Yankees baseball blog

Who has the best staff in AL East?

Baseball's two superpowers have been adding reinforcements all winter and they're probably not done yet, either. But when the Yankees acquired Javier Vazquez in a trade with Atlanta Tuesday, it probably was their last rotation move, giving us nearly two months before spring training begins to contemplate whether their starting five is as strong as that of the rival Red Sox.

Boston may have one more rotation transaction to go - could likely No. 5 starter Clay Buchholz be part of a package for a bat? - but these two teams should have quite an arms race come spring and summer. Continue

Yankes trade Melky for Vazquez

Javier Vazquez is coming back to the Bronx.

The Daily News has learned that the Yankees will acquire the righthanded pitcher from the Braves along with lefthanded reliever Boone Logan, sending Melky Cabrera, lefthander Mike Dunn and righthander Arodys Vizcaino to the Braves.

Vazquez pitched for the Yankees in 2004, going 14-10 with a 4.91 ERA before being traded to Arizona for Randy Johnson - in a deal Brian Cashman didn't want to make at the time. Now Cashman is reacquiring the 33-year-old, adding him to a rotation with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain. Continue

Nick Johnson returns, Damon done

The Yankees Friday finalized a one-year, $5.5 million deal with first baseman-DH Nick Johnson, effectively ending Johnny Damon's run in pinstripes.

The deal will not be officially announced until sometime next week after Johnson completes a physical. According to baseball sources, Johnson, 31, had more lucrative offers from a couple of other teams but wanted to return to the Yankees, who drafted him in 1996 and with whom he began his career in 2001.

Johnson was one of many options GM Brian Cashman spelled out to the Yankee high command in organizational meetings two weeks ago in the event the Yankees couldn't agree with Damon. Continue

Gone-zilla

According to the source, the World Series MVP will receive about $6.5 million, replacing Vladimir Guerrero as the Angels' designated hitter.

Matsui had intended to wait for the Yankees' situation to be resolved before signing elsewhere, but with the Johnny Damon saga seemingly weeks away from a conclusion, Matsui decided to take the Angels' offer.

The Yankees hadn't planned to pursue Matsui unless Damon signed elsewhere, not wanting to lock up their DH spot with one player. Jorge Posada is expected to see at least 50 games as the DH, while A-Rod should get 15-20 games there, too. Continue

How bad does Damon want to stay in NY?

Contract talks between Johnny Damon and the Yankees haven't reached the "Now or Never" stage.

But . . .

Though the Yankees want Damon to play left field next to Curtis Granderson and hit behind Derek Jeter, if agent Scott Boras continues to hunt for a three- or four-year deal -- something the Yankees are very unlikely to offer -- Damon's four-year stint in The Bronx could be over. Continue

Damon may be left out in the cold

The way Brian Cashman sees it at the moment, lefty swinging Curtis Granderson will be the Yankees’ No. 2 hitter against right-handed pitchers.

That, however, doesn’t mean the GM has turned his back on last year’s second-place hitter, Johnny Damon. It’s simply stated because Damon is an unsigned free agent.

However, Cashman talking openly about his latest acquisition hitting in Damon’s spot indicates the Yankees are hatching a plan to live without Damon. Continue

Andy is back for 1 more

have reached a deal with Andy Pettitte to bring the left-hander back for another year in pinstripes.

The two sides reached an agreement on one-year contract worth $11.75 million, a source said. This is a significant raise over the $5.5 million he made in base salary in 2009.

For Pettitte, 37, it will be his fourth season back with the Yankees after a three-year stay with his native Astros in Houston, and his 13th season, overall, with the team that drafted him.

Yankees land Curtis Granderson in 3 way deal

- It took a month of complicated, three-team negotiations, but the Yankees completed the personnel portion of a trade today that would bring center fielder Curtis Granderson to The Bronx.

All that was left to finalizing the seven-player trade was all sides finding no glitches in medical reports that would were exchanged today. Yankees officials did not believe the deal would be finalized before Wednesday.

But, in principle, the trade is completed with Granderson going to the Yankees; Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy going to the Diamondbacks; and a prospect haul of Daniel Schlereth, Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson and Phil Coke going to the payroll-slashing Tigers. Continue

Jeter wins Sportsman of the Year

Derek Jeter has followed in the footsteps of numerous Yankees legends, but the shortstop earned an honor on Monday that none of his predecessors ever did.

The 35-year-old had a memorable season, batting .334 with a .406 on-base percentage and 212 hits, finishing third in the American League's MVP voting. He captivated the city in early September with his chase of Lou Gehrig's franchise hits record, one he claimed as his own on Sept. 11 against the Orioles. Continue