If Not Andy Pettitte Then Oliver Perez?

Despite the fact the Yankees signed CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, they will not be finished putting together their starting rotation until they sign a fifth starter.

All off-season, the final spot has been tabbed to go to Andy Pettitte. The admitted HGH abuser has had a contract offer on the table for most of the winter at $10 million for one year, and despite insisting all season he wanted to come back, he has not accepted the deal.

If he ultimately decides to leave or retire, the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan thinks it would be a good idea for the Yankees to sign Mets free agent Oliver Perez.

“Putting Perez on the Yankees would be a great move,” says one top pitching evaluator. “That would be the perfect environment for him. He would be more focused there. He needs strong leadership around him, and pitching in front of a packed house, he would not be complacent.”

The way Kernan puts it does make Perez sound like an attractive piece to add to the rotation in the Bronx. He does seemed focused in big games and might benefit from the playing to a packed house every night and the leadership on the Yankees. The problem with this is the Yankees like that Pettitte only wants a one-year deal. They envision that would be enough time to develop at least one more minor leaguer like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, or Alfredo Aceves. Signing Perez would almost certainly require a multi-year deal.

Also, while the Yankees budget is more imagined than real, I believe they have fallen in love with the idea of adding a fifth starter at no more than the $10 million they offered Pettitte. Otherwise they probably would rather go with Hughes right away rather than the likely $12-15 million Perez might eventually get.

It’s worth it for Brian Cashman to take a look into, but I doubt this is more than a remote possibility and nobody should get worked up over this.