New York Yankees Optimistic on Andy Pettitte Deal

With CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett in place, the Yankees nearly have their rotation completed, but there is still one hole remaining, and they hope Andy Pettitte can fill it.

Pettitte has had a $10 million offer on the table, even before the team decided against offering the 36-year-old arbitration. The Yankees refrained from offering him arbitration to keep from him resigning at $16 million.

They insist that at this point in his career, he is a No. 5 starter not worthy of such a large deal.

In this economy, it is hard to argue that a player who is coming off a 14-loss season is worth that much, and accordingly, the Yankees are “still optimistic” that they can get a deal done.

Both sides have other options. Pettitte supposedly has a three-year $36 million offer on the table from an unnamed team. It is doubtful that the offer is actually real and that he would accept it if it were. All season, Pettitte has insisted he would pitch for the Yankees or retire and that he prefers a one-year deal.

On the other hand the Yankees could step up efforts on Derek Lowe or rekindle efforts to go after Joe Girardi’s favorite Ben Sheets.

There are some decent benefits of signing Pettitte, though. One thing is that they know what they are getting with Pettitte, a durable pitcher who can give you 200 innings and won’t shy away from the spotlight of New York.

Another is the benefit of having a pitcher like him on a one-year deal which would not block any young pitchers like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, or Alfredo Aceves. If any of those three establish themselves in 2009, then Pettitte’s one-year deal would not block any of them, much like a four-year deal for Lowe would.