Yogi: Jorge is a Very Proud and Important Yankee

From Anthony McCarron:

With Jorge Posada set to announce his retirement in the coming weeks, another terrific Yankee backstop - Yogi Berra - appreciates that Posada is keeping his career pinstripes-only.

"Jorge is a good, caring man and a real good ballplayer for a long time," Berra said Monday. "It's nice he spent his whole career with one team, he's been a very proud and important Yankee. I wish him and Laura and their family only the best."

Video: Posada Clinches The Division

Here's one of the last great moments in Posada's great Yankee career:

Also, here is a link to his Prime 9 moments (for some reason the damn embed code won't work).

Jorge Posada To Announce Retirement

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Jorge Posada will announce his retirement "within the next two weeks".

Smart move by Jorge to retire a Yankee, and walk away after a solid postseason performance. I couldn't imagine him in any other uniform.

Hats off to ya Jorgie, thanks for being one of the greatest offensive catchers of our generation.

Hip Hip, Jorge!

Yanks Officially Don't Sign Nakajima

The Yankees announced today that they did not reach a deal with Japanese SS Hiroyuki Nakajima:

“We unfortunately could not come to an agreement with Hiroyuki," said GM Brian Cashman. "We wish him the best of luck during the upcoming 2012 season.”

Yanks Unlikely To Sign Nakajima

Heyman: Yankees desperately seek a No. 2 starter

According to Jon Heyman, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson are in the Yanks sights as they search for a No. 2 starter.

They like both pitchers. But so far the Yankees don't like the cost for Garza in terms of prospects, and they don't love the price tag for Jackson, either. The Cubs surely would like some combination of Jesus Montero, Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances for Garza. Jackson's asking price is said by sources to be about $60 million for five years.

...

The Yankees like Jackson's arm, his potential and his durability. But they wonder about his consistency. He is one of only three active pitchers 27 or younger with more than 30 games started each of the past five years, the other two being Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez. He is also one of only three age 27 or younger to have thrown 950 innings with no D.L. time the last five years. The others? Cain and Tim Lincecum.

As for those other names that have been floating around this offseason:

The Yankees' like Hiroki Kuroda, but there is no certainty he wants to pitch in New York. They do not appear to be in on the Jair Jurrjens trade discussions, nor even the Wandy Rodriguez or Gavin Floyd talks. And they haven't seemed anxious to go for Roy Oswalt.

Garza is really the only name that sticks out as a difference maker to me, but as has been the theme this winter, the Yankees aren't getting anything done without giving up Montero and either Banuelos or Betances, and I'm not sure I'd do that. Would you?

Yanks Still In Talks With Nakajima

From Andy Martino:

The Yankees continue to negotiate with Hiroyuki Nakajima, and a team official clarified that the deadline to sign the shortstop is Jan. 6 — not Jan. 3, as some reports said.

While talks are ongoing, there are several reasons to wonder if Nakajima, 29, is a fit for the Yanks, who last month placed a winning bid of approximately $2 million for the right to negotiate. Per the Japanese posting process, the Yankees will pay that fee only if they sign Nakajima.

Nakajima was the starting shortstop last season for the Seibu Lions, and fared well, batting .297, with a .354 on-base percentage, and .433 slugging percentage. He hit 16 home runs, drove in 100 runs and stole 21 bases. Those numbers indicate the potential to start in the major leagues, which will not happen with the Yankees while Derek Jeter is around.

Nakajima would presumably have to accept less money to be a bench player for the Yankees than he would to start for another team, and could return to Japan for a season before attempting another return to the major leagues. The shortstop’s agent, Greg Genske, did not respond to a telephone message on Monday.

The Yankees could convince Nakajima to launch his U.S. career with the internationally known franchise that employed Hideki Matsui for seven successful seasons. They could also execute a sign-and-trade.

If he agrees to terms and remains a Yankee, Nakajima would alter the composition of the team’s bench, making it less likely for the team to re-sign Eric Chavez. Eduardo Nunez, who has drawn trade interest in the past, could also become more expendable.

The idea of signing this guy makes less and less sense to me as time goes on. Unless they actually believe he's going to replace Jeter one day, which I highly doubt they do.

Sickels Ranks the Yankees Top-20 Prospects

Happy New Year!

As always, I recommend you read the article in its entirety, as it contains a great deal of worthwhile, interesting commentary. For those of you who may be interesting, I'm currently cobbling together scouting reports and drafting my personal Top-30 - it should be complete sometime in mid-January. Without further ado:

01. Jesus Montero
02. Gary Sanchez
03. Manny Banuelos
04. Dellin Betances
05. Mason Williams
06. Dante Bichette, Jr.
07. David Phelps
08. Ravel Santana
09. Tyler Austin
10. Adam Warren
11. Austin Romine
12. J.R. Murphy
13. Cito Culver
14. Brett Marshall
15. Slade Heathcott
16. Angelo Gumbs
17. Nik Turley
18. Daniel Lopez
19. David Adams
20. Ramon Flores

I suspect my list will be fairly similar within the scope of the top handful or so, but the rest will likely be a jumbled mess ... comparatively speaking. I am quite surprised by the ambitious placements of David Phelps and Tyler Austin; while I certainly agree with his commentary, I had previously seen the two ranked much farther down the list, if placing at all.

Follow me on Twitter - @DomenicLanza