At first I thought this was an early April Fool's joke, but it turns out to be true (the Yankees themselves confirmed it). Andy Pettitte, at the age of 40, and having been retired since 2010, will try to come back to the Bronx after signing a $2.5M minor league deal. Pettitte is a 240-game winner and went 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 129 innings in '10. He'll spend the rest of Spring Training trying to get back into "game shape," and will start the season in the minors.
What does this mean for the 2012 club? Joe Girardi has some tough decisions to make. Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes were competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. Will Pettitte get that spot if he pitches well in Triple-A? Will Hughes move to the bullpen? Will Garcia be traded? Might the Yankees demote Michael Pineda or Ivan Nova (who both have minor league options) so that they can "refine" their game?
[See below for today's gamethread.]