The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Rule 5 draft is pretty much the finale of the Winter Meetings. It begins this morning at 9, and most executives will get out of town within a few hours of the last pick. I’m kind of a geek about this sort of thing, so I really enjoy the Rule 5. It’s become much more significant for the Yankees now that they’ve traded for the top pick (Washington will take whoever the Yankees tell them to pick, then trade the pick to New York).

I know a lot of Yankees minor league and scouting officials, but I haven’t heard a definite choice. There seem to be three theories about who the Yankees are going to choose.

1. LHP Zach Kroenke — This became a popular rumor late last night. Kroenke is currently with the Yankees, but they didn’t protect him from the Rule 5 and the idea is that they now want him to replace Phil Coke. It makes some sense. I first saw the idea here, then Ed Price said he heard the same thing. Then I read it again. John Manuel, though, says it’s not going to happen. Manuel says the Yankees are more likely to pick Ben Jukich or Ben Snyder if they want a left-handed reliever. As an aside, Kroenke was taken in the Rule 5 last year, but the Marlins didn’t keep him. I believe (but I’m not positive) if he’s taken and offered back a second time, he has the right to become a free agent rather than accept a minor league assignment. That might be another reason for the Yankees to take him, to have control over that.

2. RHP Arquimedes Caminero — The hard-throwing right-hander was the early favorite when Steve Henson reported the Yankees were leaning toward Caminero. Yesterday afternoon I got into an email discussion with Frankie Piliere who has scouted and loves Caminero’s arm. I also heard yesterday afternoon that the guy the Yankees were going after was getting legitimate interest from other teams (Jayson Stark reported that the Yankees were shopping the pick, but this was a different source saying it’s not just the Yankees trying to shop, it’s other team’s trying to acquire). That sounds like someone like Caminero. I didn’t know much about him until yesterday, but his fastball is supposed to be huge. Bigger than unprotected Yankees right-handers Kevin Whelan or Grant Duff.

3. OF John Raynor — This is Jonathan Mayo’s pick, and Raynor had some buzz going into this week’s Winter Meetings as well. He and Caminero are both in the Marlins system, and Raynor was ranked as their No. 11 prospect by Baseball America entering this season. “He could challenge for a big league starting job by the end of 2009,” the magazine wrote. Problem is, Raynor had a career .490 slugging percentage but slugged an awful .360 in the Pacific Coast League this year. That’s significantly lower than light-hitting shortstop Doug Bernier slugged in his two PCL seasons. Might have simply been one bad year in an otherwise strong minor league career. Could be worth taking a shot.

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Ysterday I wondered if the Yankees might take an outfielder who can catch (there are two legitimate Rule 5 candidates who fit that description and it would give them a third catcher on days Posada is the DH). That was pretty much my own attempt to think outside the box, but if the Yankees really are planning to take someone who’s generating trade interest from multiple teams, that doesn’t sound like a quirky catcher/outfielder.

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I talked to another team’s scout about some of the Yankees who could be drafted. The Yankees lost four guys last year – all were returned – including Kroenke. The scout said his team wasn’t likely to take anyone in the draft, but they did talk about two Yankees: Kroenke (“Just like last year, a left-on-left guy,” the scout said) and Duff (“I would not be surprised if Duff went just because of the velocity”).

Colin Curtis has gotten some buzz after a great stint in the Arizona Fall League, the scout I talked to said he couldn’t see Curtis sticking on a big league roster all season. He liked him as a guy to potentially call up if a player gets hurt, but he didn’t expect a team to carry him on opening day. “He’s a good baseball player,” the scout said. “But keeping him in the Major Leagues all year might be a reach.”

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My own list of eight Yankees who could be taken:

Colin Curtis, OF – Good tools across the board, but no overwhelming minor league numbers until the Fall League.

Grant Duff, RHP – Touches the upper 90s with his fastball, burst onto the scene this year. 

Jason Hirsh, RHP – Starter acquired from Colorado in August. Once a huge prospect, has significant major league time, but injuries knocked his career off the tracks. Good numbers with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Alan Horne, RHP — Another big prospect hurt by injuries. He’s healthy now but hasn’t pitched much the past two years.

George Kontos, RHP – Would be a huge risk to be taken, but he had Tommy John surgery last summer and won’t be ready to pitch until May or June. 

Zach Kroenke, LHP – If the Yankees don’t take him, I think someone will.

Kanekoa Texeira, RHP – The other piece brought to the Yankees in the Nick Swisher trade had a 2.84 ERA in Double-A this year.

Kevin Whelan, RHP – Great stuff (big fastball, terrific split) but has 161 walks in 266 career innings. Control was much better in Triple-A this season.

One of the top relievers on the market — and a guy who was tied to the Yankees at one point — Rafael Soriano has been traded to the Tampa Bay Rays according to Jon Heyman.

Soriano accepted arbitration with the Braves, who had already signed two late-inning relievers and it seemed to be in the best interest of both Soriano and the Braves that he be traded.

Apparently the Rays will send Jesse Chavez to Atlanta.

By the way, this is another of those thank you to MLBTradeRumors moments.

When a traded baseball player speaks to the media for the first time, you expect him to give a generic comment about how great he expects the new fans to be. Curtis Granderson was no different during tonight’s conference call, except he had a specific example in mind.

“I think New York’s fan base is probably one of the most knowledgeable about tradition and the team,” he said. “Case in point, when I was walking around with Marcus Thames one time, a police officer pointed him out and said, ‘Hey, that’s Marcus Thames. First at-bat home run against Randy Johnson.’ It just amazed me that we’re walking down the middle of the street in Manhattan, there’s a ton of people walking on the street and this guy picked him out — not in uniform — and remembered that bit about him. That’s part’s probably going to be the most interesting because people know it and they study it and they learn it and they want to be all about New York.”

It’s tough to know much about a guy based on a 16-minute phone call, but Granderson seemed excited to get this phase of his career started. He’s played in New York during fairly meaningless regular season games, and he’s played in New York during the playoffs. He spoke at length about his Grand Kids Foundation and the idea of bringing it to the city. He called himself an “adaptor” who can hit pretty much anywhere in the lineup, steal a bag when he needs to and “can sneak in and do some positive things for our team.”

Granderson played against Robinson Cano coming up through the minors, and he played with Derek Jeter in the World Baseball Classic. Otherwise, he doesn’t seem to have a close relationship with many of the current Yankees, except one.

“Me and Swisher have played against one another when he was with Oakland,” Granderson said. “And with him playing first base, for some reason we clicked very well. Getting on first base, we would have full conversations throughout the game. Even in the American League Championship Series, Andy Van Slyke, our former first-base coach with the Tigers, had to calm us down because we were in full conversation.”

• The number 28. Granderson said he wore it in college and he’s worn it most of his major league career, but if Joe Girardi wants it, it’s his. “He’s the one that makes everything go, so he’s definitely going to have first dibs on it,” Granderson said. Granderson started laughing when he told us the two numbers that he wore when he was younger: 2 and 8. “Those aren’t options either,” he said.

• Cashman said Granderson is the Yankees center fielder. He does not foresee a situation in which Granderson becomes the left fielder.

• As for the batting order. Granderson said he’s comfortable hitting anywhere. Cashman said the Yankees will discuss it this winter, but right now he sees Granderson batting second against right-handed starters and “in the back of the lineup” against left-handed starters.

• Granderson was quickly asked what he can do to cut down on the strikeouts and hit better against lefties: “It’s going to be just a transition to try to continue to try to figure out what’s causing it,” he said. “There’s a simple answer to that: Don’t hit with two strikes. Of course, that would be the easiest and obvious one. But when it comes down to the actual mechanical and mental changes we have to make in the game, that’s going to come over time I think, and getting to be around hitters that have proven to be consistent hitters like a Jeter, like a Teixeira, like an A-Rod whose strikeout numbers are down, who can hit against both pitchers up there — Teixeira, of course, being a switch hitter. To see guys like Robinson Cano, who’s a guy I played against coming up all the way through the minor league system and has had great success batting against left-handers. Hopefully I can learn a lot of things from him and the rest of the Yankees offensive lineup there. Make strides moving forward, that’s what I always want to do. Just improve on something.”

• Cashman’s take on Granderson’s struggles against lefties: “He has hit lefties before,” Cashman said. “He was obviously very bad last year. We’ll have to wait and see. Kevin Long will work with him. If you look at video from a scouting perspective, you can’t really see any reason why, and a lot of times you can (with other players). In his case, it’s more of a head scratcher. There’s nothing you can see that explains why he didn’t hit left handers.”

• If Johnny Damon were to be re-signed, Cashman said Damon would likely return to the No. 2 spot in the order and Granderson would move into a more run-producing spot in the lineup.

I love The West Wing. It’s probably my favorite television show of all time. The show’s central character was President Jed Bartlet, and whenever Bartlet came to a decision, his response was a quick and blunt, “What’s next?” There was no sense lingering in the past. It was on to the next thing.

After a major trade and a free agent signing, Brian Cashman seems to be in the same state of mind this evening.

“We’ve done OK so far,” Cashman said. “Andy was the first priority. It gives me comfort to have Andy in the fold with what we’ve already got. And we like our team. We lost 50 plus home runs due to free agency when Johnny and Matsui elected. Now I’ve acquired someone who kind of mitigates that to some degree and provides youth, and he’s signed, and athleticism. And that’s all good. But is it enough? Are we where we need to be yet? We’re not a finished product. We have areas of need. We have people within the system that we can try and may very well be the answer. It’s just, is that the right way to go right now?”

Cashman said the Curtis Granderson trade has not completely eliminated the possibility of bringing back both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, though that doesn’t seem likely and “would come at the expense of a Gardy or a Melky.”

Cashman also wouldn’t rule out the idea of making another big trade that involves multiple prospects. “It depends on the player I’d be getting,” he said. “I would in the right circumstances. I don’t like to for good reason.”

Although Cashman said there is not a defined next target — pitching or an outfielder/designated hitter — it’s clear that someone who is strictly a DH ranks low on the list. Cashman described the free market as one in which you can look any direction and find a guy who can DH. Cashman acknowledged having at least talked to John Lackey’s agent, and it seems that pitching remains his highest priority. But only pitching within reason. Beyond CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte, Cashman rattled off a list of seven in-house names who could compete for a spot in the big league rotation (Hughes, Chamberlain, Aceves, Mitre, Gaudin, Nova, McAllister. “I used to have Kennedy in that mix and I don’t now,” he said). Cashman said the group of free agent starters he’s legitimately interested in is “not big” and said last year was the right market in which to be aggressive.

“The pitching is getting more expensive in all of my conversations,” Cashman said. “If that market keeps getting higher and higher, that might change my focus.”

Sorry for the new post so quickly, but Major League Baseball just announced that the general managers of the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks are about to hold a press conference.

Wonder what that could be about?

Pretty soon we’re going to have reaction and details on the Curtis Granderson trade. I’ll update this post when that information starts to come in.

UPDATE, 4:35 p.m.: Discussions started before Thanksgiving. Began with the Tigers hearing the Diamondbacks were interested in Edwin Jackson and the Yankees were interested in Curtis Granderson. It took roughly three weeks to get everything worked out.

UPDATE, 4:39 p.m.: Tigers were not interested in lower-level players. They were only going to do the deal for players who could jump into the lineup and rotation immediately.

UPDATE, 4:43 p.m.: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski on Austin Jackson: “We’re counting on him to make our big league club… He’s about as sure of a guy as you can find.”

UPDATE, 4:44 p.m.: Cashman on Jackson, “I’ve said no to him on so many deals in the past.”

UPDATE, 4:46 p.m.: Cashman: “We’re excited about what we’re getting and distraught about what we gave up at the same time.”

UPDATE, 4:48 p.m.: Cashman said this deal doesn’t rule out bringing back Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. “The next decisions we make are just as important,” he said.

UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: Well that was pretty quick. The press conference is over, but the beat writers are getting Cashman pretty soon. There should be a little more information in an hour or so. Hang tight.

It was Thanksgiving weekend when Andy Pettitte’s agent called the Yankees and let them know Pettitte wanted to come back for 2010. Less than two weeks later, a deal was complete.

“It’s great, it really is,” Pettitte said in an afternoon conference call. “I wanted to get home. I wanted to get this decision made and get it behind me, just move forward from there. I didn’t want to hold the Yankees up in any way.”

Pettitte said he and his wife went home after the playoffs and waited a little more than a week before talking about whether to come back, and given the way the season ended, retirement crossed Pettitte’s mind.

“There’s no doubt it did,” he said. “For me, I couldn’t have wrote it up any better. I just could not have wrote a script any better than last year ended. I was like, what else is there to do? Why would you even continue to play? But, then you start talking to guys and it’s like, I want to make sure I’m done. I want to make sure I fully exhaust myself and I don’t want to regret not playing. I want to come back and help this organization win another one, basically. That’s what you play for.”

Because of the postseason, Pettitte said he’s considering pushing back the day he starts throwing. He usually starts on January 1, but he might start two weeks later this year. Pettitte said he’ll check with Dave Eiland before setting an offseason plan. As for the Yankees offseason plan — which seems to be taking shape more quickly than anyone could have expected — Pettitte said he would welcome another arm, but he’s confident in what the Yankees have in house.

“I feel like we have a whole lot of options right now,” Pettitte said. “I know the Yankees are always trying to get better as an organization. Always trying to prepare for the future. If they could swing a deal for another arm, that’s not going to do anything but help us have an opportunity to win another championship, so that would be great if they could do that. But if not, I believe that we feel like we’re probably strong enough and if we stay healthy we have a good shot at making another run at this thing.”

Sorry this is a bit late. The beat writers spent the past hour and a half at an official lunch with some of the Yankees front office people. It’s actually a lunch with all of the major league manager’s, but Joe Girardi couldn’t make it because of an illness in his family, so the Yankees writers ate with Billy Eppler and Damon Oppenheimer.

Here’s the official release on the Andy Pettitte signing.

The New York Yankees announced today they have signed left-handed pitcher Andy Pettitte to a one-year contract.

Pettitte, 37, was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts with the Yankees in 2009 (194.2IP, 193H, 101R, 90ER, 76BB, 148K, 20HR), winning his fifth World Championship with the organization (also 1996, ‘98-2000). The Yankees were 21-11 in his starts.

He went 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA (30.2IP, 12ER) in five postseason starts with the Yankees in 2009, becoming the first pitcher ever to start and win all three clinching games in a single postseason (ALDS, ALCS and World Series). Along with David Wells (1998), became just the second Yankee to record four wins in a single postseason. Pettitte is 18-9 with a 3.90 ERA in 40 career postseason starts, recording the most wins, starts and innings pitched among Major League pitchers all time in postseason play. His six postseason clinching game wins are also the most all time.

Originally selected by the Yankees in the 22nd round of the 1990 First-Year Player Draft, Pettitte is 192-109 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 overall seasons with the club (1995-2003, 2007-09). He ranks third in franchise history in wins, strikeouts (1,772) and games started (375), sixth in innings pitched (2406.2) and eighth in appearances (384). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his win total is the highest for any pitcher with his current club.

Twice named an American League All-Star (1996 and 2001), Pettitte owns a 229-135 career record with a 3.91 ERA. Among Major League pitchers since 1995 when he debuted, he has recorded the most wins, the second-most innings pitched (2926.1) and the seventh-most strikeouts (2,150). Pettitte has posted a winning percentage of .500-or-better and made at least 15 starts in each of his 15 Major League campaigns, matching Cy Young (15 seasons, 1890-1904) and Tom Seaver (15 seasons, 1967-81) for the longest such stretch to start a Major League career (credit: Elias). In addition, Pettitte played for the Houston Astros from 2004-06, where he compiled a 37-26 record with a 3.38 ERA. He is a two-time 20-game winner, notching 21 victories in 1996 and 2003.

In the last decade (2000-09), Pettitte led the Majors in wins (148), ranked ninth in games started (300) and 10th in strikeouts (1,441). He ranks fourth among active left-handed pitchers with 229 career wins.

Johan Santana was a Rule 5 pick. So was Josh Hamilton and Shane Victorino (twice) and Dan Uggla. More often than not, though, Rule 5 picks hang around spring training for a while without ever having a realistic shot of making the big league roster. You might remember that the Yankees lost a whopping four players in last year’s Rule 5 and exactly none of them stuck with their new teams.

After the Brian Bruney trade, the Yankees have the top pick in this year’s draft (unless they trade it). Even at No. 1, though, this year’s class seems thin.

“There’s nothing,” said one scout who’s not with the Yankees. “I don’t think we’re going to be active at all.”

• The scout mentioned left-handed hitting catcher Brian Jeroloman as someone who has drawn some interest, but the scout wasn’t sure Jeroloman would fit with the Yankees. He’s been highly touted for his defense and on-base percentage, but Jeroloman’s strikeouts went way up this year. In the Rule 5 draft, it’s doubtful the Yankees could find a better backup catcher than Francisco Cervelli, but they might find someone to compete for the job.

• Steve Henson has reported that the Yankees are planning to take hard-throwing right-hander Arquimedes Caminero. Baseball America has called Caminero, “one of the best arms available with premium arm strength.” He could be a legitimate bullpen option. My only hesitation in thinking the Yankees might go after him is that the Yankees chose not to protect two of their own “premium arm strength” right handers, Grant Duff and Kevin Whelan. Maybe Caminero is a lot better, I honestly don’t know. He’s barely pitched above short season ball.

• After trading Phil Coke, the Yankees could be in the market for a left-handed reliever. Of course, one Rule 5 preview lists the Yankees own Zach Kroenke as one of the top lefties available. Baseball America didn’t rank a single lefty among the top 10 Rule 5 prospects, and the two lefties who ranked in the top 20 were described as having “fringe” fastballs. Mike Dunn might be a better option.

• My own thinking says Chad Tracy (Jim Tracy’s son, not the big leaguer) or Matt McBride might make sense. Both are right-handed hitting outfielders/first basemen with fairly substantial experience at catcher. Both have some power as well. One of those two could add some outfield depth on the bench – something the Yankees might need – while also giving the Yankees a third catcher for days when Jorge Posada starts at designated hitter.

At least, that’s what Jon Heyman is saying. He even has numbers, saying the deal should be worth roughly $12 million.

Looks like the Yankees could leave these Winter Meetings with an new impact center fielder, Andy Pettitte signed to a one-year deal and the top Rule 5 pick adding depth to the major league roster. That’s four days well spent in Indianapolis.

UPDATE, 10:52 p.m.: Speaking of news on Twitter — you fine folks in the comments are already all over this one — Jayson Stark is reporting that the Yankees are shopping that No. 1 Rule 5 pick.

UPDATE, 11:23 p.m.: Joel Sherman is saying the Pettitte deal is done. One year, $11.75 million.

Not sure how you could have missed it,  but the Yankees agreed to trade three players for Curtis Granderson on Tuesday. It was a three-team, seven-player blockbuster that solidified the Yankees outfield, but the Winter Meetings continue and there’s little reason to think the Yankees are done.

As Day Three of the Winter Meetings gets started, the Yankees still have to address their pitching situation — which remains their offseason priority — and they could still make a move for at least one hitter. Mark Feinsand talked to an official who said the Yankees aren’t out of the Roy Halladay sweepstakes. Just a guess, but I have to think that as long as the Yankees have Jesus Montero, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, they can get in on any trade talks. It’s a matter of being willing to pay the prospect price.

I’ve talked to a baseball executive connected to none of the three teams involved in yesterday’s blockbuster, and he thinks all three teams did pretty well. Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy were a lot to give up, but that’s what it was going to take to get a player like Granderson. Personally, I believe Jackson will be an everyday big leaguer. I also remain high on Kennedy and think the Yankees sold low there. BuI still think it’s a great move for the Yankees. They had to give up real talent to pull it off, but that’s the way these things work.