"Obviously, you would be very interested because he is such a great young player," new Manager Joe Girardi said at yesterday's general managers' meetings, according to the New York Post. "But everything has to come at the right price."

About that price ...

Yankee GM Brian Cashman reiterated yesterday that he has every intention of keeping his young, high-ceiling starting pitchers — Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Given the widespread interest in Cabrera — the Red Sox, Dodgers and Angels also need a third baseman — the Yankees would likely have to include either Chamberlain or Hughes, as well as Melky Cabrera, in a Miguel Cabrera deal.

"I would be hard-pressed to trade our young talent," Cashman said, when asked about Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy. "We've done a lot of work to try to grow this thing and put us on a new course, and some of those names you mentioned are a big part of that.

" ... No one is untouchable, but some guys are less touchable than others. And certainly those guys fall in that category. There's no doubt about that. I will be looking to build around them and grow them. This organization will be tested a lot on that. We'll see how they work out."

The chances of the Yankees landing Miguel Cabrera, therefore, are remote, and they have only slight interest in Joe Crede of the White Sox; they don't intend to trade Johnny Damon for Crede, contrary to some reports.

They're going to try to sign free agent Mike Lowell, who grew up in the Yankees' farm system; new Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson managed Lowell in the Yankees' minor leagues. The Red Sox want to re-sign Lowell, the 2007 World Series Most Valuable Player.

Seattle's Adrian Beltre and St. Louis' Scott Rolen are potential trade targets; Beltre would cost significant talent, and a Rolen trade would represent a salary dump by the Cardinals. Rolen will make $12 million each of the next three seasons, and he has a poor relationship with manager Tony La Russa.

If the price for Cabrera somehow falls, then Girardi would love to manage him again. Cabrera played for Girardi's 2006 Marlins and had a .430 on-base percentage and .568 slugging percentage.

"He's a great player," Girardi said. "He really understands the game of baseball. I loved having him ... I was impressed with how mature he was as a hitter, and he didn't hit in a great hitter's ballpark (Dolphin Stadium)."