Brian Cashman and the Yankee’s organization have agreed  to one-year deals with Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones, giving Girardi a DH to use against righties and a DH to use against Lefties. So for all those Yankees fans who hate to watch Girardi sit a hot-streaking player because the book tells him the matchup is better suited for another player…strap yourself in.

Andruw Jones will be returning to the Yankees for his 17^th season and will be their part time DH/Outfielder once again. With Jorge Posada on the golf course this season, Andruw Jones should see some more at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching. Jones hit 13 home runs in only 190 at-bats last season. That is an impressive 1 HR per 14.6 at-bats; hitting them more frequently than Cano, A-Rod, Teixiera and every other Yankee not name Curtis Granderson last season. I know he only hit .247 but his OBP was a pretty solid .356, which isn’t bad for a 34-year-old playing on 40-year-old knees. He deserves more at-bats this season and I hope Girardi finds ways to give them to him.

Raul Ibanez will be expected to hit right-handed pitching as the Yankees other part-time DH/outfielder. After three successful years in Philly (National League pennant and his first ever All-Star game appearance) Ibanez will be returning to the American League. Ibanez is a late bloomer, not playing over 100 games until his 6^th season in the majors. Between 2002 and 2010 Ibanez never hit less than 16 HR and never had a lower Batting Average than .272. He has driven in over 100 runs 4 times and has a career OBP of .342. In short he is a good gamble.

The only thing making me think twice about Ibanez is his age and his production last year. He isn’t hitting the ball as frequently or getting on base nearly enough (Career worst OBP of .289 in 2011). His power is still there (20 homers and 84 RBI last season),  but if those numbers follow his hitting and on-base percentage, then we may be talking about a million dollars down the drain, which in Yankee language is dropping a quarter on the subway platform.

Either way neither of these veterans will have too much pressure considering they will be hitting nowhere near the middle of the line-up and all their home games will be played in the biggest joke of a stadium in the Majors. All they have to do is hit homers and wait for Girardi’s head to come up from his stat book to find out if they are playing that day.

With most of the DH duties going to Ibanez and Jones, that leaves Eric Chavez in a permanent back-up role. Chavez has also recently been signed to a one-year deal and will be expected to back-up both Alex Rodriquez and Mark Teixeira. Assuming A-Rods annual stint on the DL  I bet he finds  himself at third most of the time. Chavez played in 58 games for the Yanks last season, his most since 2007. Chavez is a 6 time Gold-Glove Award Winner and could be seen as the most talented back-up infielder in the Major Leagues. Unfortunately he has had a bundle of injuries since 2007 that have slowed down his production and limited his impact on the game of baseball. But if he can stay healthy I think he’ll have quite a large impact on the 2012 Yankees.

The Yankees are one week away from their first pre-season game and with the spring like temperatures in New York City I think it is safe to say, the fans are ready.

@gregwestphal

You may be able to say that this start of the 2011 season has been a little bit of a surprise. In the AL East, 3 teams have come up as a big surprise. The Baltimore Orioles Have continued to lead the way in first place while Boston has fallen behind Tampa Bay in last place. The Yankees take on Baltimore tonight after a rain out yesterday as they try and steal 1st place away. The Bronx Bombers are in second with a 5-4 record and 1.0 games out of first. Toronto who started off well has fallen to third. What well this week bring us in baseball? Lets hope the Yankees can retake 1st place.

The 2011 Season has proved so far not only to be a good start for the Yankees but two of its most worthy players. Alex Rodriguez this year has put up one of his best starts to a season in career history. Hitting .333 with 2 Home Runs and 4 RBI’s Mr. Arod is on fire. Mark Teixeira also off to a good start batting .268 with 4 Home Runs and 10 RBI’s. both these players so far have proved to be on top of their game this season and it may take the New York Yankees Far. Teixeira homered in the first 3 games of the regular season two of which were 3 run shots. How many more Text messages will Tex send over the wall? The question is unknown but lets hope its record breaking

The batting order and staring line-up will shift slightly through out the season but I’m guessing it is commonly going to look something like this:

Brett Gardner CF – Gardner had his best and most consistent season last year and it came in a year in which he had his most plate appearances (569). In 150 games, Gardner hit .277 with a .383 OBP and 37 stolen bases. While it was his best ever, the Yankees still need everything to improve, especially his OBP, stolen bases and runs scored (97 runs in 2010). He is really, really fast, but seems to struggle when timing his jumps. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: sign Ricky Henderson for a 6-month coaching stint and teach this guy how to steal bases properly (you can probably find Ricky somewhere in the Northwest Territories playing for some Canadian Independent League). If Gardner gets on base more he’ll be a great man to have at the top.

Derek Jeter SS – Jeter is pissed. His off-season contract negotiations got a lot of press, some of which smeared his character and questioned his abilities. You don’t question Jeter and this season he’ll show you why not. I guarantee he hits at least .290 on his way to capturing his 3,000^th hit. You can expect more of the usual from Jeter this season and much less of 2010.

Mark Teixeira 1B – Tex wants to get on the field and forget about 2010 as much as anyone else in baseball. The funny thing is, his 2010 numbers, though frustrating and well below what the Yankees paid for, weren’t all that bad (.256 BA, 30 HR, 108 RBI).  His power numbers were there and his defense is always on point, but he has to become consistent and stop with this “slow-start, I can screw up in April as much as I want” hogwash. If he performed better in the first 6 weeks of the season last year he would have been a serious MVP candidate. He has to start strong right out of the gate and find a way to play a lot better in the playoffs. Teixeira is 30 years old and still in the meat of his prime so I’m sure he’ll make the adjustment and be the beast we want him to be.

Alex Rodriquez 3B – Call me crazy but I think he is headed for one of the best years of his career. At 35 years old, he has a lot of people questioning his durability. But if you ask him and if you were able to watch him play in March, you’ll find out that he may be in the best shape of his career. He starts the season sixth on the all time homerun list with 613 and will most likely pull ahead of Griffey Jr. (630) this season to become fifth on the list. For historic power hitters, 35 isn’t old. Alex Rodriguez has done a lot as a Yankee, more than he’ll every get credit for, and I think he is going to get his third MVP trophy in pinstripes and fourth over-all this season.

Robinson Cano 2B – In 2011 Cano will continue to be the best second  baseman in baseball. And while that statement may have the people in Boston screaming “PaDROY-AHHHH” I think his performance this season will shut them up…or at least quiet them down. Cano is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he hit at least .319 with 25 HR and is the perfect age for a dominating season (28). He is hands down the best defensive 2B in baseball and may be the best defensive middle infielder in baseball. He is comfortable, confident and explosive. Look for Cano’s RBI numbers to increase even more than last year’s total of 109. He’ll be an MVP candidate too, so I suggest you not sleep on him.

Nick Swisher RF – Swisher played very well last year and made it to his first all-star game. Swish gives the Yankees a lot of intangibles and is the heart of the team but last season he took it up a notch giving the Yankees the best season of his career (.288 BA 29 HR 89 RBI). He is a fan favorite in New York and the clubhouse glue. You figure that if he gives you anything between his 2009 numbers and his 2010 numbers you’ll be happy, but don’t count out even better numbers for him in 2011.

Jorge Posada DH – It may be weird to not see Posada behind the plate this season but I think it’s refreshing. The old man had to go and his struggles behind the dish were influencing his struggles at the plate. 2010 (.248 BA 18HR 57RBI) was his worst season since 1999 and his lack of plate appearance the past 3 seasons (caused by a slew of injuries) haven’t given him enough opportunities to right the ship.  I think he’ll make for a good DH this season but sadly I think it may be his last. This is the last season of his 3-year contract and he’ll turn 40 in August. Lets hope he says goodbye with a boom. Who knows, he could play well enough to grab a 1-year deal, but he’ll have to do it all from the batter’s box.

Andruw Jones LF – First of all who spells Andrew that way? Jones is best known in Yankee land for hitting 2 home runs against them for the Braves as a 19-year-old rookie in the 1996 World Series. But now they’ll get to know him as the goofy veteran who nonchalantly catches fly balls in left field. I really don’t know what to expect from him. Despite being relatively young (33), he has 15 seasons and 10 Gold Gloves under his belt and a whole lot of winning experience. He doesn’t tend to hit the ball often, but when he does it can go far. Besides that, there isn’t much on the plus side offensively. The yankees will be his 4^th team in 4 years, maybe it’ll breathe new life into him. I sure hope so but I am not expecting much.

Russell Martin C – I really love this signing. I think it is going to work out well for the Yankees who are in desperate need of an interim catcher to help move them through the lull of not having Posada and having rookies that aren’t quite ready. Martin is a leader behind that plate who calls a good game and has thrown out 31% of base stealers in his 5-year career (3 percent higher than Posada). He won’t give you the offensive production of Posada, but he’ll give you enough considering his average after 5 years in Dodger town is .272 with an OBP of .347. When you compare that to the alternative, you wind up being pretty happy. People have good things to say about him and as long as his injury from 2010 doesn’t affect how he plays in 2011, I think New York will be happy. Hell, I’ll be happy if he just figures out how to get the best out of AJ Burnett, but that might be asking too much.

With three players coming off their best seasons (Gardner, Cano, Swisher) and three veterans expecting to perform at and All-Star level this season (Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod), I really like the look and feel of this starting 9. There are obviously question marks (Jones, Martin, Posada) but I’m feeling good about the way things are looking. Even Boston and Philly have question marks but the Bombers have 6 studs that look to be headed for a headline season and it’s their third year playing together. That’s not true in Boston. Nobody seems to think Boston will have any growing pains and that seems a little naive.

The Yankees had a stacked line-up last season that underperformed during the last 6 weeks of the season. If these guys come to play and finish strong, then there is no reason they can’t win the World Series. Maybe it’s from years of being a Yankee fan or the fact that opening day is tomorrow, but I’m excited and I’m confident.

Let’s play ball.

Sergio Mitre has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers today for outfielder Chris Dickerson. Mitre was a long shot for a starting rotation spot this spring but was looking to remain on the Yankees roster in long relief. But the  front office decided to swap him and make room for both Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. It still hasn’t been announced which of the two veterans will get the 5th spot behind sophomore, Ivan Nova, but the NYC media seems to think Colon’s March performance won him the spot. If what they say is true, Freddy Garcia, the more durable and sensible pick for 5th starter, will become the long-relief man a.k.a the guy that comes in when Colon inevitably gets rocked. Only time will tell.

Dickerson played 3 seasons (2008-2010)  with the Reds, splitting time between Cincinnati and their farm system playing only 173 games before finishing the 2010 season in Milwaukee. The 28-year-old has hit .267 in 454 at-bats, with 8 HR and 35 RBI.

There are three guys looking to fill two spots and Joe Girardi hasn’t given any hints as to which direction he is leaning. However, with the Yankees normally babying their young pitchers and not believing in putting youth on the hill, my money is on the two veterans snagging the last two spots.

Bartolo Colon was signed to a minor league contract this past winter after missing all of 2010 with a series of arm injuries. With a few less than stellar performances and a couple of cliché pitching injuries, it was thought that the overweight 37-year-old would hang up his spikes. But that was not the case. Colon has performed near flawlessly this spring and is a serious contender for a spot in the Yankee rotation.  Maybe he can find a way to pitch like he did in 2005 when he went 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA and a Cy Young Award.  But if I’m Brian Cashman and the rest of the Yankee front office, I’m thinking anything around .500 is good for the money they’ll end up paying him.

Freddy Garcia is my top choice for the Yankees 2011 “Pleasant Surprise” award.  I think he has plenty of arm left and that his 6’4,” 250 lb. frame will give him enough strength to pitch another couple of seasons. At 35-years-old he is definitely approaching the end of his career, but the Yankees aren’t looking for a number 1 or 2 guy. They need someone to help round off the end of the rotation and I think Garcia can do it.  From 2001-2006 Garcia pitched over 200 innings a season. That is a lot of wear and tear on his arm by today’s standards but I think it says more about his strength and durability as a starter.

Since 2006 he moved around a lot and was injured for most of the next three seasons. But last year he pitched 157 innings (more than in his previous three seasons combined) and went 12-6. This tells me he is healthier and growing comfortable with his “over-the-hill” arm. If you’re lucky, you get a veteran who has learned to pitch smarter and craftier when his arm starts to get worn down, and it can often yield great results. I predict this to continue to happen for Freddy Garcia.

Most people wanted Pettitte back this season (myself included, though mostly due to nostalgia) and he was 38-years-old last year with an injury prone 11-3 season that was compiled of a 127 innings. Being three years younger than Pettitte and having thrown more innings than him last season, makes Garcia seems like the better move. It’s OK to think positively about Garcia this season; it doesn’t make you a bad fan. Just remember me when your talking about how clever Garcia is with the ball and how you never would have guess he’d be a great addition to the Pinstripes in 2011.

Nova, is the wild card pick. With little experience and few professional starts, it is hard to predict if he should win the fifth and final spot. While I predict that Garcia will be the fourth starter and Colon will be the fifth, I’d much rather have Nova in the fifth spot.  I like to promote young talent. And if the Yankees are supposes to have even younger and more talented prospects than Nova, when does he get his shot? I think he deserves it more than Colon and I would be shocked if Colon could even make it through an entire season. Nova has had just as good of a spring as the two vets, and has shown in just 3 starts last year, that he is not intimidated by big league hitters, nor is he overwhelmed by wearing pinstripes and all that it entails. I think they should promote their youth and hopefully find a gem of a pitcher in Ivan Nova. At 24-years-old I think he is the ideal age for young talent to blossom.

The Yankees don’t have the starting rotation everyone expected them to have just six months ago. The big free agent went to Philly, not New York and the Bombers will have to adjust. I think the answer is a nice mixture of youth and experience, but we’ll just have to wait a couple weeks and see who ends up on the hill come games 4 and 5 of the regular season.

For some reason I am holding on to hope for AJ Burnett, and its not because he threw three perfect innings of spring training ball against the Phillies. I’m smart enough to know that doesn’t mean much. Maybe it’s because he has the stuff that a winning pitcher needs; I’ve seen it, and you’ve seen it.  That 7-inning performance in the 2009 World Series when he fanned 9 Phillies is something I can’t get out of my head. I can’t erase that game from my memory no matter how many meatballs he throws or wild pitches he flings. Somewhere deep down inside his skinny, egotistical, Arkansan frame he has pure pitching talent. He just has to find it again.

A few things will help him this season: moving down to the third spot in the rotation, a new pitching coach, and the idea that it “can’t get any worse.” Let’s start with the later. I would be really surprised if he performed as badly or worse than he did in 2010. It was statistically his worst season ever, with career highs in losses and ERA. Everyone has a worst year and 2010 was his.

Moving AJ down in the order and having a new pitching coach that has decided to take on AJ as his personal project are both good things. Especially when you consider the fact that last year’s pitching coach, Dave Eiland, disappeared for a few weeks for undisclosed reasons, at about the time Burnett started to throw batting practice every five games. A pair of fresh and dedicated eyes to concentrate on Burnett can only help.

Russell Martin could help the situation as well. The new Yankees catcher is coming off a torn labrum injury in his right hip that kept him from playing the final two months of the 2010 season.  The 28-year-old will start for the Bombers this season as Jorge Posada shifts to the DH spot.

Martin should get plenty of playing time with thought-to-be back-up catcher, Francisco Cervelli, but he is out 6 weeks with a broken foot.  This makes room for one of the biggest prospects in baseball, Jesus Montero. It looks as if Montero will start the season as the Yankee’s back-up catcher. Whether or not he remains the number two depends on his performance, more specifically, his performance behind the dish.

Montero is claimed to be “Big League ready” with the bat. He put up a slugging percentage of .511 in 380 minor league games and was said to be ready for the big leagues last year on the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, his defensive skills have been in question since he joined the organization. He seemed comfortable catching teammate and fellow prospect, Dellin Betances, in his first spring training start. Montero was able to comfort Betances and take control of the game from behind the plate. It’ll be a challenge for the 21-year-old to feel comfortable taking control of games when pitchers like CC Sabathia and veteran Freddy Garcia are on the hill. It is definitely going to be a tough transition for the youngster, but if he hits as well as everyone is predicting him to, then I doubt you see much of Francisco Cervelli this year.

Spring training has really just started and there are still 22 days until opening day. A lot of this can change. But for now, Yankee fans should feel comfortable with AJ in the 3-spot—or at least more comfortable than if he were in the 2-spot—and shouldn’t give up on him until they see what he’s serving up come midseason. It’s exciting to think of Montero playing every few days in April but don’t be surprised if he starts the season down in Scranton.

22 days…22 days.

Is Nutrisystem sponsoring the Yankees this spring? The guts and bellies of Yankee pitchers have graced both covers of the NY Daily newspapers a couple of times this week. CC has slimmed down and Joba has bulked up. Lucky for them, pinstripes are thinning. Unlucky for them, they’re both still fat. Hopefully, whatever they did to their eating habits helps. How many boxes of Cap’n Crunch they can eat in one sitting isn’t really on the top of my topics list when it comes to spring training. Who will be the Yankee 4^th and 5^th starter is.

CC is obviously going to be expected to win a lot of games as the Yankees Ace. Talks of his opt-out clause in his contract are already tickling sports writers pink, but in normal Yankee fashion he will refuse to talk about it anymore until the season is over. I boldly told a friend of mine that CC will win 25 games this season, and he may have to if the Yankees don’t find some way to finish out their rotation. The Yankees rely on CC a lot and that won’t change this season. Hopefully his dominating powers aren’t held in the General Mills cereal recipe.

To continue on my bold prediction path I’m going to say that Freddy Garcia will be a difference maker for the Bombers this season. Despite being 35-years-old last season he still pitched 157 innings and went 12-6. I don’t know about you but I’d sign for that right now if they could guarantee it.  Freddy has been known to give up some runs, his career ERA is 4.13 and has been lower than 3.81 for a season only once. On the other hand, he has only had 1 losing season in his career (not including seasons cut short by injury) and is a two-time All-Star.

If Garcia can put up decent numbers and win more than he loses, then I think you can count on him as the number 4 or 5 guy, depending on Ivan Nova’s production and if the Yankees trade for someone before the All-Star break. It does scare me that he is a right-handed pitcher that surrenders a hit an inning and a homerun every 9. Right-handed pitchers with those kinds of numbers don’t tend to fare well in the Bronx.

I can’t say there should be as much confidence in Bartolo Colon as there is in Feddy. Colon was an interesting choice, but pretty risk free considering he was signed to a minor league contract.  Having not thrown more than 99 innings since the 2005 season, I can’t imagine him contributing to the starting rotation, although he did win the AL Cy Young that year. Colon seems to be a bullpen contributor; I just hope he’s OK with that.

Ivan Nova and AJ Burnett are the biggest question marks going into the season. Despite going 1-2 last season, Ivan Nova was given some pretty high praise from Yankee fans and I think many of them are looking forward to seeing what he can do this season. He has a nice combination of pitches and doesn’t seem to be phased by playing in New York City for the Yankees.  I am all for giving the youngsters a shot, which the Yankees don’t do enough. They are very cautious with their young talent and it’ll be interesting to see if their desperate situation will make them more willing to let their young arms throw the innings. People are assuming Nova will fall into the 4^th spot but I don’t see that happening. With my rather high expectations of Feddy Garcia and familiarity with the Yankee organization babying their young pitchers, I think it’s safe to assume if Nova gets the nod, it’ll be at the 5^th spot.

AJ Burnett causes migraines so I’ll keep it short. He needs to perform better and stop talking about himself in the third person. Has anyone listened to his recent interviews? The one on “physical day” was so over the top it sounded as if he hired Deion Sanders’ publicist. In between ego-stroking self-references he seemed to admit to realizing that he pitched poorly last season and it had a big effect on the outcome of the Yankees season. I was there for his ALCS loss; it was ugly, as was most of his season after May. A 10-15 record with a 5.23 ERA?!? He should have to pay for everyone’s ticket on the games his starts if he doesn’t turn that around. Lord knows the Yankees pay him enough.

40 Days until opening day; 40 days to figure this mess out.

Without many desirable starters available, the Yankees looked to improve in other areas. Most recently they signed Rafael Soriano, who closed for Tampa Bay last season. In 2010 he had a 1.73 ERA, 45 saves and made his first All-Star team roster in his 9-year career. I’m surprised Tampa Bay didn’t resign him but the 31-year-old is probably too old for that typically young roster. And where do pitchers that are too old and passed their prime normally end up? You guessed it, the Yankees—only kidding.

This is a great pick-up for the Yankees. He’s talented, relatively young, and on board for three years. He has good stuff (career ERA of 2.73) and it’s good to see the Yankees starting to prepare for a future without MO, although there isn’t really a way to prepare for that, this is at least an attempt at step 1. Until the Yankees do have to go through that awful separation anxiety, they’ll have what is sure to be one of the best setup-closer combos in baseball.

The only question now is where do you put Joba? Maybe you put him in a trade for a starter before July’s deadline? Or maybe you have your Ramiro Mendoza-like 3-inning long relief man? (I know I mention him too much, but he was crucial to the Yankees success in the 90’s. Every team needs a garbage man and with the starting rotation the way it is, you better believe the 2011 Yankees need one). Either way I’m happy.

Scott Boras will be in town to introduce Soriano today but that’s not the only thing on his to-do list. Andruw Jones, also a Boras client, has been on the Yankees radar and would fit perfectly as the Bomber’s fourth outfielder. Jones would be taking Marcus Thames’ (who should be signing with the Dodgers any day) spot on the squad. Jones is famous in the Bronx for hitting two home runs against the Yanks in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, but he is a long way from that these days. Most recently Jones hit .230 with 19 HR and 48 RBI for the Chicago White Sox last season, not exactly “eye-popping.”

What Jones does give the Yankees is a right-handed bat in the outfield and some power off the bench. Not to mention a mantel full of Gold Gloves (10 to be exact), which is considerably more than Thames can bring to the defense discussion. Over-all Jones is better than Marcus Thames so this is a big improvement for the Yankees. And in an off-season that wasn’t exactly the Yankees best, it seems to be one of the highlights.

It has been announced that Jeter will be reporting to Spring Training 3 weeks early this year to work on his swing that quite obviously has a kink in it. While many people fear that it isn’t a kink in the swing but more like the inevitable Star burning out, hitting coach Kevin Long seems confident they’ll simplify his stride and get him back to normal Jeter form. I’m more of a “last year was a bad year for Jeter” person. I can’t imagine that his 64-point drop in average and his 66-point drop in on-base percentage was due to 12 months of age. It’s just too drastic of a drop to be chalked up to age.

I’m not saying Jeter will hit .334 this season but I do think he’ll be in the .290 range with his OBP hovering around the .400 mark. He is taking his age into account by showing up to spring training early and will be working with the hitting guru that is, Kevin Long. The same guy who helped turn Cano into a monster and A-Rod into…likeable? Maybe that’s a stretch. Either way Jeter knows last season isn’t acceptable and he’s going to work hard to fix it. There are few, if any, players in baseball who work harder and want to win more than Jeter.

As the weather gets colder I can’t help but think about warm sunny days and baseball. 25 days until pitchers & catchers report.

2010 American League saves leader Rafael Soriano has had his patience tested this off-season when no one would offer the hard-throwing native of the Dominican Republic a contract that seemed to be to his liking. Teams all over baseball were passing on the reliever due to his Type-A free agent status as well as request for a long-term high salary deal. However, the reliever seemed to remain confident that a deal would present itself and that day has finally come.

The New York Yankees, who insisted a little over a week ago that they would not give up their first round draft selection next season to sign a free-agent, have gone against that statement offering Soriano a reported three-year deal that could be worth up to $35 million. The deal will also give Soriano a ton of flexibility with opt-out clauses after both one and two seasons of play.

The deal was structured by super agent Scott Boras, who is notorious for working out larger than expected contracts for his clients and the Soriano contract is exactly that.

The former Tampa Bay Ray is familiar with the AL East, having produced at a very high level last season for the division winners, but his role with the Yankees will be as a set-up man to one of the all-time great closers in baseball, Mariano Rivera. It is apparent that Soriano did not mind setting up for the legend as long as the dollars were right.

In 2010 the 31-year Soriano had a career year pitching to a record of 3-2 with an earned run average of 1.73 with 45 saves in 62.1 innings of work. He allowed a mere 36 hits to go along with 14 walks and 57 strikeouts.

Rafael Soriano struck it rich after having a career year, but will he be able to handle the Big Apple?

The Yankees will surrender their first round draft choice, 31st overall in the 2011 entry draft and the Rays will also receive a supplemental first round choice as well, both picks being compensation for the loss of Soriano.

If the contract is finalized with the figures above than the reliever could become one of the highest paid relievers in all of baseball, an outstanding financial haul for a player who had not saved more than ten games in his career until his eighth big league season. If the pressure of the hostile Yankee Stadium crowd, as well as the Big Apple get to him, as it has many others than Soriano can easily opt out of the deal and ride on to better pastures.

The negotiation of the deal is yet another notch in Boras’ book, once again showcasing that he has the ability to arrange some of the most player friendly contracts in baseball.

In my opinion Soriano lucked out on this one as have many of the off-season free-agent relievers such as Joaquin Benoit, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg and Grant Balfour, who looks to have signed a lucrative deal with the Oakland Athletics today.

Perhaps the idea of late inning relief help earning large free-agent contracts is not as unbelievable as initially expected, as the dollars keep pouring into these players pockets.