SB Nation New York - Yankees News & Rumors: Freddy Garcia Signed To Compete For Spot In Rotationhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48977/ny-fave.png2011-02-02T17:01:30-05:00http://newyork.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16459332011-02-02T17:01:30-05:002011-02-02T17:01:30-05:00Yankees Acquire Outfielder Justin Maxwell
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> have acquired outfielder <span>Justin Maxwell</span> from the Washington Nationals<a href="http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110202&content_id=16556000&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy" target="new"> in a trade</a> for minor-league pitcher Adam Adam Olbrychowski.</p>
<p>From the release:</p>
<p>Maxwell, 27, batted .144 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 67 games for Washington last season. He also played in 66 games at Triple-A Syracuse, batting .287 with six home runs and 21 RBIs.</p>
<p><em>Olbrychowski, 24, was a fifth-round selection of the Yankees in the 2007 Free-Year Player Draft. Olbrychowski pitched most of last season at Class A Tampa, going 3-2 with a 4.02 <span class="caps">ERA</span> in 30 games (one start).</em></p>
<p>He also made two relief appearances at Double-A Trenton, where he had no record and a 2.08 <span class="caps">ERA</span>. In four Minor League seasons, Olbrychowski is 16-17 with a 4.17 <span class="caps">ERA</span> over 100 games (35 starts). </p>
<p>The Yankees recently signed veteran <span>Andruw Jones</span> to be their fourth outfielder. Maxwell will likely compete with <span>Colin Curtis</span> and <span>Greg Golson</span> for the fifith outfielder role, if the Yankees keep that many outfielders on the 25-man roster.</p>
<p>Maxwell had Tommy John surgery on his elbow in October, but said he does not believe the elbow will be an issue this season.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/2/2/1971238/yankees-acquire-outfielder-justin-maxwellEd Valentine2011-02-01T09:59:56-05:002011-02-01T09:59:56-05:00Yankees Hope Freddy Garcia Can Bolster Starting Rotation
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> have added veteran right-hander <span>Freddy Garcia</span> to their list of candidates for the last two spots in their starting rotation, <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110131&content_id=16543892&vkey=news_nyy&c_id=nyy&partnerId=rss_nyy" target="new">signing Garcia to a minor-league contract</a>.</p>
<p>With <span>Andy Pettitte</span> apparently still not in the picture, Garcia, 35, immediately becomes a favorite to win one of the two starting spots behind <span>CC Sabathia</span>, <span>Phil Hughes</span> and <span>A.J. Burnett</span>. The other three candidates are <span>Sergio Mitre</span>, <span>Ivan Nova</span> and the recently-signed <span>Bartolo Colon</span>.</p>
<p>Garcia has more recent major-league success than any of the other candidates. He won 12 games for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">Chicago White Sox</a> a season ago, starting 28 games and pitching to a 4.64 <span class="caps">ERA</span>. He pitched 157 innings. It marked the first time since 2006 that Garcia, who has a history of shoulder injuries, had pitched more than 58 innings in a season since 2006, when he went 17-9 with a 4.53 <span class="caps">ERA</span> while racking up 216 innings for the White Sox.</p>
<p>Garcia is a 12-year veteran with a career 133-87 record and a 4.13 <span class="caps">ERA</span>.</p>
<p>Colon is a former American League Cy Young Award winner, but has pitched just 48 games since 2005, and has not appeared in a game since mid-way through the 2009 season.</p>
<p>Mitre has a 13-29 record with a 5.29 <span class="caps">ERA</span> in parts of seven seasons. He has been a long reliever and occasional starter with New York the past two seasons.</p>
<p>Nova, 24, went 1-2 with a 4.50 <span class="caps">ERA</span> in 10 games (seven starts) with the Yankees last season.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/2/1/1967768/yankees-hope-freddy-garcia-can-bolster-starting-rotationEd Valentine2011-01-30T16:40:48-05:002011-01-30T16:40:48-05:00Report: Justin Duchscherer Won't Be A Yankee
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<p>By most accounts the best remaining free-agent starting pitcher is <span>Justin Duchscherer</span>, formerly of Oakland. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> have been interested as they seek some rotation depth, but it looks like Duchscherer will go elsewhere.</p>
<p>A report this afternoon<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/danconnollysun/status/31812233981857793" target="new"> indicated that Duchscherer has narrowed his choices</a> to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Baltimore Orioles</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lookoutlanding.com/">Seattle Mariners</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Washington Nationals</a>. 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.</p>
<p>There isn’t a whole lot left on the free-agent market. The Yankees recently signed ex-AL CXy Young Award winner <span>Bartolo Colon</span> to compete for a spot. Maybe veteran <span>Freddy Garcia</span> is next.</p>
<p>One name I have not heard connected with the Yankees is former Met <span>John Maine</span>, who is still looking for a job after being non-tendered by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> following the 2010 season.</p>
<p>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 <span class="caps">ERA</span> for the Mets. At this point, maybe the Yankees should consider him.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/30/1964796/report-justin-duchscherer-wont-be-a-yankeeEd Valentine2011-01-26T13:13:18-05:002011-01-26T13:13:18-05:00Bartolo Colon Signs Minor-League Deal With New York Yankees
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> have thus far not been able to convince the veteran starting pitcher they really want, <span>Andy Pettitte</span>, to continue pitching. So, the Yankees have reached into the way-back machine for another veteran who used to be a really good starting pitcher — <span>Bartolo Colon</span>.</p>
<p>Colon, 37, has reportedly <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/yankeesblog/yankees_sign_former_deal_young_winner_s1VdNMaXTmP9N3flziADJP?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" target="new">signed a minor-league deal</a> to compete for one of the two vacant spots in the Yankee rotation.</p>
<p>The best line about the signing comes from <a href="http://twitter.com/AndrewMarchand/statuses/30324057719181312" target="new">a tweet by <span class="caps">ESPN</span> New York’s Andrew Marchand</a>, who said:</p>
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<p>If Pettitte comes back, with [Mark] Prior and Colon, the Yankees are the favorites to win the 2003 Series.</p>
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<p>Hilarious! Yes, Pettitte, Prior and Colon would have been quite the big three in 2003. Colon is currently little more than a low-risk gamble. He won the AL Cy Young Award back in 2005, but has gone just 14-21 with a 5.18 <span class="caps">ERA</span> since, while pitching for Anaheim, Boston and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">Chicago White Sox</a>.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/26/1957644/bartolo-colon-signs-minor-league-deal-with-new-york-yankeesEd Valentine2011-01-22T11:17:28-05:002011-01-22T11:17:28-05:00Vernon Wells Leaves AL East, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon Return
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> did not make any moves on Friday. The moves made by a couple of Yankee rivals, though, should have gotten the attention of Yankee fans. Yankee-killer <strong><span>Vernon Wells</span></strong> is out of the American League East, while <strong><span>Johnny Damon</span></strong> and <strong><span>Manny Ramirez</span></strong> are back in.</p>
<p>The Wells deal is a sort of good news, bad news one for the Yankees. He is out of the AL East, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> shipped him off to the Anaheim Angels, a long-time nemesis of the Yankees, for catcher <span>Mike Napoli</span> and former Yankee outfielder Juan Rivera.</p>
<p>Wells, 32, had his best season since 2006 last season. He hit 31 home runs and had a .515 slugging percentage. Somewhat surprisingly, at least to me, the folks at SB Nation’s Angels website, <strong>Halos Heaven</strong>, are beside themselves with anger over this deal.</p>
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.halosheaven.com/">Los Angeles Angels</a> of Anaheim have just agreed to take on the majority of Vernon Wells’ seven-year, $126 million deal, signed in 2006, in exchange for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.</p>
<p>This trade doesn’t even deserve the dignity of a formal analysis. The Angels voluntarily vacated about three or four wins next season while simultaneously boosting their payroll by nearly $10 million. Sure he had weaknesses, but Mike Napoli was the second-best offensive player on the 2010 Angels, and light-years better than <span>Jeff Mathis</span>. And even though Wells outperformed Juan Rivera last year, the two of them have been virtually identical hitters over the last four seasons.</p>
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<p>Seems like the folks at SB Nation’s Blue Jays site, Bluebird Banter <a href="http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2011/1/22/1949622/why-i-couldnt-be-a-gm-reason-number-652" target="new">are not happy, either</a>. They are calling the deal “another win later move.”</p>
<p>As for Ramirez and Damon they are now members of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Tampa Bay Rays</a>. These are most definitely bold, win now signings for the Rays. Neither Ramirez, 38, nor Damon, 37, are long-term solutions in Tampa Bay. They will, undoubtedly, though help the Rays make up for the losses of <span>Carl Crawford</span> and <span>Carlos Pena</span> to free agency. Damon will play left field and Ramirez will DH.</p>
<p>Over at DRays Bay, SB Nation Rays website, they are <a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2011/1/22/1949783/rays-sign-manny-ramirez-johnny-damon-for-7-25m" target="new">ecstatic about the moves</a>.</p>
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<p>I’m still in shock. This feels like something out of a dream. This is probably the Rays’ biggest splash on the free agent market, and they managed to pull in two above-average players for less than <span>Derrek Lee</span> is making with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Orioles</a>. This is the definition of a coup.</p>
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<p>Seems like life just got a little more interesting in the AL East. Your thoughts, Yankee fans?</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/22/1949990/vernon-wells-leaves-al-east-manny-ramirez-johnny-damon-return-rays-blue-jays-angels-mlb-trade-rumorsEd Valentine2011-01-20T16:29:05-05:002011-01-20T16:29:05-05:00New York Yankees Sign Andruw Jones To One-Year Deal
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> and outfielder <span>Andruw Jones</span> agreed to a one-year, $2-million deal Thursday afternoon. <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/SI_JonHeyman">SI.com’s Jon Heyman</a> first reported the signing, others soon confirmed the report. In 2010, the 33-year-old played 107 games for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">Chicago White Sox</a> hitting .230 with 19 home runs and 48 <span class="caps">RBI</span>.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110119&content_id=16461004&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb"><span class="caps">MLB</span>.com’s Bryon Hoch</a> on Wednesday, the Yankees were perusing Jones to fill the vacated fourth-outfielder position, which <span>Marcus Thames</span> played last season. Thames signed withe <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> on Tuesday.</p>
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<p>“’I’ve talked to Scott about Andruw Jones, amongst others,” Cashman said. “I don’t know where it’s going to go, to be honest. I’ll definitely talk to Scott [today]. I’d like to get a fourth outfielder that hits from the right side, in theory, so he has one of those guys.’”</p>
<p>“While the Yankees liked Thames’ bat, they had concerns about his outfield defense. That is something they likely wouldn’t have to worry about with Jones, a 10-time National League Gold Glove Award winner.”</p>
<p>Boras said that Jones’ goal is to return to his former status as an everyday outfielder, but he understands that is not likely under his current situation. "</p>
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<p>It is interesting that New York chose Jones over former Yankee <span>Johnny Damon</span>, who is still a free agent. However, Damon’s asking price is probably much higher than Jones, who is nothing like his former All-Star self but he still can make plays.</p>
<p>I really don’t know if I like the move. But as cheap as Jones came there’s basically no risk involved. It’s a cheap buy-low roster move, which, if it doesn’t work out then, so what, the Yankees are out just two million. However, if Jones can contribute sparingly then it’s a good move.</p>
<p>What are your thoughts?</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/20/1946928/new-york-yankees-sign-andruw-jones-to-one-year-dealJared Smith2011-01-19T16:39:12-05:002011-01-19T16:39:12-05:00Brian Cashman Really Wanted Carl Pavano? Unbelievable!
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<p>Brian Cashman did what? During the<a href="http://www.northjersey.com/sports/011911_Yankees_GM_admits_being_overruled_in_Rafael_Soriano_signing.html" target="new"> introductory press conference</a> for newly-signed reliever <span>Rafael Soriano</span>, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> general manager admitted trying to bring <span>Carl Pavano</span> back to the Bronx for 2011.</p>
<p>“I always felt Pav could pitch here if healthy,’’ Cashman said.”I don’t think he was afraid of coming back here either.’’</p>
<p>According to <span class="caps">WFAN</span>, Cashman went far enough to offer Pavano <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/YankeesWFAN/status/27797472810115072" target="new">a one-year, $10-million dea</a>l.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me, Cash? Did some of your brain cells spill out when you went rappelling down a building a few weeks ago?</p>
<p>It’s no wonder that when Cashman balked at losing a first-round draft pick to sign Soriano, clearly the No. 1 remaining free agent pitcher, Hal Steinbrenner overruled him.</p>
<p>Maybe Cashman <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6030404&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines" target="new">hasn’t lost credibility or authority</a> inside the halls of the Yankee organization, but talking about bringing back Carl Pavano … Carl ‘Friggin’ Pavano!!! … and keeping draft picks rather than signing quality players will have fans thinking he’s lost his sanity.</p>
<p>Cashman did, at least, recognize that the Yankees are better with Soriano, who saved 45 games a season ago, than without him. Even though bringing Soriano to New York is <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2011/01/19/2011-01-19_brian_cashman_admits_he_was_overruled_on_yankees_signing_of_rafael_soriano_says_.html?r=sports" target="new">not the decision he wanted to make</a>.<br>
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“It’s not my team. I don’t own it. They do,” Cashman said. "I’m a big boy … In any job you better be prepared for every decision to not go your way. That’s part of being an employee.</em></p>
<p>“There were internal debates and discussions on it and disagreements in terms of how you should proceed and ultimately Hal’s in charge of making the final call in what he feels is the best direction at that timeframe. He made that call. This is Hal Steinbrenner’s and his family’s franchise. It’s not mine and it’s never been, obviously.</p>
<p>“I’m in charge of making recommendations and there’s a chain of command that certainly was followed. But this is not something that was done without me being aware of it. I had my say.”</p>
<p>One other thing Cashman is sticking to is that Joba Chamberlain<a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/12608/cashman-joba-is-in-the-bullpen" target="new"> will not be a starting pitcher</a>.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/19/1944826/brian-cashman-really-wanted-carl-pavano-unbelievable-rafael-soriano-joba-chamberlainEd Valentine2011-01-13T21:55:13-05:002011-01-13T21:55:13-05:00Rafael Soriano: Best Move The Yankees Could Have Made
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<p>Here is my initial reaction to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> <a href="http://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/13/1934079/yankees-news-rumors-new-york-signs-reliever-rafael-soriano" target="new">somewhat surprising signing</a> tonight of relief pitcher <span>Rafael Soriano</span>. Yesssssssssss!</p>
<p>The Yankees have been hunting around the dregs of the bargain-basement starting pitching market for weeks now, and doing something about their pitching has taken on even more urgency with <span>Andy Pettitte</span> staying on the sidelines at least at the beginning of the season.</p>
<p>General manager Brian Cashman has made the best move he could make here, and it was done in typical, stealthy, under-the-radar Cashman style. He had been saying he would not part with the Yankees No. 1 draft pick for a relief pitcher, which is exactly what he just did by signing Soriano, a Type A free agent.</p>
<p>Starter or reliever, Soriano was the best available pitcher on the market once the Yankees lost out on Cliff Lee. The 31-year-old saved 45 games for Tampa Bay last season, and compiled a 1.73 <span class="caps">ERA</span> and 0.802 <span class="caps">WHIP</span>. A nine-year veteran, Soriano has closed for the past two years but had long been one of the game’s best set-up men prior to that.</p>
<p>He will set up for <span>Mariano Rivera</span> with the Yankees, provide insurance if the 41-year-old Rivera gets hurt, and could be in a position to take over as closer if and when Rivera retires. The deal is for three years and $35 million, but SI.com’s Jon Heyman reported Soriano<a href="http://twitter.com/#!/SI_JonHeyman/status/25733578239254528" target="new"> has the ability to opt out</a> after the first or second year.</p>
<p>The signing also gives the Yankees the option of moving <span>Joba Chamberlain</span> back to the rotation. No one knows if they will, but I’m certain this will be a huge source of debate among Yankee fans going forward, and with good reason. Chamberlain is likely a better starting option than much of what is left on the free-agent market, and also a seemingly more appetizing option than journeyman <span>Sergio Mitre</span>.</p>
https://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-yankees/2011/1/13/1934140/rafael-soriano-best-move-the-yankees-could-have-madeEd Valentine