Sabathia, Jeter, Robertson among players heading to Panama

The Yankees are starting to prepare themselves for their trip to Panama next weekend, and have begun picking the squad that will be making the trip.

Obviously Derek Jeter, a long-time teammate of Mariano Rivera, who this two-day event will be sculpted around, will be making the trip, along with David Robertson, Dean Anna, Brian McCann, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, and Alfonso Soriano, according to manager Joe Girardi.

CC Sabathia and Adam Warren are also going to be in Panama as the two starting pitchers of the pair of games against the Miami Marlins on March 15th and 16th.

These out-of-country games will be split-squad games for the Yankees, with the other half of the club staying in Florida.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog

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Marlins expressing interest in Phil Hughes

The Miami Marlins have expressed interest in free-agent pitcher Phil Hughes, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Hughes, who has almost no chance of coming back to the Yankees after another disappointing year, certainly has the potential to pitch well, but it's also a matter of him finding that if willing to take a chance on him. As Jackson writes,

The Marlins often like to pursue players who had one bad year after a good one, hoping to get them at a reasonable price. So it’s not surprising they called about Yankees free agent right-hander Phil Hughes, who went 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA in 2013 after going 16-13 in 2012. The Marlins are considering adding an inexpensive veteran starting pitcher.

Hughes, 27, would be a great fit in Marlins Ballpark, without a doubt. Being a flyball pitcher, he made it clear that pitching in smaller parks like Yankee Stadium does not work in his favor. But being able to pitch most of his games in the big, spacious ballpark in Miami would certainly lower his homerun rate.

Hughes posted a 4.23 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 2012 but followed it up with a 5.19 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 2013.

The Marlins would also have nothing to lose by signing Hughes. They don't have a roster that is ready to compete in the NL Easy just yet, and should Hughes put together something decent, they might be able to trade him off for some other pieces.

The Twins, Royals and Mets have also shown interest in Hughes so far this offseason.

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Yankees And Marlins To Play A Pair Of Exhibition Games In Panama

The Yankees will be visiting Mariano Rivera in Panama next spring, and the Miami Marlins are coming with them.

The Yankees and Marlins are expected to announce in the coming weeks that the two teams will get together for a pair of exhibition games at Rod Carew National Stadium in Panama City March 15th and 16th.

This news was first reported by Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel in Miami, Florida.

Rivera, who spent 19 seasons with the Yankees, was just one of 53 native Panamanians to appear in the majors, including a handful is still active players like Bruce Chen, Carlos Ruiz, Manny Corpas, Ruben Tejada, Randall Delgado and Christian Bethancourt.

There's no doubt that Rivera will be celebrated by the Yankees and Panama as part of the festivities, and he been saying that the Yankees should find their way down to his home country of Panama for a game or two. He's finally getting his wish.

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