Andy Pettitte Signs Minor League Deal with New York Yankees

After devoting the offseason to strengthening the back-end of their pitching rotation, the New York Yankees have made another move.

This time, the team is going with a familiar name—former Yankee Andy Pettitte (per Jack Curry of the YES Network). 

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The Yankees have signed Andy Pettitte to a 1-year minor league deal worth $2.5 million. The team is thrilled to have 240-game winner back.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) March 16, 2012"

Pettitte was a Yankee from 1995-2003 and again from 2007-2010. He retired after the 2010 season and didn't pitch at all in 2011. 

What it means for Yankees

This is going to create a lot of competition in the Yankees camp for spots in the rotation. Currently, the team's official website lists their rotation as C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia. 

To get to the normal rotation of five men, one of those will already have to be demoted out of the rotation. Now that they're bringing Pettitte back, it's hard to imagine the Yankees would have plans on him being a minor leaguer for long, let alone having him come out of the bullpen.

If I was Hughes or Garcia, I would be very nervous about holding my spot in the rotation. 

If nothing else, what Pettitte brings is a lot of postseason experience. His overall playoff record is 19-10, which the Yankees would love to have. Therefore, the back-end guys had better be on their games throughout the rest of spring training and even the early regular season. 

What it means for Pettitte

Again, it's a minor league contract, but it's hard to see Pettitte coming back for that. Pettitte will be 40 in June, is a five-time World Series winner and—as Curry said—a 240-game winner. If he's not on the major league roster, I can't imagine that he would stay around. 

This obviously means that Pettitte feels as though he can pitch and that there are no health concerns involved, which is a good thing. 

If Pettitte is coming back, it means he feels as though there is still something left in the tank. We'll have to see what kind of rust shows, but Pettitte was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 2010. 

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