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Andy Pettitte

This Date In Transactions History: The Return Of Andy Pettitte

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It was on this date eight years ago that one of the members of the Yankees’ famed Core Four came out of retirement to return to the mound. Left-hander Andy Pettitte rejoined two other players from that group (longtime teammates Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera) in the Bronx, agreeing to what proved to be a bargain contract for the club. It was a minor league deal worth up to $2.5MM – money well spent for the Yankees.

Pettitte retired after the 2010 season, his 16th in the majors and his 13th as a Yankee, but felt the urge to pitch again while working as a spring guest instructor for the team prior to the 2012 campaign. As one of the most accomplished pitchers in the history of the organization, the Yankees were happy to welcome back Pettitte, then 39 years old, even though they already had six other arms (CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova) for five rotation spots. But it turns out that they needed Pettite that year. Pineda didn’t pitch after succumbing to a torn labrum following the Pettitte reunion, while Garcia and Nova turned in ineffective seasons.

As someone who signed so close to the regular season, Pettitte took time to ramp up before his return to the mound became official. He didn’t make his 2012 debut until May 13, a 6-2 loss to Seattle in which he yielded four earned runs on 6 1/3 innings.

Pettitte was encouraged afterward, though, saying: “I just cannot believe how comfortable this is for me. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Indeed, while Pettitte’s first game back didn’t produce ideal results for him or his team, he returned to his old ways from that point forward. Pettitte tossed eight shutout frames five days later in a 4-0 win over the Reds. He continued to throw well in the coming weeks, but Pettitte fractured his left fibula in a June 27 start versus Cleveland and didn’t get back until the end of September. Pettitte posted three solid outings to conclude the season, ending it with 12 starts and 75 1/3 frames of 2.87 ERA ball with a lofty grounder percentage of 56.3 and 8.24 K/9 against 2.51 BB/9. His stellar performance contributed to a 95-victory, AL East-winning campaign for the Yankees, who edged out the Orioles by two games.

The Yankees couldn’t have realistically asked for more out of Pettitte, but he provided it in October. Typically impervious to the pressure of the postseason, Pettitte combined for 13 2/3 innings of five-run pitching in two starts (one against Baltimore, the other versus Detroit). The Yankees did get by the Orioles in an ALDS that went the distance, but the Tigers overwhelmed them in the ALCS in a four-game sweep.

While Pettitte was unable to claim his sixth World Series title in his first season back, he fared so nicely that it convinced him to stick around for one more year. The Yankees had to pay up that time, inking the three-time All-Star to a $12MM guarantee, but they also got their money’s worth in 2013. Even though New York finished 85-77 and didn’t qualify for the playoffs, Pettitte’s going-out party was one of the highlights of the team’s year. He put the exclamation point on his career with a complete game, one-run performance in Houston (where he pitched from 2004-06) in his last game.

Thanks to Pettitte’s decision to end his first retirement on March 16, 2012, he spent two years further cementing himself as one of the top pitchers in the Yankees’ storied history.

Fallout Notes After Gerrit Cole Signing: Blue Jays, Angels, Pettitte, Dodgers, Bumgarner

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Much will come to light in the coming days now that the Yankees have officially given Gerrit Cole the largest deal in league history for a pitcher – but even now, mere hours from the revelation, the news is starting to sink in. The rest of the pitching market could unstick rather quickly, and the Blue Jays are having to factor in their new reality of having to face Cole four or five times a year for the next decade, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of sportsnet.ca. Of course, what better way for Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and friends to push themselves to reach their massive potentials than by facing off with the best of the best. Of greater concern for Toronto is who will take the mound on their side in 2020. With the biggest names now off the board, interest will pick up for the next tier of free agent starters, guys like Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel, in whom Toronto has shown interest. Those who missed out on Cole may up the ante for the next round, however, putting the Blue Jays’ realistic options more in the field of Tanner Roark, Rick Porcello, or Wade Miley. They could even lend a helping hand to the Yankees by taking back J.A. Happ if a prospect(s) came along with him. Let’s see what else folks are saying here in the wee hours of life in our bleak new post-Cole-sweepstakes reality…

  • The winners and losers of Cole’s mega contract are fairly obvious, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal makes the rounds anyway, starting with the Yankees – the biggest winners here (besides Cole and maybe Scott Boras) for finally reeling in their “white whale.” The Angels come away from the Cole saga disappointed, but it’s not all bad for the Halos. They have more need than could have been filled by Cole alone. As tantalizing a talent Cole is, they may be better off spreading their money around. Now that the Giants took Zack Cozart’s deal off their hands, they might have enough resources to buy a supporting cast for Mike Trout.
  • It’s easy to view the Yankees’ winning bid as a harkening back to the days of New York as the evil empire, but the reality is actually much more frightening, per The Athletic’s Marc Carig. He writes, “The Yankees are well-run, well-heeled and well-schooled in the art of reeling in the big fish.” True enough: this was no impulsive spending spree. The Yankees, like much of the league, have curbed their shopping addictions and learned to spend wisely. As a result, they should enter 2020 as favorites to win the American League. Oddly, for years it was expected that Bryce Harper and Manny Machado’s free agency would wake the dormant goliaths from their winter slumber, but it turned out to be Cole who not only made the notoriously judicious Andrew Friedman plead his case for the Dodgers, but who prompted the Yankees to shake off the rust and woo their western rival’s star player like the old days.
  • Speaking of: Andy Pettitte played a role in evangelizing on behalf of New York’s lifestyle benefits. He encouraged Cole about playing in New York as a benefit for his peace of mind, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Pettitte’s point was that Cole could focus himself on the task of winning titles, as the playoffs should be an annual guarantee (or at least strong possibility). Of course, the Dodgers and Astros could have made the same argument about their squads.
  • The Dodgers, it’s worth noting, made a real push for Cole. Among 324 million other reasons, however, Cole came away from his meeting with New York impressed with new pitching coach Matt Blake, who appealed to Cole’s interest in the intellectual side of the game, noted Carig. Of course, Cole also grew up a Yankees fan, which might have tipped the scale in the Yankees’ favor in a way that the Dodgers simply couldn’t answer. Now that the dust has settled, the Dodgers are moving on to the goal of convincing Madison Bumgarner to make the heel turn and join an already strong rotation in Chavez Ravine, tweets Rosenthal.

Yankees Hire Andy Pettitte As Special Advisor

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The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve hired Andy Pettitte as a special advisor to general manager Brian Cashman.

As is often the case with such appointments, Pettitte’s responsibilities are somewhat nebulous. The long-time MLB lefty will “help coach both the physical and mental side of being a champion and pitching in New York,” Cashman told reporters today (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).

It seems the initial plan is for Pettitte to ease into things with the Yankees organization while remaining a resident of Texas. His new role will not interfere with his duties as the pitching coach for a Houston-area high school, where he works alongside head coach Lance Berkman — making for rather a star-studded staff.

Pettitte says he passed up a chance to join former Yanks teammate Jorge Posada as a special assistant with Derek Jeter’s Marlins. Posada recently signed on in Miami, where he resides. While that offer held its own appeal, Pettitte says his arrangement with the Yankees “has been in the works for five years” — ever since he  wrapped up his 18-year MLB career after the 2013 season.

NL East Notes: Nola, Mackanin, Braves, Moore, Marlins

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Though Phillies righty Aaron Nola tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he hasn’t thought much about the potential of signing a long-term deal with the Phils, Gelb opines that Nola is a prime extension candidate for the team this winter. The 24-year-old’s recent arm troubles present some risk in approaching him about a long-term pact, but there’s inherent risk when extending any pitcher, and Nola has established himself as an above-average starter over his two-plus seasons of work, Gelb argues. With Nola still a year away from arbitration eligibility, the Phils could look to strike now in hopes of securing control over one or more free-agent years, as they did with center fielder Odubel Herrera in the 2016-17 offseason. Gelb’s piece includes a number of potential comparables as well as quotes from Nola and teammate Clay Buchholz, who signed a long-term deal himself at a similar point in his career.

More out of the NL East…

  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that one reason the Phillies might’ve made the surprising decision to remove Pete Mackanin as manager just months after giving him an extension was that the arrival of players like Rhys Hoskins, Nick Williams and other young talents may have somewhat accelerated the team’s timeline. Heyman writes that the Phils viewed Mackanin as “more of a caretaker” than a long-term solution, and they may now look for a skipper who’ll hold down the fort for years to come. Heyman notes that having a more concrete manager in place could be a selling point next winter when the team could pursue multiple top names in free agency.
  • Heyman also reports that Braves chairman John Schuerholz and president of baseball ops John Hart are “said to be at odds” with one another, though Hart firmly denied the notion. “John and I are lifelong friends, and there is mutual baseball respect as well,” Hart tells Heyman. “Nobody totally agrees on every player, staff member, etc. That’s just baseball.” Heyman adds that Schuerholz “would love” to bring Royals GM Dayton Moore on board to run the team’s baseball ops department and groom Schuerholz’s son, Jonathan. The younger Schuerholz is currently the team’s assistant director of player development. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted yesterday that Moore is “more open” to leaving the Royals for the Braves than in the past, though the decision will likely boil down to whether he’s given full authority over the team’s baseball operations department. That’d suggest that Hart sticking around and holding onto the “president” title he’s held for the past few seasons would be a deterrent to hiring Moore.
  • Derek Jeter’s former teammates Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez and Andy Pettitte are all candidates for jobs with the Marlins, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. It’s not yet clear what role any would have with the organization, if hired, though Martinez’s first stint with the Marlins didn’t exactly end well, as he resigned from his post as hitting coach after allegations about being abusive with his players. In other Marlins news, Heyman writes that Jeter is “serious” about bringing Yankees exec Gary Denbo over to the Miami front office — likely as the head of player development and scouting. Michael Hill is expected to maintain his duties as the team’s president of baseball operations. Denbo’s contract with the Yankees is up soon, Heyman notes.

Quick Hits: Marquis, Bastardo, Vogelsong, Pettitte

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Despite undergoing Tommy John surgery on July 30, Jason Marquis isn't ready to end his career at age 35.  The veteran right-hander told MLB.com's Corey Brock that he is making good progress in rehab and intends to pitch in 2014, though the nature of his injury will keep him on the DL for at least the first two months of the season.  Marquis will be a free agent this winter and it's possible a team (maybe even the Padres, his current club) will sign him to a low-risk minor league contract come April or May.

Here's some news as we dive into the final six days of the regular season…

  • Though Antonio Bastardo is currently serving a 50-game suspension for PED use, the Phillies are likely to tender him a contract this offseason, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.  The southpaw had a 2.32 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 42 2/3 relief innings for the Phils this year and has posted a 3.13 ERA, 11.7 K/9 and 2.71 K/BB ratio in 152 2/3 IP since the start of the 2011 season.  Bastardo earned $1.4MM this season (though he lost approximately $420K of his salary to suspension) and will be arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter.
  • Ryan Vogelsong tells Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News that he is hoping the Giants pick up its $6.5MM club option on his services for 2014.  "If I was pitching better right now, it's probably not even a question," Vogelsong said. "But I feel I still have a lot to bring to the game and this team. It's no secret I love it here. I want to be back and hope they pick it up."  Vogelsong has struggled through an injury-plagued season that saw the righty post a 5.90 ERA in 18 starts.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman saw Andy Pettitte's retirement coming and he tells Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger that this time, Pettitte is leaving for good.  “I’ve known for a while that this was going to be it,” Cashman said.  “I know that I won’t be able to convince him like I’ve done in the past."
  • Dillon Gee and Jonathan Niese could be trade chips for the Mets this winter as the team looks to add batting help, but Michael Baron of Metsblog.com thinks the two pitchers could stay put for at least another year until the Mets determine how long Matt Harvey will be sidelined.

Andy Pettitte To Retire After 2013 Season

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11:17am: The Yankees have issued a press release officially announce Pettitte's retirement. Pettitte offered the following statement within the release:

“I’m announcing my retirement prior to the conclusion of our season because I want all of our fans to know now — while I’m still wearing this uniform — how grateful I am for their support throughout my career. I want to have the opportunity to tip my cap to them during these remaining days and thank them for making my time here with the Yankees so special. I’ve reached the point where I know that I’ve left everything I have out there on that field. The time is right. I’ve exhausted myself, mentally and physically, and that’s exactly how I want to leave this game. One of the things I struggled with in making this announcement now was doing anything to take away from Mariano’s day on Sunday. It is his day. He means so much to me, and has meant so much to my career that I would just hate to somehow take the attention away from him.”

10:05am: The final two starts of Andy Pettitte's storied career, appropriately, will come at Yankee Stadium in New York (on Mariano Rivera day) and Minute Maid Park in Houston. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the 41-year-old Pettitte will announce his retirement later this afternoon.

Pettitte originally retired following the 2010 season and didn't play in 2011, but the veteran lefty came back for two more years with the Yankees from 2012-13. An broken fibula cost him much of the 2012 season, but it's hard to argue with the overall results he's delivered in his return tour. Over the past two seasons, Pettitte has pitched to a 3.60 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 244 2/3 innings, adding 15 wins and slightly more than four WAR to his career totals. According to Sherman, Pettitte has told friends that the 2013 season has been much tougher on his body than he had anticipated.

Pettitte has earned just shy of $140MM in his baseball career, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He donned just two jerseys in his 18-season Major League career — those of the New York Yankees and his hometown Houston Astros. He's pitched exactly 3,300 innings to date, compiling a 3.86 ERA, 6.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 to go along with 255 Major League wins. He is a three-time All-Star and has finished in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting on four occasions. Pettitte helped the Yankees to five World Series championships, and his 19 postseason wins are a Major League record. His Hall of Fame candidacy will likely be negatively impacted by his admitted use of HGH on two instances in the early 2000s.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Ishikawa

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While the Blue Jays may be the only AL East team currently under .500, the club is 7-3 in their past 10 games, and injured shortstop Jose Reyes may return sooner than expected.  The club was a major mover last offseason, but additions such as Reyes, R.A. Dickey, and Josh Johnson have been unable to provide much of an impact.  Here is a look at today's news out of the ultra-competitive American League East..

  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com notes that the Yankees now have players making a total of $97MM currently on their disabled list. Andy Pettitte became the latest high-priced Yankee to head to the DL, as Vidal Nuno will be promoted in his place.
  • Travis Ishikawa has extended the opt-out in his contract with the Orioles, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 29-year-old first baseman is currently batting .304/.383/.504 over 154 PA with Triple-A Norfolk.

Quick Hits: Pettitte, Murphy, Soriano, Greinke

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Cesar Carrillo, a right-handed pitcher in the Tigers system, became the first player listed in the Biogenesis documents to be suspended, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (twitter link).  As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and others have noted, MLB has "greater jurisdiction over minor leaguers like Carrillo than major leaguers who are protected by the players' union."  Here are some other notes from around the majors:

  • Mariano Rivera's retirement plans have fellow Yankee stalwart Andy Pettitte wondering how and when to end his own "long, strange journey," as Daniel Barbarisi of The Wall Street Journal describes it.  Pettitte sees some merit to ending his career around the same time as those of his long-time teammates, but does not want to "stop playing until I know that I'm done."
  • Outfielder David Murphy is still waiting to work out a long-term extension with the Rangers after discussing that possibility with the club earlier in the offseason, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  While Murphy reiterated that he wants to remain a Ranger and has no hard feelings for the lack of progress towards a deal, he added that free agency is a "privilege" and that "waiting another year is not going to kill me."
  • While the Cubs "feel the presence of teams watching Alfonso Soriano," nevertheless "no substantive talks have taken place yet," tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  Cafardo mentions the Phillies and Yankees as teams that are "on [the] radar" for a possible Soriano deal.
  • With Zack Greinke still dealing with elbow issues, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly indicated that the right-handed starter is facing an ever-narrowing window to be ready for the start of the regular season, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  As has previously been noted, Greinke's timeline could impact the availability of the Dodgers' excess starting pitching options, such as Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang.

Quick Hits: Indians, Yankees, Bailey

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The latest links from around MLB…

  • The Indians are getting calls on Michael Brantley and Drew Stubbs following their four-year deal with Michael Bourn, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Though the Indians currently plan to keep both Brantley and Stubbs, some people suspect Stubbs will be dealt.
  • Daisuke Matsuzaka said part of the reason he signed with the Indians was the chance to compete against his former team, the Red Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
  • Andrew Bailey told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he loves playing with the Red Sox, even if he's not the team's closer.
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi isn't sure if Andy Pettitte will retire after 2013, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (Twitter links). "I think Andy still loves to compete," Girardi said, acknowledging that it’ll ultimately be up to the left-hander himself.  Pettitte will celebrate his 41st birthday this summer and while he doesn’t seem ready to retire, he said he doesn’t intend to decide until after the 2013 season.
  • Mariano Rivera said he has decided whether 2013 will be his final season, according to Curry (Twitter links). The Yankees closer won’t reveal his decision just yet, but will do so before the regular season begins.
  • Homer Bailey said he and the Reds would prefer to avoid an arbitration hearing if possible, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. “It’s kind of a slow process. We’ll see how it goes and go from there,” Bailey said. The right-hander has a hearing scheduled for Monday after filing for $5.8MM. The Reds, who recently avoided arbitration with Mat Latos and Shin-Soo Choo, offered $4.75MM.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Olney On Upton, Pettitte, Wright

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The center field market will be shaped in part by B.J. Upton’s deal with Atlanta, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wrote today. Here are more notes from Olney’s column, starting with Upton…

  • The Braves signed Upton to a franchise record five-year, $75.25MM contract despite some warning signs that other organizations had identified, Olney writes. Upton has a declining on-base percentage and a bat that can be inconsistent. However, one of Olney's sources praised the deal. "He is the most talented player in the free agent market and somebody I think will age well," the person said.
  • The conversations about a 2013 contract between the Yankees and Andy Pettitte started at the GM Meetings earlier this month, agent Jim Murray told Olney. “We worked on it between then and now, talking fairly frequently," Murray said. Pettitte signed a one-year, $12MM contract yesterday.
  • Agents and executives agree that David Wright will take the Mets’ extension offer, Olney reports. It would be difficult to decline such a proposal, since there’s no guarantee he’d have similar long-term offers a year from now. MLBTR rounded up the latest on Wright earlier today. It appears the Mets have offered him $124MM for seven seasons starting in 2014.
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