Kuroda happy to be a Yankee
The Yankees have made Hiroki Kuroda’s one-year, $10 million deal official, and in the press release, they included the following quote from the right-hander:
“I feel happy to be a part of such a storied franchise, which is always in contention for a World Series,” Kuroda said. “I am also very proud to be a part of this current team, which boasts so many great players. As a member of the Yankees, I would like to do my part by doing the best I can throughout the season. I hope that I can make a difference in achieving the team’s ultimate goal, which is to win the World Series.”
Right-hander Kevin Whelan was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Lefty bat on Yankees’ wish list
The Yankees are continuing to shop for a left-handed bat, as the New York Post notes today, and Brian Cashman is hoping to pluck one from the trade market by dangling his sudden wealth of starting pitching.
If the Yankees found an interested taker for an A.J. Burnett trade, that’d occupy most of the day, but the chances of a club taking on any significant portion of Burnett’s two years and $33 million remaining still seem slim. For the moment, they’ve got seven starters to fit into five rotation slots, but Joe Girardi wasn’t ready to give any serious thought to that problem now. As Joe Torre famously pointed out, those decisions usually take care of themselves anyway.
It’s still possible the Yankees could play around with free agents like Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui, but Cashman is making the point that it’s not essential to go that route. Here’s Cashman’s take on the DH situation in the post-Jesus Montero landscape, as he outlined during the Jorge Posada press event:
“I think we’re going to look to trade from our excess pitching first and explore if there are some matches that way before we even explore what the free agent opportunities are. At this stage, we have a lot of guys that are going to utilize that position on the team, whether it’s days of rest for A-Rod, Jeter, Tex, Cano, Swisher, whatever. I think the trade route is something I’ll explore for a little while here, first and foremost.”
Is Mariano the next to retire?
Now that the Core Four is officially down to the dynamic duo of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, who will be the next Yankees great to receive a sendoff toward Cooperstown?
If you ask Jorge Posada, the answer is the 42-year-old Rivera, who might have shared a little inside information with his former batterymate.
“Mariano said this is it,” Posada said. “He said he has one more year, but Derek said he’s got like three more to go.”
Rivera is entering the final year of a two-year, $30 million contract, while Jeter’s commitment to the Yankees runs through 2014. But Posada quickly clarified that he doesn’t actually believe baseball’s all-time saves leader will hang it up after ’12.
“I don’t think so, especially the way he keeps playing,” Posada said.
There was no sale on a Rivera retirement for Jeter, either, as the captain quipped, “Mo is going to be here longer than all of us.”
Rivera – who attended the press conference along with current teammates Jeter and CC Sabathia – said that Posada’s announcement did not make him consider his own future.
“I don’t think about it right now, but the time will come for me, when I’ll have to just admit it and hang (up) the glove and the uniform and move on,” Rivera said. “So we all go through that.”
Rivera has spoken previously about how difficult the demands of life on the road away from his family have become; last spring, Rivera arrived at camp in Tampa, Fla. and said that his 8-year-old son Jaziel almost did not let him go.
Rivera said that he expects, just as Posada did and Andy Pettitte a year prior, that he will be at peace with his final decision when the time is right.
“[It's] the same thing; just knowing that it’s time to go,” Rivera said. “You just have to accept that. I mean, I love the game and I have the passion for the game, but when the time comes and you have to go, you have to go.”
Hal: ‘The Boss’ loved warriors like Jorge
Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner had kind words for Jorge Posada on the day of his retirement press conference, calling it an emotionally bittersweet day and waxing poetic about Posada’s contributions to the late 1990′s Yankees. He was asked how his father, the late George M. Steinbrenner, viewed Posada.
“My dad loved warriors and Jorge was a warrior,” Steinbrenner replied. “He loved guys that worked hard, good role models. Those are the things to be a great Yankee that my dad felt were absolutely essential.”
Steinbrenner declined to discuss any topics concerning the current Yankees roster, saying that it is Posada’s day.
Cashman: We could trade for a DH
In a conference call with reporters discussing the Michael Pineda trade on Monday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that he’d be more inclined to trade from his pitching depth to acquire a designated hitter than to sign one on the open free agent market.
When the Yankees officially announce the signing of right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, they’ll have seven starters vying for five spots. CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Pineda, Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Freddy Garcia are also in that mix.
“Maybe I use our excess pitching to find a bat,” Cashman said. “That’s a possibility. … We stretched the payroll to get [Kuroda] done, so I’m not sure what we have financially. I think we’ll look at the trade market first and foremost and see where that takes us.”
Among the DH options out there, the Yankees have reportedly heard from Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero and Raul Ibanez, but are not thought to consider any of them an urgent priority.
“I think [the free agent market] would be secondary,” Cashman said. “Not that any of those players aren’t quality, but I do think it’s probably in our interest to first and foremost see what’s available in the trade market, because we have excess starter. There should be a demand and an interest at the various levels in our starting pitching that might prove beneficial.”
If the season started today, the Yankees would likely go with Andruw Jones as their DH, though they are curious about Minor League slugger Jorge Vazquez.
Jorge makes it official today
Jorge Posada will officially call it a career this morning, meeting the media for an 11 a.m. ET press conference at Yankee Stadium. Posada will retire after 17 big league seasons – all with the Yankees – and boasts final numbers of a .273 batting average with 900 runs scored, 379 doubles, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBIs in 1,829 games.
The YES Network will have coverage from the Bronx, and if you’re going to be online this morning, the conference will be streamed as it happens at http://www.mlb.com/live.
Hughes is a starter, not a reliever
Phil Hughes shouldn’t be thinking about going back to the bullpen, despite his success there at times during his career. At least, that’s what Brian Cashman told reporters on Monday.
“I think he’s a starter,” Cashman said. “I know he can pitch out of the ‘pen, but I don’t look at him as a reliever. Never have. I know with any quality arm, whether it’s CC [Sabathia] or A.J. [Burnett] or [Ivan] Nova or Hughes or now [Michael] Pineda, you can run them out there into the ‘pen and they’d look pretty special. But it’s not something you want to do.”
This might be a good time to mention the name Joba Chamberlain … but, nah, there’s plenty of time for that down the road.
Pineda ‘beyond excited’ to be a Yankee
The Yankees media relations department just sent out a quote from the newest Bombers pitcher, Michael Pineda, as the four-player deal with the Seattle Mariners was officially announced today:
“I’m feeling great and I’m beyond excited,” Pineda said. “I never thought I would become a New York Yankee so early into my career. This is the best thing in the world. Pitching alongside CC Sabathia, I’m speechless. And playing alongside players such as Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter is unbelievable.”
Yankees GM Brian Cashman is on a conference call with reporters right now in which he said that Jesus Montero “may very well be the best player I’ve traded, and I’ve been doing this for a long time.” More information to follow on yankees.com.
Gardner, Yankees agree at $2.8 million
The Yankees and outfielder Brett Gardner avoided arbitration Friday, agreeing to a one-year non-guaranteed contract, the club announced.
The club and Gardner, 28, met at the midpoint of arbitration figures exchanged earlier in the week, finalizing a $2.8 million deal. Gardner had requested $3.2 million and the club countered with $2.4 million.
The Yankees expect to have Gardner as their starting left fielder in 2012, though Andruw Jones may replace him for some games against left-handed pitching.
Two Yankees players remain eligible for arbitration. Catcher Russell Martin filed for $8.2 million, while the Yanks offered $7 million; while left-hander Boone Logan asked for $2.1 million and was met with a $1.7 million offer.
The Yankees have also avoided arbitration with pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and David Robertson. Players and teams who go to arbitration hearings will engage in that process from Feb. 1-21 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
A-Rod says he’s healthy, expects to play third base
Alex Rodriguez says that his offseason workouts are going well and that he plans to do most of his work helping the Yankees in the field, not as a designated hitter.
The 36-year-old Rodriguez told ESPN Deportes that he expects several players to help fill New York’s DH role this season, in the wake of last week’s trade that sent power-hitting prospect Jesus Montero to the Mariners.
“I think the vision for us as a team is now … you want the DH spot to be one that’s kind of a revolving door,” he said in the interview. “I think a lot of us at some point or another, in such a long season, are going occupy that spot. But for me, I’m really excited about playing third base.”
Rodriguez said that he is proceeding on track this winter after visiting a German doctor in early December to undergo Orthokine treatment on his troublesome right knee and left shoulder.
The procedure, which was vetted by the Yankees in cooperation with Major League Baseball, was recommended to Rodriguez by basketball star Kobe Bryant. Rodriguez was treated by Dr. Peter Wehling in Dusseldorf.
“I feel pretty good right now and I hope that (the procedure) helps me stay healthy and have … a great year on the field,” Rodriguez said. “My workouts are going great and I’m looking forward to report day on Feb. 24 (to) get started and have a great year for the Yankees.”
Bryan Hoch
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