New York Yankees Rumored to Still Be in Contact with Kevin Millwood

Via Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated:

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"Yankees still in contact with Millwood. does this mean they’re growing more worried about Pettitte’s decision?"

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This tweet came out before the news about Andy Pettitte broke, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Pettitte actually informed the Yankees yesterday that he planned to retire.

So, when Heyman questions if the Yankees are still talking with Kevin Millwood because they are worried about Pettitte’s decision, the answer is that they already knew he would retire.

There is a good reason to believe that since the Yankees now know for sure that Pettitte plans on retiring, that they’re going to ramp up their effort to sign Millwood.

The only issue is that according to Buster Olney of ESPN, Millwood is looking for a deal in the $4-5 million range. That seems like a lot for a guy who had a 4-16 record and a 5.10 ERA last season. But Millwood has durability going for him if nothing else and the Yankees may be forced to pay him.

The Yankees would probably prefer to give Millwood a minor league deal with incentives based on starts. At this point, it seems unlikely that Millwood would take that kind of an offer, but if the incentives were enticing enough, he might consider it.

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