Trade Curtis Granderson, Do It

It's mostly just speculation and loose connections to various players this morning in Yankeeland.  But there was some dust stirred up earlier when Buster Olney tweeted that the Yankees were "open to talks" about trading Curtis Granderson.  I already made my pitch for what I would do with Granderson if the situation was different this offseason, but even with the payroll constraints on this is a move I would support if there's some body to the rumor.

Yes, trading Granderson away would open up another hole in the everyday lineup next season, one that would not be easily filled.  If the Yankees still want to contend next season, as Joel Sherman said they did when discussing the C-Grand rumors, ridding themselves of the best power hitter in their lineup doesn't help that cause.  But let's look objectively at Granderson.  He's 31 years old, he'll be 32 before the start of next season, and despite his high HR totals he appears to be in the early stages of decline.  His contact skills have steadily eroded since joining the Yankees, he set new career highs in total strikeouts and K rate in 2012, and most defensive metrics paint him as a below-average defensive center fielder at best.

His price tag is already $15 million for 2013, and that value will more than likely increase when he becomes a free agent on the strength of his HR numbers.  That will be too rich for the Yankees' blood if this offseason is any indication of how serious they are about getting below the luxury tax threshold.  If Granderson really is starting to decline and isn't a candidate to be brought back anyway, why not move him while you can still get something of value back for him?  It won't be value that will replace his production, but it's better than nothing.  I was a little more on-the-fence about this when I wrote about it months back, but now I'm going to say it more definitively.  The Yankees should trade Curtis Granderson.

My Non-Austerity Offseason Plan

(I could do this guy's job.  With no budget over my head.  Courtesy of Jim McPeak/USA Today Sports)

It was said on one of our daily TYA chains yesterday that, despite the open holes in the lineup and the A-Rod injury, you really couldn't say anything negative about the way the Yankees have approached this offseason so far.  And that's true.  There are still plenty of players available in the free agent pool for the positions at which the Yankees need help (except catcher), plenty of cost-friendly platoon bats available for the bench, and the team has already come damn close to replicating the starting pitching depth it took until mid-January of this year to assemble.

So yeah, it's not like the Yankees have done a terrible job this offseason by any means.  They have a plan and they're sticking to it.  It's that plan that I think frustrates people the most, though, and I know it frustrates me.  To see the Yankees willingly staying away from the best possible players that fit their needs because of money is still strange, and still not something I want to see happening.  And to be quite honest, if I have to hear the words "interested," "connected," or "preliminary discussions" to describe the Yankees' connection to some older position player, I'm going to scream.  So to change things up a bit, I'd like to come up with an offseason plan that's a little more exciting, the plan that I would be following right now if I were calling the shots and didn't have to worry about cutting payroll.  It basically boils down to 3 steps.

Winter Meetings News & Notes: Day 1

The Winter Meetings officially got under way today, in not in a good way if you're a Yankee fan (or GM).  You all know what the big story of the day was, but here's the smaller stuff you might have missed.

- Obviously the biggest news of the day was the revelation that Alex Rodriguez has another labrum tear in his hip, this time the left one, and will have surgery in January to fix the tear.  A-Rod is expected to be out 4-6 months.

- Despite no confirmation that he would be willing or able to play third base, multiple reporters had the Yankees connected to free agent shortstop Stephen Drew.  If he is willing to play third, there would be a lot of early-season PT for Drew.

- Sweeny Murti had word that the Yankees were "quietly" shopping for third basemen at last month's GM meetings, so clearly the A-Rod injury wasn't something the Yankees started focusing on recently.

- There was never much connection between the sides, but the Yankees lost out on Mike Napoli today as a catching option.  Napoli signed a 3-year/$39 million deal to play first base fah Bahhston.

- They lost another potential catching option when the Blue Jays claimed Eli Whiteside off waivers from the Yankees.

- Joel Sherman reported that the Yankees are in on FA outfielder Scott Hairston, but not likely to get involved in the type of dollars he'll get.  Not surprisingly, I'm OK with that.

- Jon Morosi added Cody Ross' name to the list of right field options the Yankees are interested in.  If they aren't willing to pay Hairston, I can't imagine they would shell out more for Ross.

Free-Floating A-Rod Injury Commentary

(No doubt discussing how to answer the health questions.  Courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post)

Bits and pieces of the story are still coming out as we speak, but suffice it to say that the news of Alex Rodriguez's latest injury setback is both incredibly disappointing and shockingly unsurprising.  A-Rod's growing injury problems have gone hand-in-hand with his production decline over the past 4 seasons, and with as bad as he looked at the plate late in the regular season and in the playoffs it comes as no surprise that there was and is something physically wrong with him.

A-Rod has always been a lightning rod for controversy since the day he first signed with the Yankees, and that theme shows no signs of slowing down even as his on-field performance has.  This latest instance is sure to stir up all kinds of talk about how long he had been playing with the injury, why the Yankees didn't come out and say he was hurt, what it means for him and the team moving forward, and gives everybody another opportunity to bash Yankee ownership and Randy Levine for signing A-Rod to that ridiculous contract (maybe the only positive to come out this).  With the full story still coming together, I'm going to go with my old standby of "Thoughts & Afterthoughts" bullet points to try to capture as many of my own reactions and thoughts to it as I can.

BREAKING NEWS: A-Rod To Have 2nd Hip Surgery

I said after the season ended that I was only going to write about Alex Rodriguez as needed, and this story certainly qualifies.

After George King of The Post reported earlier today that there were some concerns within the organization about the health of A-Rod's surgically repaired right hip and that another surgery was a possibility, the situation has now escalated to the point that Rodriguez WILL have surgery and in all likelihood will miss the opening of the 2013 season.

Joel Sherman first confirmed that the surgery was a go and that Rodriguez played part of this past season with a re-tear in that hip.  Mark Feinsand followed up with a report that the surgery will take place in January, and that the team doctor wants A-Rod to take some time to strengthen the hip prior to surgery.

There were tons of questions floating around about A-Rod's health when he looked so weak late in the season and in the playoffs, and while Rodriguez himself wouldn't confirm anything at the time, this news comes as pretty definitive proof that he was playing injured.  We were already coming to an understanding that these last 2 seasons marked the end of A-Rod's days as an elite player.  Now with this latest setback with his hip, we may have to prepare ourselves for an even further deterioration of his skills and possible transition to part-time playing status.

More on this story as it becomes available...

** UPDATE 9:36AM- Sherman confirmed that Rodriguez was playing with the hip tear in this year's postseason.  That explains the lack of life in his swing. **

** UPDATE 9:48AM- Sherman now confirming that the tear is actually in A-Rod's left hip and not the right one that he previously tore and had surgery.  Not sure if that makes the situation better or worse. **

** UPDATE 10:17AM- Feinsand, citing multiple team sources, reporting that A-Rod is expected to be out until June or July of 2013 after surgery. **

** UPDATE 11:16AM- Ken Rosenthal reporting that A-Rod spent a night in the hospital after one of the Yankees' ALDS games because the pain in his left hip was so severe.  This just keeps getting better. **

** UPDATE 1:46PM- Yankees have made it official with a press release on the injury.  The surgery for his left hip will be "similar but not identical" to the procedure done on his right hip in '09, and as earlier reported the recovery time is expected to be 4-6 months. **

Looking At The Yankee Trade Chips

(Will this guy still be a Yankee after this week?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

The Winter Meetings start this week, and while I still believe the Yankees are entering them in a position of weakness and don't have a lot of faith that they are going to pull off a deal, this is their best chance to make a splash and start filling the holes left in their lineup.  To come away from these meetings without an answer in right field or behind the plate would make for a very stressful remainder of the offseason and most likely lead to those positions being filled by subpar players.  And with the Yankees' refusal to get really involved in the free agent market, their best bet at getting an impact player in those positions of need will be through a trade.  Cash has made some good ones before, and some bad ones, and always seems to use the meetings to line something up.  If that's the route he's going to take this year, he's got plenty of potential trade chips at his disposal.

Another Possible Catching Option

I have to imagine the Yankees would have been in on him if Oakland decided to non-tender him, so it was a bit of a downer when the A's tendered a contract offer to George Kottaras before Friday's deadline.  Kottaras has flown under the radar a bit the last few seasons in Milwaukee and then Oakland, but has steadily improved his offensive and defensive games to the point that he can be a useful, productive semi-everyday player.

Looking at his recent statistical profile, Kottaras projects as a mini-Russell Martin.  He doesn't hit for a lot of average (.220 career) but he can draw walks at a well above-average rate (13.1%) and has posted ISO values over .200 in each of the last 2 seasons.  He hit .211/.351/.415 (.339 wOBA) in 2012, with a 17.7% BB rate, and had 1.2 fWAR in less than half the PA of Martin.  He's not going to make any All Star Games, but Kottaras would be a better all-around catching option than anything the Yankees have in-house.

The problem is that now that he's been offered a contract, it would take a prospect to get him rather than just a small-dollar contract.  It wouldn't be a high-level prospect, but the Yankees haven't shown any outward interest in dealing anything in a trade yet this offseason.  Billy Beane is always open to a deal, though, so Kottaras is at least worth Cash putting a call in.

Possible Non-Tender Targets

(I could dig this guy.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Friday night's non-tender deadline has come and past, with not a whole lot of surprises or drama.  The Yankees, as expected, tendered contracts to all 5 of their Major League regulars who were arbitration eligible and also offered a deal to Jayson Nix, who was then designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Mariano Rivera after agreeing to a Triple-A assignment and invite to camp if he cleared waivers.

But that still leaves the open spots in right field and now catcher for 2013, as well as a pretty empty bench right now, and there were some players who were non-tendered by their clubs who could be viable fill-in options as part of the "1-year only" plan to build next season's roster.  After the jump, the 5 players who the Yankees could take a look at.

Derek Jeter 10, NY Post 1

So The NY Post had a little fun with The Captain this week, posting a picture of him looking a little soggier around the midsection than usual with the caption "Derek Eater."  OK, the name is pretty clever, but was it really that slow a news day that they couldn't have put something else on there??  You really had to go after The Captain?  The guy's in a freakin' walking boot, for crying out loud!  Kinda tough to get your cardio in that situation.  And if you really want to go to the scoreboard, we can do that:

1) Minka Kelly
2) Gabrielle Union
3) Jessica Biel
4) Adriana Lima
5) Vida Guerra
6) Scarlett Johansson
7) Jessica Alba
8) Jordana Brewster
9) Lara Dutta
10) Mariah Carey

All chicks who were in the prime of their hotness and became more famous for dating Jeter.  There's a reason the most viewed post in AB4AR history is the one comparing Derek Jeter to a pimp.  That's because everybody recognizes how awesome he is and women are powerless to stop said awesomeness.  Jeter's probably fat right now because he's done nothing by lay around and have Hannah Davis feed him by hand for the past month and a half, and that's baller.  Now hit the music!

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 11/30

I got roped into going with a group of people from work to look at possible new office furniture and paint and carpeting and stuff.  Apparently it's been decided that our office looks old and outdated, which is true, and it's time to brighten things up.  Admittedly none of that type of stuff matters to me.  I couldn't tell you what color the carpeting or the walls in my building even are.  I could work on a beanbag chair and a rickety folding card table, so don't ask how it was decided that I was a valuable member to have on this refurbishing team, but at least I got a free lunch out of it.

The best part of the whole thing was listening to some of the higher-ups talk about how this had to be pitched to our CFO and how likely he was to shoot it down.  One of them said, "he's going to see that it's a need, but not a need that he's willing to spend that much on."  You know, like a starting catcher.

RIMSHOT!!!!

Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Mike Eder of TYA weighed the option of trading Robinson Cano, and used some future WAR calculations to make a decision on whether or not it would be a smart move for the Yankees.

- Steve Goldman of Pinstriped Bible looked back at the bad Yankee drafts of 2007-2009 and their connection to the upcoming payroll cuts.

- Jonah Keri of Grantland posted his two-part list of the Top 50 MLB trade value rankings (Part I, Part II).  I'm not a big Grantland guy, but I used to like when Simmons did this with the NBA and Keri knows his stuff, so it's definitely worth a look.

- On Tuesday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled his breakout prospect candidate for 2013, Low-A Charleston outfielder Ben Gamel.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes liked the idea of Shane Victorino as a Yankee, an opinion decidedly opposite of mine.

- On Wednesday, Mike Axisa of RAB looked past tonight's midnight non-tender deadline to see which non-tender candidates could be good fits for the Yankees if they became free agents.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog did some serious number crunching to show the financial benefits of the Yankees' planned payroll cap and some different scenarios that lead to different levels of savings.

- El duque of It Is High... came up with an interesting idea for a Curtis Granderson trade partner, if the Yankees are entertaining the idea of trading him.

- On Thursday, Brien Jackson of IIATMS offered up his simple solution for how to fix the Hall of Fame.  Hint- it has nothing to do with steroids.

- Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard predicted what roster spots the Yankees would focus on when Cash heads to the Winter Meetings next week.

- Roberto E. Alejandro of Respect Jeter's Gangster came up with a good idea for a new owner, one who would be willing to match a 2-year/$17 million offer, if Hank and Hal were interested in selling.

- On Friday, Delia E. of Yankees Fans Unite correctly pointed out that Cash will head to the Winter Meetings next week with more to do now that the Yankees have let Russell Martin go.

- Jesse Schindler of Bleeding Yankee Blue already identified his ideal trade target to replace Martin.

For this week's Friday Jam I'm kicking it with some Black Keys, old Black Keys, before they were "cool" enough to play on Jimmy Fallon's late night show.  It's not that I think newer Black Keys isn't good, but I prefer the older, grimier stuff.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

How Will Losing Russell Martin Change The Yanks' Winter Meetings Plans?

(Congratulations, Hal.  You've successfully handcuffed your GM before the most important part of the offseason)

The Winter Meetings were already going to be a little different for the Yankees this year than in years past. With their plans to get below the self-imposed payroll ceiling becoming more real, and their early offseason actions being more strongly geared towards that one goal than ever, the days of the big, bad Yankees breezing into Nashville and stirring things up with their rumored connections to all the big names appear to be over, at least for the next couple offseasons. But with last night’s bombshell of Russell Martin signing with the Pirates, the entire landscape of the remainder of this offseason has shifted dramatically for the Yanks. While they did make very good progress in reloading the pitching staff, there are still a lot of gaping holes in the lineup and fewer quality players with which to plug them. I think the Yankees always anticipated that they’d be able to re-sign Martin, and now Cash will have to adjust his whole approach to next week’s meetings to cover for the loss.

Russell Martin Thoughts & Afterthoughts

(We'll be seein' ya, dude.  Courtesy of the AP)

Well that was an interesting turn of events last night, wasn't it?  Less than a week after it was reported that he was "willing to wait" for the Yankees to make him an offer before looking at other teams, Russell Martin signed a 2-year/$17 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were only introduced as a serious candidate for his services earlier this week.  The bulk of the talks involved bigger-spending teams like the Yankees and Rangers, but shockingly enough it was Pittsburgh who swooped in and got the job done.

Even more shocking were the multiple reports from Yankee beat writers that the Bombers didn't even make a contract offer to Martin, who was easily the best all-around catcher available on the market.  The internal crop of Yankee catching options was and still is woefully thin on depth and talent, and the Yankees had to be keenly aware that the rest of the available free agent pool was very shallow, and yet they still chose to put re-signing Martin off to hammer out deals with guys like Pettitte and Mo who were never going to play anywhere else but New York next season.  It's a very puzzling strategy and move by the Yankees, one that I'm still having a hard time formulating a complete response to.  So in classic AB4AR fashion, I'll just throw it all out there in some bullet points.

DOUBLE BREAKING NEWS: Pirates Sign Russell Martin

Well how about that?  I thought it was just early rumors, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Russell Martin.  There are no known contract terms at this time, but Rosenthal is pretty good with this stuff.  Looks like the Yankees are going to have to find themselves a catcher.  More on this story to come...

** UPDATE- 7:53 PM- David Waldstein reporting that it's only a 2-year/$17 million deal.  You've got to be kidding me. **

** UPDATE- 7:56 PM- Heyman saying the Yankees offered 2/$12-14 mil.  They must know something we don't. **

** UPDATE- 8:12 PM- Erik Boland reporting that a "source" said the Yankees never made an offer to Martin, which is the complete opposite of what Heyman said.  What the hell is going on?? **

** UPDATE 8:14 PM- And Buster Olney confirms that.  Wow. **

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Mariano Rivera

(The G.O.A.T.)

And Operation Old Guys is complete.  A day after the Yankees re-signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year deal, they followed that up by officially re-signing Mariano Rivera.

Jon Heyman first reported the deal, which will be for a base salary of $10 million, $2 million less than Pettitte got.  Dan Barbarisi reported that the deal does include award bonuses, with rumors of them being near $5 million.  Mo will get another chance to retire on his terms.

For the Yankees, this all but completes their 2012 bullpen.  They'll need a long man, but will have plenty of options for that spot.  There's no guarantee that he'll be as dominant as he's always been, but based just on the numbers, you have to somewhat expect Mo will at least be good.

For the fans, this is another opportunity to watch the greatest closer in the history of baseball one more time. I promised myself if he came back I was going to make sure to go to a game next season to watch him one more time and now I have my chance.  Time to start scouting the schedule...

Any Innings Concerns For 2013?

The 2013 New York Yankees starting rotation is set right now after yesterday's re-signing of Andy Pettitte was made official.  At worst, the rotation should be pretty good again next season and at best it could be very good if everybody stays healthy and a few things rebound from 2012.  Not to rain on anybody's parade or start to poke holes in this group, but it is worth pointing out that there will be a lot of workload questions tied to next year's rotation.

CC Sabathia- Coming off a season in which he had 2 separate stints on the DL, and already has plans being made to limit his innings/pitch count next season.

Hiroki Kuroda- Coming off a career high 235.2 IP between the regular and postseasons in 2012 at age 37.  Unknown how that extra work will carry over and affect him in 2013.

Pettitte- Pitched just 89 total Major League innings last season, and has pitched just 106 total innings in the last 2 calendar years.  Unknown how many innings he can pitch over a full season.

Phil Hughes- Coming off a career high 201 total IP between regular and postseasons in 2012 a year after pitching just 91 total innings and 2 years after pitching 192 total innings, and after years of being shuttled between starter and reliever.

The only guy in this group without innings concerns is Ivan Nova, who was the least effective starting pitcher in the rotation last season.  It's not time to raise the red flag on this or anything, just something to keep in mind going in ST next year.

Why Do I Not Like Shane Victorino?

(Double-ear flaps. So stupid. GAH!!!  Courtesy of the AP)

In addition to muddying the waters of the Russell Martin contract situation, Jon Heyman also listed the Yankees as one of several teams interested in free agent outfielder Shane Victorino. Victorino, 32, is coming off a down year that saw him traded from his longtime team in Philadelphia out to Cali to finish the season with the payroll-bloated Dodgers. I’m just going to get right to the point and say that I want absolutely no part of Shane Victorino on the 2013 Yankees. And here’s the kicker, I have absolutely no reason why. I’m not sure what it is about him, because it’s not like he’s a shitty baseball player, but I’ve just never been much of a Shane Victorino guy. It’s completely irrational and I’m the first one to admit it, because Victorino could actually be a good fit for the Yankees.

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Re-Sign Andy Pettitte

(One more year of the stare)

After an acceleration to the re-signing process earlier this week, and multiple reports that a new deal was imminent yesterday, the Yankees officially re-signed Andy Pettitte this afternoon, completing part 2 of their offseason checklist.

According to multiple reporters, the deal is of the 1-year variety and will be for $12 million next season, with another $2.5 mil available in awards bonuses.  It's a hefty raise from the non-guaranteed $2.5 million Andy signed for when he came back this past season, but after the way he pitched a big hike in salary was to be expected.

With this move, the Yankees now have a rotation set for 2013- CC, Kuroda, Andy, Hughes, Nova- with a couple other arms outside that top 5 as insurance and the always-lingering possibility of them signing a cheap veteran arm here or there.  Andy coming back does give Cash the flexibility to include Hughes or Nova in a trade package if he pursues that route to fill the right field void, but even if nothing else happens with the rotation this offseason, the Yankees can go into Opening Day confident that their rotation is set.

**UPDATE- 3:29PM- Eli Whiteside has been DFA'd to clear a 40-man roster spot for Andy.  So that's why they signed Whitesite to a split-contract.  Smart move. **

Who Wants To Get Non-Tenderized?

See what I did there?  That's wordplay.  It's not all fun and games and re-signing 40-something pitchers and finding a right fielder this offseason.  The Yankees do have some other things on their plate that they'll have to address, one of them coming up very soon.  The non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players is this Friday at midnight, and the Yankees have a group of 6 eligible players left waiting to learn their fate (David Herndon and Eli Whiteside both signed small deals already).

None of these guys have really gotten much ink in the hot stove press so far this offseason, at least not on this blog, and there's a pretty simple reason for that.  Nobody expects that the collection of Phil Hughes, David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Joba Chamberlain, or Boone Logan are going to be non-tendered.  They'll all get new contracts for 2013 through arbitration and return as part of the 25-man roster next season, although there has been some talk of trading Logan coming off a heavy workload around the blogopshere and that's an idea I would entertain.

The one guy who's up in the air is Jayson Nix, do-all utility infielder and part-time emergency outfielder who notched a hair over 200 PA in pinstripes this season as an injury fill-in.  Nix proved valuable as a defensive upgrade at shortstop over Eduardo Nunez, and he's not a complete waste of space with the bat, but a .304 wOBA and 88 wRC+ with a low BB rate doesn't exactly scream to have an offer made to it.  That being said, the Yankees are light on useful infield pieces right now and are going to need extra help to cover for the advancing age and injury comebacks on the left side.

Nix is projected to make less than $1 million, chump change for the Yankees, but that would still be more money than they're paying Nunez right now.  And with the team doing everything in its power to pinch pennies in preparation for the 2014 payroll cap, they could decide that a little bit extra saved is more beneficial than having Nix around.  There's no guarantee the Yankees can find a suitable replacement, either internally that's as solid defensively as Nix or externally that's cheaper, so it will be worth paying attention to what happens with him come Friday at midnight.

2012 Statistical Trends: Robinson Cano's Hitting Against LHP

(Looks like a GB out reaction to me.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

In hopes that this will become a running series for the rest of the offseason, I want to take a look at some of the big statistical surprises from the season that was.  There was a large handful of significant statistical shifts this season, some good and some bad, and I want to try to figure out what caused them, what they mean, and what to expect moving forward.  For the first installment, I want to investigate Robinson Cano's awful year against left-handed pitching.  It's almost crazy to think of a hitter of Cano's caliber as a platoon bat, but that's just what he was this year.

Cano finished the 2012 season with a career .290/.338/.453 line against LHP (.344 wOBA), and that's after the down year he had this season.  Entering 2012, Cano was coming off a season in which he hit .314/.354/.525 against lefties, a result we've become accustomed to seeing from Robbie and the type of L-on-L production that makes him one of the best all-around hitters in the game.  In 2012 something changed, and Robbie struggled mightily against lefties to the tune of .239/.309/.337 (.290 wOBA) in 269 plate appearances.  He still drew a fair amount of walks, for him at least, against southpaws.  But the drop in batting average and power was significant, and something that could potentially raise a red flag given Robbie's pending free agency.

Now The Offseason Wheels Are Turning

Looks like the front office is finally picking up steam after their slow start to the offseason.  Hiroki Kuroda re-signed last week, and that got the ball rolling, and now there's a rash of reporter activity today talking about pending deals and player interest.  Here's the latest:

- Buster Olney got things started this morning with a report that not only was a deal between Andy Pettitte and the Yanks close, but that it will end up at or near the $11 million mark.

- Olney also said Russell Martin, despite recent reports that he was willing to wait for the Yankees to make an offer, has visited "multiple cities" to gauge interest in other teams, according to his agent.

- Ken Rosenthal reported that the Yankees were also "optimistic" about getting a deal done with Mariano Rivera this week, likely at a dollar amount higher than Pettitte's $11 mil.

- Joel Sherman shot down rumors that the Yanks and Ichiro had agreed to a 1-year/$5 mil deal, saying there are "no serious talks ongoing."

Obviously getting Pettitte and Mo locked in this week would be a huge leap forward in their offseason progress, and more than likely speed up the talks with Martin.  Stay tuned...

Andy Starts Offseason Workouts

The next, and possibly final, piece of the 2013 rotation puzzle may be starting to get put into place.  At least that's how a positive-thinking person would take Mark Feinsand's report Sunday about Andy Pettitte starting his offseason workout program as a test to see how his body responds and see if he thinks it will hold up for another season.  After the earlier report that Pettitte would make his decision sometime this week, this latest news makes it look more like we're going to see the lefty back in pinstripes for one more season.  There's no guarantee, but there are 2 big things to take away from this:

Russell Martin Joins The Waiting Game

(Pictured: Not Russell or Ichiro)

Well it looks like Ichiro isn't alone in holding out for the tall, handsome Yankees to ask him to dance before settling on another suitor.  George King of The Post had the deets on Russell Martin also being sweet on the Yankees and reportedly being willing to wait his turn for a contract offer while they sort through things with Mo and Andy before pursuing other options.

2012 AB4AR Season Review: The Minor League Awards

I swear I'm not doing this on purpose.  I know I've already promised that the 2012 Season Review series was over like 45 times by now, but it dawned on me this morning on my ride to the airport that while I managed to hand out all my end-of-season awards to the Major League team (and do it quite well, I might add), I neglected to dish out those same awards for the Minor Leagues.  I guess subconsciously I didn't want to do the MiL awards because it was such a rough season for the Yankee system, but it wasn't all doom and gloom.  A lot of less heralded guys put good years together, and the young A-ball core was dynamite across the board.  So without further ado, and for realsies this is the final 2012 season review post, here are the AB4AR 2012 Minor League award winners.

Pineda Continuing To Progress

(When is somebody going to get a shot of one of Pineda's flat ground sessions?  Courtesy of the AP)

Michael Pineda still has a long uphill battle to fight to get back on the field, back to full or as close to full game shape as he can be after his labrum injury, and back into the good graces of the Yankee fan base, but the updates on his comeback progress continue to be positive.  Brian Heyman of LoHud had the latest details on Friday, including information on Pineda's latest follow-up visit with team doctors, confirmation that he's been on his flat ground throwing program for about 2 months now, and a quote from Brian Cashman on Pineda's arm action in the throwing session looking good and that "he’s in great physical shape in terms of body weight."

All of those are positives for Pineda, who got himself in trouble early in ST last season for reportedly coming into camp in less-than-ideal physical condition.  But has this latest round of updates changed the planned return timetable for him?

The Reality Of Ichiro

It's no secret that I'm not on the "Yankees should bring back Ichiro" bandwagon.  I think he's a fraction of the player he used to be in his prime; I think the .322/.340/.454 tripleslash he put up in a third of a season's worth of plate appearances with the Yankees is not nearly as true an indicator of his current talent level as the results he put up in the previous season and two-thirds worth; and I think if they made slightly more of an effort than they have so far, the Yankees could find a much better all-around option for a starting right fielder next season.  I also think the Yankees are pretty set in their way for how they're going about this offseason and I think Ichiro's performance in a Yankee uniform this season did enough to put him on their radar for 2013.  And the more time that passes this offseason, the more I think Ichiro becomes a fit for what the Yankees are looking for.