In an entirely unsurprising move, the Yankees and Andy Pettitte agreed today on a one year contract to bring the lefty back to Bronx. After earning a $5.5M base salary and another $5M in incentives last year, Pettitte gets $11.75M guaranteed in 2010, with no incentives.
“Andy is unique in that he’s only interested in playing for one team,” said agent Randy Hendricks. “It limits what I normally do, but that’s Andy.”
The 37-year-old southpaw was on the mound when the Yankees clinched the AL East, the ALDS, ALCS, and World Series in 2009. He fell just short of his fifth consecutive 200+ IP season, finishing at 194.2. For the first time in three years, Pettitte allowed fewer hits than innings pitched, and he’ll presumably slot into the third spot in the rotation.
Following yesterday’s pickup of Curtis Granderson, the Yanks have about $182M committed to just 12 players in 2010. Most of the bullpen and bench will be made up of guys making close to minimum, so it’s more like $187M for 22 or 23 guys. The payroll is expected to be between $190-200M next year, meaning they have roughly $10M to figure out leftfield, designated hitter, and possibly another pitcher.