When the New York Yankees acquired free-agent pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira during a $423 million shopping spree last winter, many baseball pundits proclaimed "They just bought themselves a championship."

That prediction came true Wednesday night, when the Yankees defeated Philadelphia, 7-3, to capture their 27th World Series title.

As Yankees employees squeegee champagne from the clubhouse carpet and plan the parade down the Canyon of Heroes, the rest of the clubs in the major leagues -- including the Brewers -- will emerge from their strategy sessions and begin implementing their plans for the off-season.

Like most of his counterparts, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin will first address the future of their own free agents. Now that the Series is over, clubs have an exclusive 15-day window to negotiate with their free agents.

The Brewers, who signed closer Trevor Hoffman immediately after the season, will have to decide whether to retain centerfielder Mike Cameron ($10.7 million in '09, age 37 next year), catcher Jason Kendall ($5 million, age 36) as well as second baseman Felipe Lopez, infielder Craig Counsell and outfielders Frank Catalanotto and Corey Patterson.

The Brewers must decide whether to exercise their $3.7 million option on veteran reliever David Weathers and a $6.5 million option on starting pitcher Braden Looper, whose option is mutual, which means he can opt for free agency and seek a multiyear deal.

Though there will be less urgency, the Brewers must deal with a handful of arbitration-eligible players, including pitchers Dave Bush, Todd Coffey, Seth McClung and Carlos Villanueva, catcher Mike Rivera, infielders J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks and outfielders Corey Hart and Jody Gerut.

Next week, Melvin will attend the general managers meetings, which will conveniently be held at the O'Hare Hilton in Chicago, where he owns a condo.

At the GM meetings, Melvin will likely lay the groundwork for possible trades. The Brewers are looking to add two starting pitchers to their roster, and a relatively shallow pool of free agents (Randy Wolf, Joel Piñeiro, Jon Garland, Jason Marquis, Doug Davis, Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard) makes it likely that a trade will be necessary. Hardy, Hart and prospect Mat Gamel have been mentioned as candidates for a trade, but the Brewers likely will listen to offers for any players on the roster other than Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Yovani Gallardo, Hoffman and shortstop Alcides Escobar.

Though rumors will be rampant, the Brewers and other clubs likely won't make big deals until the winter meetings next month in Indianapolis. The Brewers might not even be done dealing before their "On Deck" event in January.

This week, the Brewers' big announcement was that pitching coach Rich Gale will work with Class AAA Nashville, where he replaces Chris Bosio, who became an advance scout.

BREWERS SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE
(All games at 2 p.m., except as noted)
Thursday, March 4 at Giants, in Scottsdale
Friday, March 5 at Athletics, in Phoenix
Saturday, March 6, split-squad, vs. Giants
Saturday, March 6, split-squad, at Rockies, in Tucson
Sunday, March 7 vs. Reds
Monday, March 8 vs. Mariners
Tuesday, March 9, at Cubs, in Mesa
Wednesday, March 10, at Padres, in Peoria
Thursday, March 11, vs. Athletics
Friday, March 12, vs. Cubs
Saturday, March 13, split-squad, vs. Rockies
Saturday, March 13, split-squad, at White Sox, in Glendale
Sunday, March 14, at Giants, in Scottsdale
Monday, March 15, vs. Indians
Tuesday, March 16, at Royals, in Surprise
Wednesday, March 17, at Reds, in Goodyear
Thursday, March 18, at Rangers, in Surprise, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 19, vs. Angels
Saturday, March 20, vs. Royals
Sunday, March 21, vs. White Sox
Monday, March 22, vs. Dodgers
Tuesday, March 23, at Indians, in Goodyear
Thursday, March 25, at Dodgers, in Glendale
Friday, March 26, vs. Padres
Saturday, March 27, vs. Rangers
Sunday, March 28, at Diamondbacks, in Tucson
Monday, March 29, vs. Giants
Tuesday, March 30, at Angels, in Tempe
Wednesday, March 31, vs. Cubs
Thursday, April 1, vs. Diamondbacks
Friday, April 2 , vs. Tigers at Miller Park, 7:10 p.m.
Saturday, April 3, vs. Tigers at Miller Park, 1:10 p.m.