By Chris Cue
January 14, 2009

    At this point in the off season when most teams have settled their number 1 through 3 starting pitcher positions, many teams may now be looking for that innings eater. The 4th starter. The guy who still has potential to be better then league average, but comes with fewer guarantees.

    For Red Sox fans, these questions have been answered with either Wakefield, Penny or Smoltz filling that role, so it’s only natural that we would turn our attention to the team a hundred or so miles to the southwest. Yes, every Sox fan always keeps her or his eye on what the “Empire” is doing and right now, they have more unresolved business in this area then the Red Sox do. So, let’s take a look at where they are and what they may do.

   By the way, have you ever noticed how annoyed some Yankee fans get when Red Sox fans stick their nose into the business of their team? It gets even more funny when Sox fans tell Yankee fans what they should do. They seriously get down right resentful about it. It’s as if they are a little put off knowing that we are educated enough about their team to make intelligent analysis of their current situation. That makes this exercise even more enjoyable don’t ya think? Well, it does for me anyway :-).

    The Yankees need a 4th starter and there remains a lot of guess work on which direction they will take. As an outsider looking in, what seems clear to me, has members of the pinstriped brigade pretty divided on the issue. In my honest opinion, the Yankees best option remains one that up until now, they seem unwilling to pay for. I know, imagine that right? So who is that “best option”? In my humble opinion it’s Andy Pettitte.

    Andy, as I’m sure you know, had a 10 million dollar offer on the table from the Yankees that his agents turned their nose up at due to the 6 million dollar pay cut the Yankees were asking him to take. Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the Yankees offered Andy a 2
year, 32 million dollar deal last off season. He turned it down at the time because he wasn’t sure he wanted to pitch beyond 2008. As it turns
out, he should have taken it. But that may explain why he and his agents balked at a 10 million offer this year. Afterall, if the Yankees saw the value last year in paying him 16 million for this season, then what’s changed? It’s an understandable position to take I suppose and it would make you think that the 10 million dollar offer smacked of getting low-balled. The Yankees are clearly playing some hard ball here and perhaps, rightfully so.

    In case you were unaware, that 10 million dollar offer to Andy has now officially been taken off the table. Apparently, the Yankees warned Pettitte’s agents that if they reached a certain team salary level that they would remove the offer. After signing Mark Teixeira, that salary level was seemingly met and Pettitte’s offer was indeed taken off the table. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Yankees will not renew negotiations. It simply means that for now, they are willing to let Andy twist in the wind and hope he warms up to the idea (and fact) that he’s no longer a 16 million dollar a year pitcher. However, I seriously doubt that the Yankees have run out of money and now find themselves unable to sign Andy Pettitte to a one year 10 million dollar deal. Andy Pettitte is exactly what the Yankees need at this point in time and his agents know this. What isn’t known is if the Yankees are willing to find those innings somewhere else. There are afterall, other options available to them for less then the amount offered to Pettitte.

    So the question is: If not Andy Pettitte, then who? The trade market remains a possibility but it’s almost impossible to speculate on. The Yankees have some pieces to move (Nady, Swisher or some prospects), but the return for them alone being a starting pitcher is very slim. The Yankees could look in house and once again decide that Phil Hughes or a platoon of rookie pitchers could fill that need. However, after spending the kind of money they did this off season on pitching, it’s hard to believe they would take that chance again knowing that Joba Chamberlain is already in the rotation.

    Taking a look at what remains available on the free agent market courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contract’s (link HERE), a few names remain that might fit the bill. Names like John Garland, Paul Byrd and even Oliver Perez all seem to be capable of eating 180 – 200 innings this year. The biggest question is what are the odds that any of those guys could be a .500 pitcher for the Yankees while throwing those innings? At best, I think you could say they might be able to do it. At worst, you could look at them and say the don’t have a chance in H-E-Double toothpicks. So what do the Yankees do here? Do they take a chance on a low cost guy that might bring high rewards? Someone like Ben Sheets, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez or even (Hee Hee) Bartolo Colon? I very seriously doubt it. No, if the Yankees don’t pull the trigger on a trade, Andy Pettitte and what he brings to the table has got to be the best option they have. If you have a better idea, I’m willing to hear it. For now, if the Yankees go the free agent route to fill that 4th spot, my money is on Pettitte returning and doing so at or above that 10 million dollar price tag. It is however, money I hope to lose because I don’t personally see a better option.