Yankees plan to tender Francisco Cervelli a contract

Francisco Cervelli had another disastrous season in 2013 after such a promising beginning. He suffered a broken hand, then injured his elbow while rehabbing, and was then finally suspended for his part in Biogenesis. It looked like the Yankees were unhappy with him and it was more than likely that they were going to let him go.

Now that he's healthy, it appears they have decided to tender him a contract instead. Cervelli will be arbitration eligible for the first time this season and will be under contract for another three years before becoming a free agent. By offering him a contract, the Yankees keep another option to join Chris Stewart, Austin Romine, and J.R. Murphy as potential backstops for the 2014 season.

They will likely only need one of the four to start the season because they still plan to upgrade offensively at catcher through free agency. Whether it's Brian McCann, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Ruiz or someone else, the starting catcher will likely come from outside the organization.

If they sign a catcher, one of their internal options will be used as the backup catcher and one will likely be placed in Triple-A. The other two won't have much of a place in the organization. That means at least one of Cervelli, Murphy, and Romine will be traded and/or Stewart could be released. Bringing back Cervelli could end up helping the team fill in other positions.

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