond.

33-year old lefty reliever Raul Valdes has elected to become a minor league free agent. Valdes pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He pitched in 13 games (0 starts) overall last year for the Cardinals & Yankees and he was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Valdes has now pitched in 51 games (1 start) in his first two years in the majors and he is 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.58 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He will likely have little problem finding a new job, but the Yankees won’t miss him.

The Yankees have lost 26-year old lefty reliever Aaron Laffey on waivers to the Royals. Laffey pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He pitched in 47 games (0 starts) overall for the Mariners & Yankees last year and he was 3-2 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. The Yankees won’t miss Laffey as they are looking to add a big time lefty reliever either in free agency or a deal.

The New York Yankees finished with the best record in the American League during the regular season as they were 97-65, which had them six games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. The season ended with a thud in the playoffs, so overall it was a disappointing year for the Yankees as they consider it a failure when they don’t win the World Series. Here is a look at the things that stood out to be in the regular season about the Yankees:

TEAM MVP: 30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson was the MVP of the Yankees in 2011. He played in 156 games for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 153 for 583 (.262 avg, .916 OPS) with 136 runs scored, 41 homers, 119 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Granderson led the majors in runs scored and the A.L. in RBIs in 2011. He also walked 85 times and whiffed 169 times in 2011.

BEST PITCHER: 41-year old righty closer Mariano Rivera became Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in saves in 2011. He pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 4-0 with 44 saves, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He only gave up 47 hits in 61 1/3 innings while whiffing 60 batters and walking only 8.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 26-year old righty reliever David Robertson worked in 70 games (0 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 4-0 with 1 save, a 1.08 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He only gave up 40 hits while whiffing 100 batters in only 66 2/3 innings in 2011!

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 25-year old righty starting pitcher Phil Hughes was counted on to be the Yankees’ #2 starter in 2011. He couldn’t handle the job as he had a “dead arm” at the outset of the 2011 season. Hughes pitched in 17 games (14 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 5-5 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He gave up 84 hits while only whiffing 47 batters in 74 2/3 innings in 2011 and those are lousy numbers for a guy with an arm like he has.

The Yankees paid 3B Alex Rodriguez ($31,000,000) and lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia ($23,000,000) in 2011. In the playoffs, A-Rod and Sabathia were two of the biggest reasons that the Yankees will be watching the A.L.C.S. on T.V. Alex Rodriguez played in all 5 games for the Yankees in the A.L.D.S. and he was 2 for 18 (.111 avg, .372 OPS) with 1 run scored, 3 RBIs, no extra base hits and 6 whiffs! He looked like he had big hole in the sweet spot of his bat against the Tigers. C.C. Sabathia was pitching batting practice against the Tigers. He worked in 3 games (2 starts) against the Tigers in the A.L.D.S. and he was 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. He gave up 10 hits and 8 walks in only 8 2/3 innings in this series. These two guys are the polar opposite of clutch.

The Yankees had a lot of chances, especially late in this game to take the lead….but they never did. Robinson Cano had another very solid game for the Yankees last night as he was 2 for 5 with a solo homer. Jorge Posada (2 for 4), Brett Gardner (2 for 4) and Mark Teixeira (1 for 3 with a walk, double and a RBI) also had decent games for the Yankees last night with the bats. Ivan Nova just didn’t have it before leaving the game with a minor injury. He worked the first two innings allowing 3 hits and 2 earned runs while whiffing 3 batters and walking none. He was the losing pitcher. Phil Hughes & Boone Logan combined to work two scoreless innings in which they whiffed 3 batters. C.C. Sabathia was the next pitcher up and he was lousy again. He worked 1 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 run (earned) while walking 2 batters and whiffing 4. Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera combined to work 3 2/3 shutout innings to end this game and gave the Yankees a chance to come back, which they didn’t. The Yankees’ season is now over as the Tigers beat them 3-2.

The Yankees were in command of this game most of the way behind A.J. Burnett’s solid pitching and the hitting. The hitting was spread out as a lot of Yankees’ hitters had good games last night. Alex Rodriguez (2 for 4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI), Russell Martin (2 for 4 with 2 runs scored) and Brett Gardner (2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI) led the way for the Yankees in this game. Derek Jeter (1 for 4 with 1 run scored, 1 double and 2 RBIs), Robinson Cano (1 for 4 with 2 RBIs) and Jesus Montero (2 for 2 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI) also pitched in with big games for the Yankees. A.J. Burnett might have pitched his best game of the year last night after having trouble in the first inning. He worked 5 2/3 innings allowing 4 hits, walking 4 batters and he gave up 1 run (it was earned). Burnett also struck out 3 batters and he earned a win in the most important game of the year to date for the Yankees. Rafael Soriano, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan combined to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless, walkless innings while whiffing 6 batters to finish off this game. The Yankees have tied this series at 2 games apiece with Game #5 at Yankee Stadium on Thursday Night.