Andy Pettitte and the Yankees agreed to a one-year incentive based $5.5 million contract. Pettitte will need to toss 210 innings to earn the full $12 million value of the contract. The southpaw experienced a coarse 2008 season going 14-14 posting an unimpressive 4.54 ERA. Pettitte may be on the decline, but he has recorded over 200 innings in 10 of his 14 years of MLB service. Pettitte pitching a significant amount of innings is imperative simply because the Yankees starting rotation has many handicaps as A.J. Burnett has only reached 200 innings pitched 3 times in his 10 year career, Chien-Ming Wang is coming of a serious lisfranc injury, and Joba Chamberlain will have an innings pitched limit. The back-end of a successful starting rotation is designed to log innings and keep their offense within striking distance of the opposition, and Pettitte is undoubtedly capable of fulfilling this type of role. Additionally, Pettitte provides the starting rotation with depth as Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Alfredo Alceves can fill the void for a disabled-list bound starter. The Pettitte signing may not seem glamorous in association with the lavish free agent signings this offseason, but due to the innings and depth he provides it is a tremendous move.
Andy Pettitte has potential to provide the Yankees with a substantial amount strength in the back-end of the rotation through his durability and big game experience.
