Yankees Sign Johnson, Prep Coke As Starter, DFA Duncan

Aside from annoucing Mark Teixeira and casting further doubt that they would retain Andy Pettitte the Yankees made a couple of minor moves which could end up directly effecting the big league team.

In order to officially make Teixeira a Yankee they had to clear roster space. So in order to do that they had designate Shelley Duncan for assignment. It’s a shame about Duncan, he broke out in a big way in 2007 and looked like he would have a spot on the team in 2008. Instead he rode the bench for most of April and was eventually sent back to the minors before suffering an injury which pretty much wreaked the rest of his season.

He’ll probably get a chance somewhere else. Likely St. Louis where his father is a coach and his brother is an outfielder. If not he’ll be a right handed power bat off somebody’s bench. He’s not exactly a five-tool player, but a bat is a bat.

Next the Yankees signed journeyman pitcher Jason Johnson. Johnson is a 12-year veteran who came up in 1997 with Pittsburgh, spent his best years with Baltimore and most recently pitched with the Dodgers. Johnson got a minor league deal and will compete for the fifth starter spot. It’s unlikely he’ll get it, instead I can see the team keeping him in the minors as insurance and eventually designating Dan Giese for assignment if they need room on the roster for another call-up. They could co-exist if other players go down with injuries.

Finally, in another sign that the team is preparing for life without Pettitte they have told Phil Coke to get himself ready for the season as a starter. That makes sense even if they use him out of the pen as it is easier to go from starter to reliever than vice versa.

These moves now give them a few options for the fifth starter role without looking outside of the organization. They have five guys in total—Johnson, Coke, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Alfredo Aceves.