Joba renewed at the minimum

Peter Abraham notes that the Yankees renewed Joba Chamberlain’s contract at the $390,000 Major League miminum and wonders if the team couldn’t have found a few more grand to kick back to the kid. At the same time, Abraham notes that baseball is a business, and the Yanks were well within their rights to renew Joba’s contract. That’s where I land on this issue. Chamberlain landed an above-slot signing bonus of $1.1 million from the Yanks, and he threw just 24 Big League innings last year. He’ll get his money when the time comes. There’s no doubt about that.