By most accounts the best remaining free-agent starting pitcher is Justin Duchscherer, formerly of Oakland. The New York Yankees have been interested as they seek some rotation depth, but it looks like Duchscherer will go elsewhere.
A report this afternoon indicated that Duchscherer has narrowed his choices to the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals. For Duchscherer that probably makes sense. The Yankees would offer him a chance to compete for a starting job. Those teams can probably pretty much guarantee him one, provided he is healthy.
There isn’t a whole lot left on the free-agent market. The Yankees recently signed ex-AL CXy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon to compete for a spot. Maybe veteran Freddy Garcia is next.
One name I have not heard connected with the Yankees is former Met John Maine, who is still looking for a job after being non-tendered by the Mets following the 2010 season.
Maine had shoulder surgery in July and pitched only 39.2 innings for the Mets last season. His best season was 2007, when he went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA for the Mets. At this point, maybe the Yankees should consider him.