SAN DIEGO -- One week before boarding his flight to San Diego, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman cautioned that it would be difficult to improve upon a team that won 103 regular-season games and celebrated its first American League East title in seven years.

Then they did it, departing the Winter Meetings as World Series favorites.

The Yankees dominated the week at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, landing their top offseason target in right-hander Gerrit Cole by agreeing to a nine-year, $324 million deal, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, late on Tuesday. Before turning in their hotel room keys, the Bombers checked off another item on the to-do list: re-signing outfielder Brett Gardner to a one-year, $12.5 million pact, a source told MLB.com, with a club option for 2021.

"I told you that we were going to put forward a championship-caliber effort, and we're trying to be true to our word on that," Cashman said. "When we get through everything and our guys start to report to Spring Training, hopefully we will feel a lot better about where we happen to be, compared to where we were."

Cole's deal will not be official until he undergoes a physical, and the Yankees are planning to introduce the 29-year-old ace at a Yankee Stadium press conference next week. The remaining weeks of the winter project will be filled by efforts to shop left-hander J.A. Happ, add depth and tweak on the margins, with team brass secure in the knowledge that the heavy lifting has already been completed.

"We feel good," assistant general manager Michael Fishman said. "We came into the offseason in a pretty good spot with the roster and had some good conversations and progress on number of things here. I feel like we're in a good position heading into the rest of the offseason."

Biggest remaining needs

1. Shortstop: With Didi Gregorius joining former manager Joe Girardi and his Phillies, the shortstop position appears to be Gleyber Torres' to lose. Based upon Torres' success in the early part of the 2019 season, the Yankees are confident in the 23-year-old Torres' ability to handle the position full-time, but they would like to add an experienced backup. Otherwise, Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade could be contributors.

2. Catcher: Austin Romine reportedly signed with the Tigers on Thursday, confirming a departure that had been largely expected. Cashman said that he is comfortable anointing Kyle Higashioka as the backup to Gary Sánchez, but the Yankees have expressed interest in free agent Martín Maldonado, who caught Cole's last 10 starts of the regular season with the Astros. In those games, Cole had a 1.57 ERA and .471 opponent OPS.

3. Relief pitching: With a Dellin Betances reunion appearing questionable, the Yankees have shown interest in upgrading a bullpen that they again project to be one of the strongest in the league, especially after extending Aroldis Chapman's contract in November. New York is known to have checked in on Brewers left-hander Josh Hader and Royals left-hander Tim Hill as potential trade targets.

Rule 5 Draft

The Tigers used the first selection of the Rule 5 Draft to grab right-hander Rony Garcia from the Yankees' Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster.

Garcia, who turns 22 on Dec. 19, was a combined 4-13 with a 4.01 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) for Class A Advanced Tampa and Double-A Trenton this past season. In 130 1/3 innings, he permitted 115 hits and 63 runs (58 earned), walking 45 against 129 strikeouts.

In the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft, four Yankees farmhands were selected: right-hander Hobie Harris (Blue Jays), right-hander Will Carter (White Sox), right-hander Raynel Espinal (Red Sox) and infielder Wendell Rijo (Braves).

GM's bottom line

"We are using every tool in the toolbox, not just the big hammer. But it does not mean the big hammer is not available.'' -- Cashman