New York Yankees News and Notes

Good morning, Pinstripe Alley readers. Here's your usual morning news for Wednesday, February 22nd. Spring Training is in full swing for pitchers and catchers, and the team's first full workout is in just three days.

• At River Ave. Blues, Joe Pawlikowski discussed the Yankees' roster flexibility going forward. Platoon-able players have enabled the Yankees to take advantage of their available bench spots.
• Over at FanGraphs, Mike Axisa wrote about the upcoming free agent market and thinks the Yankees should extend Russell Martin now in order to avoid high-priced free agent deals. In conclusion, Axisa states: "Martin might not hit like Napoli or defend like Yadi, but he's a valuable player in his own right and keeping him off the market should be an item on the Yankees' agenda over the next nine months."

• At ESPN, Mike Mazzeo collected a variety of A.J. Burnett quotes.
• Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus discussed the Yankees' top five prospects (without a subscription, you can still read about Manny Banuelos and Gary Sanchez).
• David Waldstein of The New York Times said there is a mix of denial and disbelief surrounding the Yankees' bullpen due to Mariano Rivera's apparent impending retirement.