Andy Pettitte struggles to bring himself to sign such a low-priced contract.
The Yankees brought back Andy Pettitte yesterday, signing him to a one-year deal for $5.5 million, with another $6+ million in incentives. From the linked story:
Pettitte might have been able to get a multiyear deal from another club.
"I could have made an awful lot more money than what I signed for," he said.
Indeed. Who out there isn't looking to sign aging, .500 pitchers with a history of elbow and shoulder pain to lucrative, multi-year deals?
I kid, of course, because Andy Pettitte is a fine addition to the Yankees staff and finally brings some stability. I mean, who has heard of these shmoes? The rotation heading into 2009 looks something like this:
CC Sabathia
Chien-Ming Wang
AJ Burnett
Joba Chamberlain
Andy Pettitte
They've also got Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who were supposed to be the future of the rotation, waiting for when one of these guys invariably gets hurt.
Just to be safe, though, the Yankees also have contract offers on the table for Greg Maddux, Jake Peavy, Nolan Ryan, Satchel Paige and Sandy Koufax.
You know, just to be careful.