Andy Pettitte Rumors
AL East Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Ishikawa
While the Blue Jays may be the only AL East team currently under .500, the club is 7-3 in their past 10 games, and injured shortstop Jose Reyes may return sooner than expected. The club was a major mover last offseason, but additions such as Reyes, R.A. Dickey, and Josh Johnson have been unable to provide much of an impact. Here is a look at today's news out of the ultra-competitive American League East..
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com notes that the Yankees now have players making a total of $97MM currently on their disabled list. Andy Pettitte became the latest high-priced Yankee to head to the DL, as Vidal Nuno will be promoted in his place.
- Travis Ishikawa has extended the opt-out in his contract with the Orioles, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 29-year-old first baseman is currently batting .304/.383/.504 over 154 PA with Triple-A Norfolk.
Quick Hits: Pettitte, Murphy, Soriano, Greinke
Cesar Carrillo, a right-handed pitcher in the Tigers system, became the first player listed in the Biogenesis documents to be suspended, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (twitter link). As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and others have noted, MLB has "greater jurisdiction over minor leaguers like Carrillo than major leaguers who are protected by the players' union." Here are some other notes from around the majors:
- Mariano Rivera's retirement plans have fellow Yankee stalwart Andy Pettitte wondering how and when to end his own "long, strange journey," as Daniel Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal describes it. Pettitte sees some merit to ending his career around the same time as those of his long-time teammates, but does not want to "stop playing until I know that I'm done."
- Outfielder David Murphy is still waiting to work out a long-term extension with the Rangers after discussing that possibility with the club earlier in the offseason, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. While Murphy reiterated that he wants to remain a Ranger and has no hard feelings for the lack of progress towards a deal, he added that free agency is a "privilege" and that "waiting another year is not going to kill me."
- While the Cubs "feel the presence of teams watching Alfonso Soriano," nevertheless "no substantive talks have taken place yet," tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. Cafardo mentions the Phillies and Yankees as teams that are "on [the] radar" for a possible Soriano deal.
- With Zack Greinke still dealing with elbow issues, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly indicated that the right-handed starter is facing an ever-narrowing window to be ready for the start of the regular season, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. As has previously been noted, Greinke's timeline could impact the availability of the Dodgers' excess starting pitching options, such as Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang.
Quick Hits: Indians, Yankees, Bailey
The latest links from around MLB...
- The Indians are getting calls on Michael Brantley and Drew Stubbs following their four-year deal with Michael Bourn, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Though the Indians currently plan to keep both Brantley and Stubbs, some people suspect Stubbs will be dealt.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka said part of the reason he signed with the Indians was the chance to compete against his former team, the Red Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
- Andrew Bailey told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he loves playing with the Red Sox, even if he's not the team's closer.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi isn't sure if Andy Pettitte will retire after 2013, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter links). "I think Andy still loves to compete," Girardi said, acknowledging that it’ll ultimately be up to the left-hander himself. Pettitte will celebrate his 41st birthday this summer and while he doesn’t seem ready to retire, he said he doesn’t intend to decide until after the 2013 season.
- Mariano Rivera said he has decided whether 2013 will be his final season, according to Curry (Twitter links). The Yankees closer won’t reveal his decision just yet, but will do so before the regular season begins.
- Homer Bailey said he and the Reds would prefer to avoid an arbitration hearing if possible, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. “It’s kind of a slow process. We’ll see how it goes and go from there,” Bailey said. The right-hander has a hearing scheduled for Monday after filing for $5.8MM. The Reds, who recently avoided arbitration with Mat Latos and Shin-Soo Choo, offered $4.75MM.
Olney On Upton, Pettitte, Wright
The center field market will be shaped in part by B.J. Upton’s deal with Atlanta, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wrote today. Here are more notes from Olney’s column, starting with Upton...
- The Braves signed Upton to a franchise record five-year, $75.25MM contract despite some warning signs that other organizations had identified, Olney writes. Upton has a declining on-base percentage and a bat that can be inconsistent. However, one of Olney's sources praised the deal. "He is the most talented player in the free agent market and somebody I think will age well," the person said.
- The conversations about a 2013 contract between the Yankees and Andy Pettitte started at the GM Meetings earlier this month, agent Jim Murray told Olney. “We worked on it between then and now, talking fairly frequently," Murray said. Pettitte signed a one-year, $12MM contract yesterday.
- Agents and executives agree that David Wright will take the Mets’ extension offer, Olney reports. It would be difficult to decline such a proposal, since there’s no guarantee he’d have similar long-term offers a year from now. MLBTR rounded up the latest on Wright earlier today. It appears the Mets have offered him $124MM for seven seasons starting in 2014.
Yankees To Sign Andy Pettitte
The Yankees announced that they have signed Andy Pettitte to a one-year, Major League contract. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, who first reported the deal, adds that it's worth $12MM (on Twitter). The contract also includes $2.5MM in awards bonuses according to Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News (on Twitter). Excel Sports Management now represents the 40-year-old left-hander.
Pettitte pitched well in 12 regular season starts this past season before making two quality starts in the postseason. He posted a 2.87 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 56.3% ground ball rate in 75 1/3 regular season innings in 2012, while earning $2.5MM.
The Yankees' rotation now looks considerably stronger than it did earlier in the month. They recently signed Hiroki Kuroda, who joins C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova in the team's rotation. David Phelps and even Michael Pineda could also contribute as starters.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney first reported the sides were nearing a deal. Mike Axisa contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Yankees, Andy Pettitte Nearing Deal
7:28pm: Pettitte has committed to playing next year but no deal has been reached yet between the pitcher and the Yankees, a source told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
7:20am: Andy Pettitte is close to formally announcing he's going to pitch again in 2013, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports. Furthermore, the free agent left-hander is close to finishing a new contract with the Yankees, according to Olney. The deal is expected to be worth a bit more than $10MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests the deal will likely be for $10-11MM (Twitter link).
Pettitte, who is now represented by Excel Sports Management, pitched well in 12 regular season starts this past season before making two quality starts in the postseason. He posted a 2.87 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 56.3% ground ball rate in 75 1/3 regular season innings in 2012, while earning $2.5MM.
If the Yankees complete a deal with Pettitte, their rotation will look considerably stronger than it did earlier in the month. They have also signed Hiroki Kuroda, who joins C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova in the team's rotation. David Phelps and even Michael Pineda could also contribute as starters.
East Links: Pettitte, Yankees, Upton
Rosters and Rumblings, a new podcast featuring MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts, debuted today. Check out the inaugural episode for discussion of Evan Longoria’s new deal, Jonathan Broxton’s contract talks with the Reds and B.J. Upton’s impact on the NL East. Speaking of the baseball's eastern divisions, here are some links...
- Andy Pettitte still hasn't divulged whether or not he'll pitch in 2013, but he told Jack Curry of the YES Network via text message that a decision was coming soon (Twitter link). Curry adds that he thinks Pettitte will return to pitch for the Yankees.
- The Yankees have hired former Major League manager and Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin as a scout, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- B.J. Upton's interest in the Braves "seemed to soar" following his meeting with GM Frank Wren, manager Fredi Gonzalez and future Hall of Famer Bobby Cox two weeks ago, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
Latest On Andy Pettitte
A friend of Andy Pettitte's told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that he expects the left-hander to decide on his plans for 2013 by the end of next week (Twitter link). The Yankees have yet to offer Pettitte a contract, but they remain interested in bringing him back as a member of their 2013 rotation.
Earlier this week Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that the Yankees expect Pettitte to return for another season. However, the 40-year-old will likely seek a raise from his 2012 salary of $2.5MM. Pettitte, who is now represented by Excel Sports Management, pitched well in 12 regular season starts this past season before making two quality starts in the postseason. He posted a 2.87 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 75 1/3 regular season innings in 2012.
AL East Notes: Robinson, Martin, Yankees
On this date in 1957, Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle won the AL MVP, narrowly edging out Ted Williams of the Red Sox for the award. Williams had superior numbers on a per at bat basis, but Mantle played in more games, had more wins above replacement and the Yankees won the pennant. Here are today's AL East links...
- The Orioles acquired Trayvon Robinson for Robert Andino because Robinson is more affordable and the O's already have lots of options at second base, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes. However, if the out of options Robinson doesn't make the team out of Spring Training, expect executive VP Dan Duquette to move on.
- The Yankees haven't made Russell Martin a contract offer yet, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. In fact the Yankees haven't made offers to any free agents, including Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. King's sources suggest Martin can command three years at $8-10MM per season as a free agent.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney discussed the Orioles and Red Sox earlier today. Here’s MLBTR’s look at the highlights from Olney’s piece.
- You can read about the offseason outlook for each AL East team here.
Olney On Guthrie, Royals, Pettitte
While Jeremy Guthrie’s three-year, $25MM contract prompted some to question the Royals, the deal was considered fair in front offices of some other teams, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. Some executives think of the contract as reasonable given Guthrie’s durability at the MLB level. Here are more notes from Olney...
- The Royals will continue seeking starting pitching, even after adding Guthrie and Ervin Santana, Olney writes. They could trade minor leaguers to add to the MLB rotation.
- Royals officials still view the club as a work in progress, but rival evaluators are intrigued by their talent. "They're a team to watch," an AL GM told Olney. The team’s young bullpen draws especially strong reviews, Olney writes.
- The Yankees believe that the return of Hiroki Kuroda increases the chances Andy Pettitte will decide to pitch for another season, Olney reports. The Yankees signed Kuroda to a one-year, $15MM contract yesterday.
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