Yankees Daily

Andy Pettitte is a free agent which means he wants to play baseball in 2010.

I was never the biggest Andy Pettitte fan. I never disliked him but I never went crazy over him. I guess it has to do with the fact that I took him for granted all these years.

He went 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts in 2009. That wasn’t too bad but it was his guidance and wisdom he gave to the newest free agent pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett about pitching in New York that made him valuable.

Andy Pettitte was also a big time pitcher in the playoffs and out pitched some of the biggest named pitchers in baseball. The Yankees should sign him for that reason alone. If he misses some time in the regular season, so be it but have him ready for the playoffs.

He pitched the clinchers in the ALDS, the ALCS and the World Series so we know he’s a winner.

We all know that if the Yankees want Pettitte back, it would be easy to get him back because the Yankees have the resources to get him back.

Andy Pettitte has leverage however when it comes to resigning with the Yankees. The Yankees have only two reliable starters that are signed and that’s C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Who else can you count on after that? The Yankees used a three man rotation in the World Series and Andy Pettitte was one of the pitchers used in the rotation.

Chien-Ming Wang is a question mark and you don’t know how he’s going to pitch after having shoulder surgery.

Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes have not fared well as starters so you know that the Yankees would want to sign another free agent pitcher.

The free agent market isn’t that strong and the best pitcher available is John Lackey even though he’s no slouch.

The Yankees gave Andy Pettitte five million dollars last year with five million in incentives which he reached. The question is who much should the Yankees offer Pettitte this time around after a strong post season?

Would it take 12 to 16 million to get him back? I don’t think another club would offer him that much but if the Yankees don’t offer him a bigger contract than this year, he might feel insulted and sign with another club.

The bottom line is, the Yankees need him back and I hope they get him to pitch again for the New York Yankees in 2010.

Tags: Andy Pettitte, i'd like the yankees to sign andy pettitte and andy has, new york yankees, yankeesdaily

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