New York Yankees Sign Former Closer David Aardsma for Bullpen Depth

UPDATE (2:05 p.m.): According to Marc Carig of the Star Ledger, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said there is an option in the deal for 2013, and he expects that David Aardsma will be a part of the team in 2013, but he could return in July to help the team.

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Cash says move is likely more for '13 as opposed to '12.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) February 22, 2012"

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Baseball is almost upon us.

For those who don't follow hockey or basketball, spring training is a very exciting time.

And for Yankee fans all over, they can't wait for the Bombers to return to the Bronx to kick off the 2012 season.

Pitchers and catchers have reported, and the position players will follow suit to report as well to Tampa.

On Wednesday, the Yankees made another move to ensure their bullpen has more depth to it in 2012.

According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the Yankees have signed former closer  David Aardsma.

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Yankees sign former SEA closer David Aardsma to $500k MLB deal.

— Mark Feinsand (@BloggingBombers) February 22, 2012"

Aardsma's deal is for $500,000 and is a major league deal, not a minor-league one, so it looks like Aardsma is expected to be on the team when he returns from injury.

Aardsma missed the entire 2011 season recovering from Tommy John Surgery back in July of 2011.

Before the surgery, Aardsma had two fine seasons as the Seattle Mariners' closer.

In 2009, he was 3-6 with a 2.52 ERA with 38 saves in 71.1 innings.

In 2010, he was 0-6 with a 3.44 ERA with 31 saves in 49.2 innings.

With Joba Chamberlain still recovering from Tommy John Surgery, the loss of Luis Ayala to free agency, Hideki Okajima failing his physical and being released and Pedro Feliciano likely out until September, the Yankees could use a few more reinforcements in the bullpen.

Cory Wade will return after having a solid 2011 season and the team will have Clay Rapada, Ceasar Cabral and Manny Delcarmen all fighting for bullpen spots in spring training.

The back end of the bullpen is pretty well set with Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera geared for the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

But I like the signing of Aardsma. He's a hard thrower whose fastball is right around the 94-95 miles per hour range and can strike a lot of guys out in big spots.

Plus, if he's healthy and recovered from the surgery, he could really give the Yankees another quality arm in their bullpen.

I think this will be one of those under-the-radar, but really quality signings for the Yankees when the 2012 season hits.