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Yankees Remain In Contact With Kevin Millwood

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The Yankees have added Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in the last week, but the team is still in contact with Kevin Millwood, reports Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  It could be that the Yankees just want to give themselves as many veteran starting options as they can, or, as Heyman opines, "they're growing more worried" that Andy Pettitte will retire.  Pettitte's retirement would leave the Bombers with two open rotation spots that would be contested between Colon, Garcia, Sergio Mitre, Andrew Brackman, Ivan Nova and potentially Millwood.

Besides the Yankees, the Orioles, Royals and Indians have also been recently connected to Millwood.  Like Baltimore, New York wouldn't be able to guarantee Millwood a rotation spot, but it's possible Millwood would take the risk for a chance to pitch for a contending team.

Yankees Designate Jordan Parraz For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they designated outfielder Jordan Parraz for assignment. They acquired Justin Maxwell from the Nationals in a related move, and needed to create 40-man roster space for Maxwell.

It's been a transaction-filled winter for Parraz. The Yankees claimed him off of waivers from the Red Sox, who had claimed him from the Royals earlier in the offseason. The 26-year-old spent last year at Triple-A Omaha, where he posted a .266/.350/.410 line with 39 extra base hits while playing right field. He has an .814 OPS in parts of seven minor league seasons, but has yet to reach the majors.

Yankees Acquire Justin Maxwell

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The Yankees announced that they have acquired Justin Maxwell from the Nationals for minor league right-hander Adam Olbrychowski. When Washington had to clear roster space last week, they designated Maxwell for assignment.

Other than their four primary outfielders – Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones – the Yankees don't have a ton of outfield depth. Maxwell will provide manager Joe Girardi with an alternative to Colin Curtis, Greg Golson and Jordan Parraz.

Maxwell has a .201/.319/.379 line in 260 big league plate appearances and a .261/.357/.442 line in 1778 minor league plate appearances. The 27-year-old has shown speed on the basepaths and the ability to play all three outfield positions.

Olbrychowski reached Double-A last year in his fourth professional season. The 24-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 67 innings at Class A and Double-A last year, working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.

Heyman On Lee, Cabrera, Wells, Pujols, Hamilton

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Owner Chuck Greenberg and the Rangers were slower to offer Cliff Lee a competitive deal than other interested clubs, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Lee's camp wanted to keep the Rangers involved in the bidding, though they started with a 'lowball' offer before offering $100MM and, eventually, even more. The Rangers justified their lower offers by pointing out that Texas has no state income tax, but Lee asked around and determined that he wouldn't save that much, since he lives in Arkansas.

Talks between Lee and the Phillies broke off twice before the sides reached an agreement. If the Phillies hadn't completed the deal, the Yankees would have been seen as the favorites to sign the lefty, according to Heyman. Here are the rest of his rumors:

  • One GM says Orlando Cabrera isn't being reasonable. "I don't think he gets the position he's in," the GM said, alluding to the lack of job openings remaining for the shortstop.
  • The Rangers didn't show serious interest in Vernon Wells, according to Heyman.
  • Executives around the game believe that Albert Pujols will sign an extension with the Cardinals. If the sides don't reach a deal by Spring Training, Pujols will be a free agent after the season, in which case the Cubs may be "best positioned" to pursue him, in the opinion of one executive.
  • The Angels are still interested in signing or trading for a leadoff hitter. Scott Podsednik is out there, and could be a fit in L.A.
  • One executive believes the Rangers will lose to Josh Hamilton if the sides go to an arbitration hearing. Heyman hears that the Rangers won't bring up Hamilton's history of substance abuse in a hearing. Keep track of all the remaining arbitration cases using our Arb Tracker.

New York Notes: Beltran, Garcia, Pettitte

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The Angels considered the possibility of trading for Carlos Beltran before they acquired Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details on the Angels' interest in Beltran and other notes from New York City:

  • Sherman hears that the Mets and Angels discussed Beltran, but the Angels preferred Wells despite the $86MM remaining on his contract. The Angels had more confidence in Wells' health and defense.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Sherman that he doesn't want to have to rely on pitching prospects Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances in the majors this season. “They shouldn’t be caught up in our major league problems,” Cashman said. But as Sherman points out, the Yankees have summoned prospects like Phil Hughes to the majors earlier than expected; once the season starts, it's tough to predict what will happen.
  • In conversations with Yankees people, Sherman never got the impression that they liked Freddy Garcia that much. The team agreed to a minor league deal with Garcia Monday.
  • There's "a pretty good likelihood" that Andy Pettitte returns and the Yankees trade for a starter during Spring Training, Sherman writes.

New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Pitching

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Let's check out a few items concerning the Yankees and Mets..

  • Yankees people continue to hear from friends of Andy Pettitte that they think the 38-year-old will pitch this year, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Of course, there's still no word from Pettitte himself on the matter.
  • As expected, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and team president Saul Katz met with commissioner Bud Selig today to talk about the team's finances, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  On Friday the club announced that they are looking to sell 20 to 25 percent of the team in order to give themselves a cushion against any settlement that comes from the Bernie Madoff case.
  • Mike Piazza, who earned more than $120MM over the course of his major league career, says he isn't interested in buying a share of the club right now, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Nick Swisher isn't concerned about the Yankees' pitching woes, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.

Yankees Reach Agreement With Freddy Garcia

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The Yankees have agreed to sign Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).  The deal will pay Garcia $1.5MM if he makes the Major League roster, and the total value of the contract could be worth $5.1MM if Garcia reaches all his start-based incentive plateaus, up to 30 starts.  Garcia is represented by Peter Greenberg.

Garcia, 35, expressed his preference to pitch for the Yankees earlier this week, saying it would be "an inspiration" to pitch in the pressurized environments of both New York and the AL East.  The Mets, Orioles and White Sox all showed some degree of interest in Garcia this winter, though Garcia ruled out a return to Chicago earlier today.

The veteran right-hander posted a 4.64 ERA, 1.98 K/BB ratio and a 40.7% ground ball rate in 28 starts with the White Sox last season.  Garcia threw 157 Major League innings in 2010 — he pitched in just 129 innings combined over the prior three seasons due to nagging shoulder injuries.

Garcia joins the likes of Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman, Sergio Mitre and even Mark Prior in the battle for the final two starting spots in the Yankee rotation.  This competition could be limited to just the number five spot, of course, should Andy Pettitte announce his return.

Garcia: Not Returning To Chicago

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Freddy Garcia continues to indicate that he'd prefer to spend 2011 playing outside of Chicago, despite recent reports that the White Sox are still considering him. Last Wednesday, he stated his goal to pitch for the Yankees this season, while not explictly ruling out out Chicago or any other team. But in a recent interview with Leonardo Mendoza and Francisco Zambrano from the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes (link in Spanish), Garcia seemed ready to say goodbye to the South Side:

"I would love to stay in Chicago because I like the city and I have friends here, but I don't think I'm going to come back," Garcia said. "In any case, I appreciate them for trusting me last year; however, a team like New York would be ideal, and would match up with this stage of my career."

Were he to head East, Garcia would presumably slot behind Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation, leaving the fifth spot open for contention among a group including rookies Ivan Nova and Andrew Brackman and veterans Bartolo Colon and Sergio Mitre. With Andy Pettitte's return far from a sure thing, and Joba Chamberlain looking more like a trade chip than a starter, a healthy Garcia could help the Yankees buy time in the short term to continue weighing their long-term options.

New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Collins, Crawford

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The Yankees would like a certain left-handed starter and the Mets are looking for the right minority owner. Here's the latest on baseball's two New York teams:

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Andy Pettitte will demand more than Hiroki Kuroda money ($12MM) from the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers are reportedly set to offer the left-hander $12MM to play another season.
  • Martin Luther King III told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has interest in advancing "the vision of a more diverse ownership group in professional sports."
  • Mets owner Fred Wilpon "is expected" to meet with commissioner Bud Selig in New York tomorrow, according to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News.
  • A number of baseball officials tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Wilpons are "delusional" if they expect to sell just part of the franchise without losing operating power.
  • Sherman suggests the success of the upcoming Mets season depends on how well their expensive players produce or how much they bring in July trades.
  • Sherman writes that Mets manager Terry Collins does not appear to have the same 'gravitas' as Bobby Cox, or even Joe Girardi.
  • Carl Crawford's deal does not prevent a team from acquiring the left fielder and flipping him to the Yankees, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Crawford can block trades to two teams thanks to the no-trade protection in his contract.

AL East Notes: Scott, Chavez, Pettitte, Rays

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Last season, the AL East produced two 95-win teams and two more who won at least 85 games. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the division has seen recent success off the field as well as on it. Three AL East teams – the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays – rank among the top five in Sherman's list of baseball's best offseasons. Here are a few other division-related items:

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