Yankees Rumors: Soriano, Hall, Garcia, Joba

We found out lots about the Bronx Bombers' search for pitching yesterday: it seems likely that Andy Pettitte will return to the Yankees, they don't like Brandon Webb that much and they're looking at left-handed relievers. We've since learned that they're making progress with Pedro Feliciano and that deals for Carlos Zambrano or Felix Hernandez seem unlikely at best. Here's the latest on their pitching hunt, plus news on a position player:

• The Yankees are not in on Rafael Soriano, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). They aren't anxious to pay closer money for a pitcher who will set up for Mariano Rivera. ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees that the Yankees are not in on Soriano (Twitter link).
• The Yankees and Dodgers are the "most aggressive" of the four teams interested in Bill Hall, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  We heard about the Yankees' interest in Hall last month, and the Astros and Pirates are probably the other two clubs in the hunt.
• The Yanks have asked for the medicals on Freddy Garcia, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
• In spite of the club's lack of rotation depth, Brian Cashman tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that Joba Chamberlain will remain in the bullpen.
• In another piece from Alden Gonzalez, Mariano Rivera says that the Red Sox did pursue him this offseason, but he can't really imagine pitching for Boston.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post