River Avenue Blues

Report(s): Yankees optimistic about signing Rivera this week

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Via Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman: The Yankees are optimistic about finalizing a new contract for Mariano Rivera this week. It’s expected to be worth a little more than the $10-11M pact Andy Pettitte is close to signing.

Sherman notes the Yankees have been monitoring the health of both Rivera (knee) and Pettitte (leg) following their injuries, so the process of re-signing both will be expedited. With Hiroki Kuroda already in tow, the Yankees would be able to go into next week’s Winter Meetings with a clear shopping list (and budget) should they finalize new deals for Pettitte and Rivera within the next few days.

Update: Yankees have not re-signed Ichiro

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12:33am: Erik Boland hears there is “no truth” to the report, so the Yankees have not re-signed Ichiro. Joel Sherman says there’s aren’t even serious talks ongoing.

8:36am: According to Nikkan Sports (translated article), the Yankees have re-signed Ichiro Suzuki to a one-year contract worth $5M plus incentives. Sweeny Murti, however, says it is just a rumor and not a done deal. No offense to the reporters overseas, but I have more trust in the local scribes. That price certainly passes the sniff test though.

Ichiro, 39, has indicated he “strongly wants to stay” with the team and is willing to wait for them to take care of other offseason business first. If the Yankees do bring him back as the primary right fielder, adding a right-handed hitting outfielder for the bench will be an absolute must. The same goes for a big bat at DH, because they’re going to be losing quite a bit of offense by replacing Nick Swisher with Ichiro.

Feinsand: Pettitte has started offseason workouts

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Via Mark Feinsand: Andy Pettitte has started his usual offseason workout routine to “see how his body will react” before making a final decision about next season. Over the weekend we heard the veteran left-hander could have a decision by the end of the week.

Feinsand’s report seems like an indication that a) Pettitte’s family has already given him the okay to pitch next year, and b) Pettitte wants to come back. Now it’s just a matter of finding out if he’s physically up to it. Andy is a big part of the Yankees’ offseason one way or the other, so the sooner he makes his decision the better. Working out a contract doesn’t figure to be much of a problem, it’s Pettitte figuring out if he wants to come back.

Heyman: Talks “heating up” between Yankees and Russell Martin

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Via Jon Heyman: The Yankees are “back in discussions” with free agent catcher Russell Martin, and talks are said to be “heating up.” The two sides were far apart on dollars a few days ago, but Heyman says they made progress over the weekend.

Martin, 29, is apparently waiting to hear New York’s pitch before getting involved with other teams according to George King, which Ichiro Suzuki is doing as well. Agent Matt Colleran confirmed to Dan Martin that his client has received multiple offers though, including one from the Yankees. As one of the few legitimate starting backstops on the free agent market, Martin figures to draw plenty of interest from other catching-starved clubs like the Rangers, White Sox, and maybe even the Rays. Oh, and in case you hadn’t heard, he might play shortstop for Team Canada in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Open Thread: Rays go long with Longoria

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The Yankees plan on trimming payroll in the near future, but their division rival to the (way) south handed their franchise player a six-year, $100M extension today. Evan Longoria’s new deal will (theoretically) keep him with the Rays through 2022 with an option for 2023, making him one of just five players signed into the next decade (Joey Votto, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, and Albert Pujols are the others). Next year was the final guaranteed year on Longoria’s contract, but Tampa did hold options for 2014-2016. He certainly could have gotten more on the open market, but he wasn’t due to become a free agent anytime soon. Taking the guaranteed $100M is a pretty smart idea since there’s at least some chance he could turn into Eric Chavez. Fun fact: Longoria has played in the exact same number of games as Alex Rodriguez over the last three years (358).

Anyway, here is your open thread for the night. The Knicks and Nets are playing (each other!), plus the Monday Night Football game is the Panthers at the Eagles. Yuck. Talk about either game or anything else here.

Get swept in the ALCS, win $115,065.28

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Playoff shares were announced Monday morning, and the Yankees awarded 58 full shares worth a cool $115,065.28 each. Each LCS loser is allotted 12% of the $65.36M pool. That $115k+ is a drop in the bucket for stars like Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia, but it’s major cash for guys like Chris Stewart and David Phelps. A full share for the World Champion Giants was worth a bit more than $377k, breaking the previous record held by the 2006 Cardinals ($362k). The Tigers earned $284k each for sweeping the Yankees and then getting swept by San Francisco.

Yankees sign Eli Whiteside, avoid arbitration

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The Yankees have signed catcher Eli Whiteside to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration, the team announced. The deal will pay him $625k in the big leagues and $200k in the minors. MLBTR projected a $600k salary, so pretty darn close.

Whiteside, 33, was claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this month. He’s another no-hit (career 65 wRC+), all-glove backup catcher type, which the Yankees have a few of already. Whiteside is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to pass through waivers to go down to Triple-A next year. Just as a reminder, one-year contracts for players with less than six years of service time are not guaranteed. The Yankees could release Whiteside in Spring Training and would only have to pay him a fraction of his contract.