Free Agency

The Yankees have been doing a lot of waiting this offseason. They waited for Cliff Lee to choose his team. They waited for Derek Jeter to accept their offer. Then they stayed put a while too long and lost out on Zach Greinke. Now they await a decision from Andy Pettitte as to whether or not he will pitch in 2011. 

Reliever Pedro Feliciano is staying put in New York, but he will be sporting a different uniform.

The life-long Met is leaving Queens to bring his talents to the Yankees. 

Feliciano is a 34-year-old lefty who inked an $8 million, two-year contract with an option for a third, to come over to the Bronx. Fans get the reassurance that GM Brian Cashman is doing his job, as this is a huge boost to counterpart Boone Logan in the bullpen.

December 15th is a historical date.  In 1794, the United States Bill of Rights became law.  In 1933, the 21st Amendment went into effect, legalizing alcohol.  Russians landed on Venus in 1970. And now, in the year 2010, Cliff Lee re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The signing will obviously not impact our society in such way as the Bill of Rights or the 21st Amendment once did.  And it is doubtful that December 15th will be named a national holiday.  However, this is still a historic occasion for the City of Philadelphia.

Don’t believe what you have read about Bobby Jenks over the last couple of years—the former ChiSox closer has not lost his stuff. Jenks’ troubles in Chicago largely stemmed from a large dose of bad luck and an even larger menu of problems he had with his old boss, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth have grabbed all the headlines with their lucrative nine-figure contracts, but many of this off-seasons free agents remain unsigned.

For some players like Adrian Beltre and Rafael Soriano, their big day is a foregone conclusion, but others won’t be so lucky. Whether due to age or declining skills, many players may have to wait until Spring Training to sign a contract, that is, if they can find work.

With that in mind, let’s examine 15 players who could have to wait until March before finding a new home for the season.

The New York Yankees have to divert whatever attention is left from all the Cliff Lee drama, but there is no denying the painful disappointment still lingers.

Losing Kerry Wood to the Chicago Cubs was unexpected, but the signing of former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin gave the first ray of hope thus far in this offseason.

Why is signing Russell Martin such a positive? For two reasons:

As Christmas approaches, fans of the New York Yankees have been left with nothing but coal in their stockings.  This isn't by any means meant to be a slight on recently acquired catcher Russell Martin whose signing makes for a decent "stocking stuffer."  It is the big prize though that has so far eluded the Yankees.

Let me just start by saying that I do not want to be writing this article. 

The New York Yankees struck out on Cliff Lee and now their attention turns to not losing one of their own. Andy Pettitte is currently exploring his options as to whether he will return or not. The southpaw put together one of his best seasons last year. 

This season the Washington Nationals shocked the baseball world by doling out an enormous seven-year, $126 million contract for Jayson Werth. The Nationals finished last in the division and, desperate to stay relevant, paid top-tier money to a second-tier star.

With Stephen Strasburg injured and Bryce Harper still years away from the show, GM Mike Rizzo was looking to maintain fan interest in the interim by signing this offseason’s No. 3 prize. But was it really worth it?