5 New York Yankees Who’ve Played Their Last Games in Pinstripes
November 1, 2012 · Phil Watson · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Free agency in Major League Baseball begins Saturday. The New York Yankees have a bevy of free agents, 13 in all, and it’s not feasible or practical to keep them all.
There are some who should stay, of course, particularly if the price is right. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has said he would like to come back to the Bronx and should be allowed to, but for no more than one or two years.
Closer Mariano Rivera will be back if he decides it’s not yet time to retire. Rivera will ultimately drive this decision because the blow back from letting go the greatest relief pitcher the game has ever known would be too severe.
Similarly, pitcher Andy Pettitte may decide that an injury-marred 2012 season is not the way he wants to head into his second retirement. The Yankees think he’s going to want to come back, according to a report on CBSSports.com a couple of weeks ago. The price has to be right because the guy has made only 33 starts in the last three seasons.
Catcher Russell Martin had a horrible season offensively, hitting a career-low .211. But given the available alternatives, for a bargain price Martin might be the best option…at least until youngster Gary Sanchez is ready to make the leap to the majors.
Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda was the Yankees’ best starting pitcher for large chunks of 2012. He was 16-11 with a 3.32 ERA. He’ll be 38 next season but should be offered a one-year deal to return.
Off the bench, Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez were both solid contributors. A couple of reasonable one-year deals to the lefty swingers make sense, even if their best days are already behind them.
But here are five Yankees that won’t be back:
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