What a relief! After deciding that he wanted to pitch one more season, Andy Pettitte and the Yankees reached agreement on a $11.75 million contract for 2010. The deal is all guaranteed money, which was critical considering Andy's bitterness over last year's contract negotiations, and represents a well-deserved raise from his 2009 salary.
For all the talk of trades and free agents, this was the deal the Yankees absolutely needed to get done. It became so clear this season that despite shelling out millions for CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett last winter, the Yankees desperately needed Pettitte to return, if for no other reason than to give their young starters Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes another year to mature. But Pettitte was a key cog of the Yankees successful playoff march and if the Yanks wanted another shot at a World Series title, they needed Pettitte back.
Brian Cashman came to this conclusion very quickly, targeting Pettitte as priority #1. He acknowledged yesterday that his options were limited, saying that the pitching market has become more expensive and the starting pitching market a headache. I guess that makes Pettitte the aspirin Cashman needed.
Welcome back, Andy!
Thanks to Alex Kim via Wikipedia for the photo.
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