New York Yankees news, rumors: Russell Martin, Andy Pettitte and more

Who the heck is going to catch for the New York Yankees next season? Most experts seem to believe that sooner or later the Yankees will re-sign free-agent catcher Russell Martin. Word has filtered out, though, that the Yankees have yet to make Martin an offer.

That's no way to show the guy you want him back. So, what gives? The Yankees have a cast of a thousand light-hitting backup catchers with Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Austin Rome and Eli Whiteside. They have a young potential future star in Gary Sanchez. They have no one to catch every day next season, though.

What is going on here?

Here are a few other Yankees' stories making news the day after Thanksgiving.

Andy Pettitte expected to make decision on 2013 by the end of next week | HardballTalk
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com was told by a friend of Pettitte that he expects the veteran southpaw to make a decision on his status for 2013 by the end of next week. Pettitte’s "friend" could just be speculating, so take it for what it’s worth, but the timing makes some sense. While most expect Pettitte will return for another season, the Yankees would probably appreciate hearing some definitive word before the Winter Meetings begin on December 3.

Pineda watch | The Lohud Yankees Blog
He came to town within the last two weeks for a routine follow-up with Dr. Chris Ahmad, the Yankees’ physician, and Dr. David Altchek, the Mets’ physician who operated on Pineda. He threw at Yankee Stadium on flat ground, his program for about two months.

"He looked good," Brian Cashman said. "He’s throwing on flat ground at 90 feet, so I don’t want to get …

"All I can report is his arm was working very well, very healthy, very loose. He had zip on it. He’s in great physical shape in terms of body weight.

"He’s not going to be a choice in game action until probably sometime in May or June. Whether it’s majors or minors, who’s to say? We’ve got him to the side. … We certainly have high hopes for him, but in terms of planning and counting on him, it’s in everybody’s interest not to do that right now and just put together as deep and strong a staff as possible and be pleasantly surprised and appreciative if we can welcome him back to the fold at some point.

"But that’s all for another day. He’s got a lot more hurdles in the rehab process to clear."

Olney On Giants, Angels, Hamilton, Soriano: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Rival executives expect Scott Boras to try to engage the Tigers on Rafael Soriano, according to Olney. However, the Tigers have suggested they’d prefer to rely on internal options instead of spending big on a closer.