TUESDAY, 7:10am: Sherman calls Pettitte the "linchpin" of the Yankees whole offseason. Sherman feels signing Pettitte removes pressure to pursue Lackey or Halladay, which allows the Yankees to focus on adding an arm such as Harden, Duchscherer, etc. From there, the Yanks can address the Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui issue, and decide if they'd like to retain one of the two or step up pursuits of Curtis Granderson or sign Mike Cameron.
Sherman suggests an $11MM base salary plus $3MM worth of incentives as a suitable offer.
MONDAY, 12:36pm: Olney expects the offer to Pettitte to be $11MM+.
10:47am: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has a source saying no official offer has been made to Pettitte, but a contract north of $10MM will be proposed today.
8:46am: Talks between the Yanks and Pettitte are expected to pick up this week, with Sherman and Jon Heyman both expecting an offer exceeding $10MM.
6:27am: Buster Olney tweets that Pettitte has "for sure decided to pitch again in 2010," and that not surprisingly, his preference is the Yankees.
6:05am: Joel Sherman reports that Andy Pettitte has turned down a one-year deal from the Yankees, believed to be in the $10MM range, which is roughly what Pettitte earned last year through base salary and performance incentives.
Pettitte posted a 4.16 ERA through 194.2 innings, striking out 148 and walking 76. The Yankees have previously stated that Pettitte is their top priority this offseason.
Sherman cites an NL executive who is confident that a deal will still be reached between both sides, saying that Pettitte wants to return to the Bronx. According to Sherman, if Pettitte returns, the Yankees are unlikely to pursue John Lackey, but could be inclined to roll the dice on a high-upside reclamation project such as Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, or Rich Harden.
At that point, says Sherman, the only other potential target would be Roy Halladay. That, however, will depend on the number of prospects desired by Alex Anthopolous, whether or not Halladay will require an extension, whether or not the Yankees really have a budget, and if Brian Cashman is even genuinely interested or just trying to drive up the price for other bidders.
What type of deal will it take to bring Pettitte back to the Bronx, and more importantly, is he worth more than the rejected $10MM that the Yankees reportedly offered?
