New York Yankees

Is it just me, or are there any other people scratching their heads over the Yankees' personnel decisions this offseason?

This is the time of the year that the Pinstripes are supposed to re-tool for another run at another World Series crown, isn't it?

So far the Yanks have failed to sign a top-tier free agent outside of Rafael Soriano who will be paid $10 million to pitch the eighth inning in front of Mariano Rivera.

Pitchers and catchers report in 23 days and, to be expected, the pickings on the free-agent market are slim. The biggest news in the past few weeks has been reliever Rafael Soriano signing with the New York Yankees.

The 31-year-old who previously closed for the Tampa Bay Rays was given $35 million over three years to be Mariano Rivera’s set-up man—money the Yankees always seem to have at their disposal no matter how much they spend.

By Todd Farino, www.thecloserreport.com

What does the future hold for arguably the greatest closer of all time? 

By the end of the the next season, Mariano Rivera  will be the ripe old age of 42.  For the first time in his career, Rivera started to show his age. 

The New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with Andruw Jones on Thursday to replace Marcus Thames as a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder.

While Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, is not the same outfielder he was 13 years ago when he was still breaking into the Majors, he's still a far better defensive option than Thames.

But at what cost?

Jones hit just .230 last year with the Chicago White Sox, and what's scarier is that was his highest average since 2006.

Late Thursday afternoon, after nearly an entire offseason of position-player inactivity, Yankee GM Brian Cashman inked the former Braves superstar to a one-year, $2 million contract, with another $1.2 million in additional performance-based incentives. After bolstering their bullpen with top-shelf relief arms, the Yankees' acquisition of Andruw Jones fills the hole left by the late (not so) great Marcus Thames.

HTMS Minor League Baseball Report

Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the passing of first-round draft choice Chico Morales.

Are you in the market for a 27th round draft pick with a good baseball eye and a propensity to hit home runs?  The Yankees decided the answer was yes with the 884th pick of the 2007 MLB amateur draft.

In 2010, the Yankees were adamantly clear that it was repeat or bust.
 
The reigning 2009 champion New York Yankees lost in the ALCS, eventually passing the World Series crown to the San Francisco Giants.
 
Most teams would be elated if that was how their last two seasons had panned out, but up in the Bronx expectations run high.
 
Reading the 2011 roaster is not going to provide much comfort, as the Bombers have more holes to fill this season compared to the last two combined.
 

In signing relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, the New York Yankees took a big step in shoring up their bullpen before heading south to Florida for spring training.

The team had already made a number of signings including pitcher Pedro Feliciano, pitcher Mark Prior and catcher Russell Martin.

The Yankees also retained two major free agents in agreeing to terms on multi-year deals with closer Mariano Rivera and shortstop Derek Jeter.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have Alex Rodriguez and Lou Gehrig on the same team? I often have and wondered if there was a way to make it happen.  

With this idea in place, I decided to compose a 25-man roster complete with batting order and pitching rotation.

The twist on this is some of the convenient adaptations I have made to the team.

Also, I tried not to choose players who had their prime and best years outside Yankee pinstripes.