Andy Pettitte is coming back to the Bronx, according to Peter Abraham. The deal is for a guaranteed 5.5 M with roster time and innings pitched based incentives pushing the possible value up to 12M. The Yankees really come out of this deal looking great, as they held the line and ended up paying less in guaranteed money than they originally offered. It is amazing to me that Derek Lowe got a guaranteed 55 million and three years more than Andy Pettitte. Is that me overrating Pettitte, underrating Lowe, or underlining the desperation with which the Braves acted? I just do not see that huge a difference between them. Lowe is better, but not enough to explain the disparity in their compensation.
Also interesting to note is the question of what exactly will happen to Ben Sheets? He seems to have run out of suitors, and he may be available at a fraction of his worth. I would consider offering him the same deal that they gave Pettitte, as he would provide the Yankees with similar depth to that of the Red Sox, matching the John Smoltz acquisition. Would it be overkill? Probably. But sometimes a financial power needs to overdo it so as to avoid pitching Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner in big games.
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11 Responses to Pettitte Deal Complete
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I think it’s just a matter of teams being very edgy about pitchers over 35. They tend to decline very quickly. Lowe is coming off one of his best years, while Andy is coming off his worst. At that age, the assumption leans towards a bad year being the beginning of a trend rather than just a bad year. Also, everyone knew Andy would only agree to go to a few teams, so that hurt his bargaining position.
Agreed, all good points. But Lowe is 35 as well (one year younger than Andy) and has not been a bastion of stability over the course of his career. I guess it is more me questioning the Lowe deal than the Pettitte deal.
This is great stuff for the Yankees. Seriously, a nice deal by B. Cash.
Pettitte was somewhat unlucky last year. Hopefully he rebounds. With a little luck, we’re talking about another year of innings eating.
Imagine if 4 of our 5 guys pitch 200+ innings for once? Haven’t seen that for a long time.
I’d say the last time was 2003, but I dont have data to back that up.
If all 3 of CC, Pettitte and Wang pitch 200+ innings well… wow, I was trying to think of something humorous to say but I’m just shocked that such an outcome could possibly occur.
It’s a good move, but I must admit that I really wanted to see what Hughes would do this year with good health and the cutter. I thought he looked tremendous at the end of last season. His spike curve was absolutely filthy. Bill James also predicted an excellent year for him (low 3′s ERA)
Bill James always strongly overstates the numbers for prospects. Im pretty sure he was high on Hughes last season as well.
Hughes needs to work on his mechanics. I don’t mind him being in Triple-A for the year. He’s young enough where it can’t hurt.
Really, the biggest concern for Hughes is innings pitched. He man needs to get some strength built up. I think we’ll see him make 15 or so starts as our 6th starter, since its hard to imagine a season where Joba, Wang, and Burnett all pitch full seasons.
I think that will take some pressure off Ian Kennedy too. He’s got plenty of time to figure things out in the minors. He lost control and velocity during the 07-08 off-season, but looked really good by the end of the 2008 one. He might be trade bait.
I think the Yankees will wait for Kennedy to build up plenty of value in AAA and then trade him. I still believe he can be a solid ML starter, but I get the feeling the Yankees do not share those feelings.