Yankees Opening Day Roster

Catchers
29 Francisco Cervelli
19 Chris Stewart

Infielders
55 Lyle Overbay
24 Robinson Cano
36 Kevin Youkilis
26 Eduardo Nunez
17 Jayson Nix
33 Travis Hafner

Outfielders
11 Brett Gardner
31 Ichiro Suzuki
12 Vernon Wells
45 Ben Francisco
22 Brennan Boesch

Starting Rotation
52 CC Sabathia
18 Hiroki Kuroda
46 Andy Pettitte
47 Ivan Nova
41 David Phelps

Bullpen
42 Mariano Rivera
30 Dave Robertson
62 Joba Chamberlain
48 Boone Logan
27 Shawn Kelley
38 Cody Eppley
43 Adam Warren

Sunday Conversation: Mo

Yankees Release Juan Rivera

Yankees Sign Overbay to a Minor League Deal

From Mark Feinsand:

Lyle Overbay walked into the Yankees’ clubhouse late Tuesday afternoon, immediately spotting Vernon Wells, his former teammate with the Blue Jays.

The two embraced, both seemingly amazed to be standing together in the Yankees clubhouse after joining the team within a matter of hours of each other.

“I would show you around here,” Wells said. “But I don’t know where anything is.”

Overbay was released by the Red Sox Tuesday morning, prompting his agent to call the Yankees immediately. The Bombers offered the 36-year-old a minor-league deal with an out clause by Friday.

“It’s kind of like a three-day tryout,” Overbay said. “I know they’ve been watching me, but there’s not a lot of opportunities out there, so I wanted to jump on this. This was an opportunity, and that’s all it was. Go out there and see what I can do, and who knows? Stranger things have happened.”

Like I said yesterday, he's probably a better option than Juan Rivera.

Should the Yankees give Overbay a shot?

From Bryan Hoch:

The Yankees might consider signing free agent first baseman Lyle Overbay, who was released from his Minor League contract by the Red Sox on Tuesday morning.

Overbay, 36, was a non-roster invitee to Boston's camp and batted .220 with seven RBIs in 19 games this spring.

A .270 career hitter over 12 big league seasons, Overbay played in 65 games last year with the D-backs and Braves, batting a combined .259 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 116 at-bats.

...

"The stuff that's possibly out there that we could add, those decisions aren't in our control," Cashman said recently. "If there are castoffs from other camps that we'll look at and evaluate, we'll wait for that to happen first."

With Jeter hurt, that leave Youkilis starting at third and then, as of now, Juan Rivera at first. I'm not sure how much the 36-year-old Overbay has left in the tank, but I have to believe it's better than what Rivera will give the Yankees.

Do you think the Yankees should give Overbay a shot?

Wang Feels Great Being Back in Bronx

From LoHud:

“It was an easy decision for me (to sign back with the Yankees) because I never wanted to leave,” Wang said. “… It’s like back in the day. This was my first team, this is where I started. I feel great.”

Wang said there were “four or five” teams interested in him, all looking into minor league deals.....

Although he knows he’s heading to Triple-A to start the season, Wang is hopeful that he’ll be in the majors before the end of the season.

“I’ll try everything I can,” he said. “Try to keep pitching and let them see.”

Wells Will Start In Left

From Andrew Marchand:

"He will be the everyday left fielder," an official with knowledge of the Yankees plans told ESPN New York.

The official added that when Curtis Granderson returns, Wells will be the fourth outfielder. Since Wells is righty, he still will get at-bats as the Yankees regular outfield consists of three lefties, Granderson, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. The official said the Yankees plan on using Wells as a DH, too, because their main DH Travis Hafner is left-handed.

...

The Yankees now have the option of keeping Juan Rivera to play first base until Mark Teixeira returns. In the outfield, they could retain Brennan Boesch as another lefty, at least until Granderson returns. Boesch has options and there is nothing in his contract, the official said, that would prevent the Yankees from sending him down to the minors.

The Yankees could consider Melky Mesa, Ronnier Mustelier and Ben Francisco for the final reserve outfield spot on the Opening Day roster insted of Boesch. Mustelier can play third, as well.

I was hoping that these injuries would give a younger player--like Melky Mesa--a chance to prove himself at the big league level, but instead they add another aging vet who hasn't been able to hit in two+ years. That said, I hope this works out for the Yanks... In other Wells-related news, it turns out this deal make actually help the Yankees financially, or at least not hurt them. Check out that story on the Daily News.

Are you interested in seeing how Vernon Wells does in a Yankee uniform or just want to get out to the Bronx to see the 2013 Yankees in person? Buy your Yankees tickets from SIH tickets.

Yankees Acquire Vernon Wells

Here's the story from Jeff Passan:

Were it not for the New York Yankees, Vernon Wells still would be a Los Angeles Angel, forever consigned to their dungeon of ill-fated maneuvers. Because the Yankees exist – and because they operate in a vacuum independent from their harrowing reality – the Angels now no longer must stare at a $100 million mistake for two more seasons.

Desperation, thy outfit is pinstripes.

The trade that would send Wells and around two-thirds of the $42 million remaining on his contract to the Yankees neared completion Sunday night, only a physical and commissioner's approval left to consummate it. Seeing as the Angels considered Wells sunk cost, the idea they would get anything, let alone savings in the parameter a source said was $12 million to $14 million, made Sunday a massive win for Los Angeles.

This was not one of those win-win trades.

For the Yankees, it was stunning. The steadiest franchise panicked after injuries dismantled its everyday lineup. The team that built itself on plate discipline traded for a 34-year-old outfielder who over the last two years hit .222, couldn't get on base even 26 percent of the time and, if that weren't bad enough, looks fit for Madame Tussauds in the outfield. And the offseason of Scrooge yielded to the spring of perhaps $7 million a year for Vernon Wells, who will fill in for a month or so until Curtis Granderson's return, and then … well, the Yankees seem to be thinking for tomorrow only, so who knows.

"I just wonder where this money was in December," one Yankees official said.

The reaction to the deal across baseball was a mix of wonderment and criticism, for to partake of Wells at this point in his career flashed alarm of which few thought the Yankees capable. Among the injuries to Granderson and Mark Teixeira, the lingering hip problems of Alex Rodriguez and the setbacks to Derek Jeter, the Yankees have endured a more brutal spring than anyone – the sort that left more than one executive on Sunday predicting a last-place finish in the American League East.

I'm confused by this deal myself. Wells has had a good spring, hitting .361 with a double and four homers, but it's spring and we all know that spring training stats basically mean nothing. The guy has been terrible since his move to the Angels and I wouldn't be too confident that he's suddenly going to find the fountain of youth.

Yankees Ink Wang to Minor League Deal

From USA Today:

The New York Yankees have brought back a familiar face, signing Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to a minor league contract.

The Yankees said on Saturday that Wang would report right away to the minor league complex.

Wang, who turns 33 this month, was originally signed by the Yankees in 2000. He went 55-26 with them during five seasons and was a 19-game winner in consecutive years.

Since he hasn't had many big league highlights since injuring himself in Houston that day, here's some video from this year's WBC:





His entire outing vs Japan

Cashman: Jeter Will Likely Start Season on DL

From Jon Paul Morosi:

It appears likely that New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter will begin the season on the disabled list.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Sunday that the revised goal is for Jeter to be ready April 6, according to the team’s Twitter feed. That would be the Yankees’ fifth game of the regular season, in Detroit against the Tigers (MLB on FOX, 4:05 p.m. ET). The Yankees open their schedule Monday, April 1, at home against the Boston Red Sox.

Jeter, 38, hasn’t played in a Grapefruit League game since March 16 because of inflammation in his surgically repaired left ankle. Cashman told reporters Sunday that Jeter won’t play for the next two days.

Well, that sucks, but it's the smart move.

Jeter May Be Headed To The DL

Yeah, so remember the other day when I said Jeter would be fine? Well that might not be the case:

Instead of opening the season at shortstop, Derek Jeter could wind up opening it on the disabled list.

General manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the possibility yesterday after Jeter had a cortisone shot to recover from inflammation in his left ankle.

“We can’t rule it out till we see how the next 10 days go,” Cashman said before the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 4-0, in a Grapefruit League game at Steinbrenner Field. “We’ve got to do what’s right for him. … I’m not saying he’ll be DL’d, but I can’t tell you he won’t be.”

After sending Jeter for X-rays and an MRI exam Tuesday, the Yankees consulted with doctors in North Carolina, who performed the surgery on the shortstop in October. He likely will have to stay off the field until at least the weekend.

“It’s not a surprise,” Cashman said of the development. “His rehab’s gone extremely well, but after the back-to-back [games at shortstop], it barked a little bit. We’ve just got to back off. … I don’t think it’s anything serious. I think it’s a timing issue.”

...

“There is a reason [manager] Joe Girardi has played Eduardo Nunez at shortstop the entire spring,” Cashman said. “It was in the event if we ever have any issues as we move through this stuff, we’ll have someone ready to go.”

I still think Jeter will do whatever it takes to be on the field by Opening Day, but this should still be a concern. Hopefully it's not something he has to deal with all season.

Chien-Ming Wang working out for Yanks in Tampa

Interesting.... He pitched well for Chinese Taipei in the WBC, throwing 12 scoreless innings in two starts. Stay tuned.

More on Jeter's Ankle

From Anthony Rieber:

Jeter, who broke the ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS last October, said he didn't think the stiffness was going to stop him from playing for the Yankees in the April 1 season opener against the Red Sox.

"Two weeks is plenty of time to get ready," he said.

However, asked when he might get back on the field, Jeter said: "I don't know. I really don't know. I wish I had an answer for you. But I don't know. I'll play as soon as I can. If I can play tomorrow, I'll play tomorrow. If it's the next day, it's the next day. But the luxury is that it's spring training."

...

General manager Brian Cashman said his level of concern on Jeter was "none." But the Yankees still sent the 38-year-old Captain to see Dr. Daniel Murphy. Results of that visit were not immediately announced.

""It's just part of the rehab of a broken ankle, which has its up and downs," Cashman said by telephone. "There's nothing new, as far as I'm concerned."

...

Jeter said he wasn't concerned about that and didn't consider Tuesday's news a setback, though it's hard to see how it isn't when he felt the stiffness after not playing since a four-inning stint at short on Saturday.

"I've had a lot of good days," Jeter said. "This is just something that happened today, so hopefully tomorrow it'll be a lot better. I don't think it's a setback."

...

"I'm not concerned because I was told this was going to happen," Jeter said. "Maybe if I wasn't told it was going to happen, I'd be concerned. From everything that I've been told from the doctors, it's normal . . . It's just stiffness, but once again it's not in the part that I broke. It's around there. So that's why I'm not concerned. I was told, 'You're going to feel it - not necessarily the ankle, but around the ankle,' just because I've been in a boot for so long."

I've seen people overreacting to this all day, and I'm not going to join that party. Jeter will be fine.

Jeter Scratched From Today's Lineup With Stiff Ankle

From Chad Jennings:

Derek Jeter has been scratched from the Yankees lineup because of stiffness in his left ankle.

Joe Girardi said that Jeter was flexing the ankle a lot during batting practice. Jeter eventually went to trainer Steve Donohue, who then told Girardi, who made the lineup change. Girardi is not sure what this means long term. Could be just a day. Could be a sign of things to come.

For now, let's not overreact to this. The guy is coming back from an ankle injury so I'm sure this was to be expected this early on in the recovery process.

Yankees Still Looking For Outfield Help

From Dan Martin:

“I’m open,” Cashman said following the Yankees’ 7-0 split-squad loss to the Phillies at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “Opening Day’s not till a ways down the line. I’m keeping my eyes open elsewhere. Our guys are competing for a spot, and there are other guys not even wearing this Yankee uniform right now that might be competing for a spot that we’re watching elsewhere.”

...

In the meantime, Cashman made it clear he’s not done looking for help for an injury-depleted lineup.

“Toward the end of camp, we’ll evaluate what we have and evaluate what’s available outside of our camp,” Cashman said.

“[Longtime scout and former GM] Gene Michael taught me to sift through the nuggets and separate the gold from the rest of the debris. We’re trying to get as much sifting as we can get and hopefully run into some gold.”

As for anyone that's available who would actually help, I'm drawing a blank. Is there anyone you'd like to see the Yankees go after?

Teixeira Won't Rush Back From Wrist Injury

From Peter Botte:

Mark Teixeira returned to Yankees camp on Sunday after injuring his right wrist nearly two weeks ago while with Team USA before the start of the World Baseball Classic.

Teixeira clarified that the injury is to his tendon sheath, and not the tendon, as previously reported. After missing most of September last season because he returned too early from a calf injury, Teixeira also said he won’t rush back to the injury-riddled Yankees before he’s fully healthy.

“This is one of those things I can’t come back too early. We saw when I tried to play too early last year what happened,” Teixeira said. “If I play too early, I could miss the whole season, and we don’t want that.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be middle of May, beginning of May, beginning of June. I don’t know when it is, but I know there’s a whole bunch of season left and the time that really matters is the playoffs. We have guys who can pick me up when I’m gone, guys who can pick Curtis (Granderson) up when he’s gone. I think Curtis and I will be back around the same time and that’ll be a big boost for the club.”

At this point, I expect the June date is much more likely. Tex also didn't want to blame the WBC for his "freak injury":

“It has nothing to do with the WBC,” he said. “It would be one thing if we weren’t playing games. We started playing games on the 23rd of February. February 23rd, think about it.”

“So we’re playing games,” Teixeira added. “It doesn’t matter if you’re WBC, doesn’t matter if you’re spring training, I was hitting off a tee. It was a freak injury. If nobody was playing baseball and we decided to show up in January or February and start playing nine inning games, then people would say, ‘OK, what is this WBC?’ but we’re playing games.”

The bottom line is--and we knew this already--others will need to step up while he and Granderson are out.

Yankees Release Matt Diaz

Yankees Sign Brennan Boesch

According to Jon Heyman, the Yankees have signed for Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch. The deal is worth $1.5 million, plus $600,000 in performance-based incentives. He had been released by the Tigers just two days ago. In three seasons with the Tigers, the 27-year-old hit .259/.315/.414 while averaging 14 homers and about 60 RBI per season.

Yankees Sign Ben Francisco

In 2012, Francisco hit .240/.285/.385 in 82 games with the Jays, Astors and Rays

Looks Like The Yankees Are Getting Desperate

Since this obviously didn't work, they've moved on to Derrek Lee and Scott Rolen:

Some Sunday Links

Haven't done a link dump in a while, figured I'd start today:

- Richard Justice calls the Yankees trio of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte "a timeless classic" in this article for MLB.com.

- Joel Sherman says that Mariano was what separated the Yankees from everyone else. I would have to agree.

- After CC Sabathia sim game today, he's set to make his spring debut on Friday.

- Boone Logan threw off a mound today after dealing with elbow soreness.

- Sweeny Murti says the Blue Jays haven't proved anything yet and even they know it.

- Here's the upcoming plan for Mariano and Jeter as they both return from injuries.

- Steve Serby did his Sunday Q&A with Goose Gossage. As you might expect, Mariano was one of the main topics of conversation.

- The Daily News' Mark Feinsand has a new podcast which debuted today.

- Andrew Marchand thinks Ronnier Mustelier may be the Yankees new contender at third.

- If you're looking to grab Yankees tickets for the upcoming season, SIH has you covered.

... Oh, and the United States is trailing Canada 2-0 in the 3rd inning, in what is a win-or-go-home game for both teams at the WBC.

WBC: Canada and Mexico Brawl (Video)

While leading 9-3 in the 9th, one of the Canadian players bunted for a base hit. Mexico took offense, drilled the next batter and all hell broke loose. Definitely one of the craziest baseball brawls I've seen in a while. Here's the video:

Marchand: The Boss Almost Traded Mo

From Andrew Marchand:

Before Mariano Rivera ever became the closer, Derek Jeter's potential saved him from becoming an ex-Yankee.

...

“It was close,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said.

Rivera had pitched well in the 1995 playoffs, but the Yankees came in with big expectations. Jeter, slated to be the rookie starting shortstop, had an uneven spring training and George Steinbrenner was losing patience.

“There were some people in George’s circle who raised some concern about whether Jeter was going to be ready or not,” Cashman said.

The trade would have been Rivera for to Seattle for Felix Fermin. Fermin would hit .125/.222/.188 in 11 games for the Cubs in 1996, his final season in the big leagues.

“Fortunately, we didn’t do that deal,” Cashman said. “The Boss backed down and made us go through the fire drill and that was as close as we ever came to trading Mariano.”

And this is why that 90's didn't end up like the 80's. Luckily, wiser heads prevailed.

Highlights of the Rivera Press Conference

Report: Mariano Rivera To Announce That He Will Retire After 2013 Season

From ESPN New York:

Mariano Rivera will announce Saturday that he will retire after the coming season, sources confirmed for ESPN.

Well damn it. We all new this was coming, but it's still sad knowing this will be his last year.

Update: Tex Out 8-10 Weeks

Here's the update from Matt Snyder:

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will miss 8-10 weeks with a strained right wrist, manager Joe Girardi told reporters in spring training Wednesday.

There's no tear and the tendon is stable, but Teixeira needs four weeks off and then at least four weeks of rehab.

Teixeira injured his forearm during batting practice with Team USA, as noted Tuesday by CBSSports.com senior writer Danny Knobler. And this seems to be some kind of freak accident that happened during that batting practice session.

Another tough break for the Yanks, who will now be without their starting 1B for opening day.

Rumor: A-Rod, Cano, Granderson To Be Suspended For PEDs

Ummmmm, what????

Now, before you start with the whole "Who the hell is this guy and why would he know?" stuff, he happened to report the Melky Cabrera suspension a month before it happened, so there is a slight chance that this is legit. It's probably not true, but honestly, I don't know what to think.

Here's some backstory from Joe.