"It's time to start scoping out all our needs, period," Cashman said at the general managers' meetings. "And third base is one of them. That's not going to develop all that quickly."

For starters, that means that Joe Crede very likely won't be replacing A-Rod. The Chicago White Sox have resolved to deal Crede soon, and the Yankees are aiming higher than Crede, according to an official familiar with the Yankees' thinking.

The Yankees have targeted free agent Mike Lowell and, as trade possibilities, the Seattle Mariners' Adrian Beltre and the Florida Marlins' Miguel Cabrera.

None will come cheaply. Lowell, 33, will cost only money, but his home-road splits in 2007 set off a warning flare. Lowell had a .418 on-base percentage and .575 slugging percentage at Fenway Park and a .339 on-base percentage and .428 slugging percentage on the road.

Beltre, 28, hasn't approached his 2004 numbers (48 home runs, .629 slugging percentage) that prompted the Mariners to give him a five-year, $64 million deal, but he hits with some power and fields his position well. He has two years and $24 million left on his deal, although he has a limited no-trade clause that could complicate matters.

Cabrera, 24, will be shopped because of the Marlins' need to cut payroll; Cabrera could earn $10 million through arbitration in 2008. While he has concerned the baseball industry by not controlling his weight, he still possesses massive talent. He played for new Yankees manager Joe Girardi with the 2006 Marlins.