Yankees finalizing deal for reliever Zach Britton

The Yankees are closing in on a three year deal with free agent reliever Zach Britton, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. ESPN's Jeff Passen adds that Britton's contract with the Yankees would be for three years guaranteed, with a fourth-year club option after the second year, which would also give the lefty the chance to opt-out afterwards if that option isn't picked up.

This news comes just a couple of years after the Yankees lost out on re-signing David Robertson, seeing the right-hander leave New York for a second time to sign a two year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to Rosenthal, the option year would bring the total compensation for Britton north of $50 million.

Britton had a solid second half in 2018 for the Yankees after being acquired in July from the Baltimore Orioles, about a month after making his season debut because of a right Achilles injury he suffered in the offseason.

The 31-year-old was 2-0 with seven saves and 34 strikeouts over 40.2 innings in 41 relief appearances last season for both the Yankees and Orioles.

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Yankees focusing on bullpen while they wait for Manny Machado

While most of the focus surrounding the Yankees in this offseason is whether they'll pursue Bryce Harper or land Manny Machado's signature, the team still does have other things they're working on. According to Fancred's Jon Heyman, the club is currently circling the bullpen market, staying in contact with relievers Zach Britton, Adam Ottavino and David Robertson.

Yankees are focusing on pen while they wait on Machado market to play out. Ottavino, Britton and Robertson all in play. Still possible they could sign more than 1, depending on price. Remember, like Red Sox they are currently down two, as both Britton and Robertson were theirs.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 28, 2018

Robertson, who is representing himself this winter, is drawing plenty of interest on the open market, including from the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, which are headed by former Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler, who obviously knows Robertson well from his time in New York.

The Yankees surely won't let themselves walk into a hefty bidding war for Robertson, who has been one of the most reliable relievers in the league throughout his career and is more than capable of performing in the 9th inning, should anything happen to Aroldis Chapman, but they'll also be reluctant to let him walk after a season in which he struck out 91 batters in 69.2 innings.

On the flip side, there's still Britton and Ottavino. Britton had a good second half for the Yankees after being acquired from Baltimore, and provides the team with a good left handed option out of the pen.

While also in on Ottavino, the Yankees are just one of many teams, making it less likely we'll see them pull through as the clear favorite, especially since they can't offer him the closer role.

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Yankees' Opening Day payroll jumps up nine percent over 2014

The Yankees opened the 2015 Major League Baseball season with the second highest payroll in the league for the second consecutive year, using $219,282,196 to fill out it's roster this season, according to the Associated Press' latest calculations.

That number is up from the Bombers' 2014 opening day payroll of $203,812,506 -- a nine percent increase.

After a 2013 offseason that saw the Bombers spent close to half a billion dollars on the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, and Carlos Beltran, Brian Cashman and his staff were much quieter this winter making smaller moves, which included the signing of Chase Headley and Stephen Drew, grabbing free-agent reliever Andrew Miller while letting David Robertson walk, and trading for younger players like Didi Gregorius and Nathan Eovaldi.

The Yankees also regained Alex Rodriguez's contract this season, with the slugger coming back from his one-year Biogenesis suspension.

Here’s the full list of all 30 club’s Opening Day payrolls, as calculated by the AP:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers         $272,789,040
2. New York Yankees           $219,282,196
3. Boston Red Sox                  $187,407,202
4. Detroit Tigers                      $173,813,750
5. San Francisco Giants          $172,672,111
6. Washington Nationals        $163,264,559
7. Los Angeles Angels           $150,933,083
8. Texas Rangers                   $142,140,873
9. Philadelphia Phillies           $135,827,500
10. Toronto Blue Jays            $122,506,600
11. St. Louis Cardinals          $120,869,458
12. Seattle Mariners               $119,798,060
13. Chicago Cubs                  $119,006,885
14. Cincinnati Reds               $117,197,072
15. Chicago White Sox         $115,238,678
16. Kansas City Royals         $113,618,650
17. Baltimore Orioles            $110,146,097
18. Minnesota Twins            $108,945,000
19. Milwaukee Brewers        $105,002,536
20. Colorado Rockies           $102,006,130
21. New York Mets              $101,409,244
22. San Diego Padres           $100,675,896
23. Atlanta Braves                $97,578,565
24. Arizona D-Backs           $91,518,833
25. Pittsburgh Pirates            $88,278,500
26. Cleveland Indians          $86,091,175
27. Oakland Athletics          $86,086,667
28. Tampa Bay Rays            $76,061,707
29. Houston Astros              $70,910,100
30. Miami Marlins                $68,479,000

And as for the Yankees' salaries on the books this season:

1B Mark Teixeira: $23,125,000
SP CC Sabathia: $23,000,000
3B Alex Rodriguez: $22,000,000
SP Masahiro Tanaka: $22,000,000
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: $21,142,857
C Brian McCann: $17,000,000
RF Carlos Beltran: $15,000,000
3B Chase Headley: $13,000,000
LF Brett Gardner: $12,500,000
RP Andrew Miller: $9,000,000
2B Stephen Drew: $5,000,000
1B Garrett Jones: $5,000,000
SP Nathan Eovaldi: $3,300,000
CF Chris Young: $2,500,000
SP Michael Pineda: $2,100,000
RP Esmil Rogers: $1,480,000
RP David Carpenter: $1,275,000
SP Adam Warren: $572,600
RP Justin Wilson: $556,000
SS Didi Gregorius: $553,900
C John Ryan Murphy: $518,700
RP Chris Martin: $511,025
RP Chasen Shreve: $510,275
IF Gregorio Petit: $510,000
RP Dellin Betances: $507,500

Players on the DL:

SP Chris Capuano: $5,000,000
SP Ivan Nova: $3,300,000
SS Brendan Ryan: $2,000,000
2B Jose Pirela: $510,000

The Yankees are also responsible for $3,000,000 of Martin Prado's salary in Miami.

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Yankees planning to offer Brian Cashman a new contract this winter

Despite being on pace to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the Yankees are planning to offer general manager Brian Cashman a new contract that would bring him back for next season, and several more years after that, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman.

According to Heyman, higher-ups in the Yankees' front office like the mid-season pickups that Cashman has made this season -- like Brandon McCarthy, Martin Prado, and Chase Headley -- and are not putting any of the blame on him for the struggles of prized free-agents, like Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.

Cashman's current three-year contract runs out at the end of the season, and reports earlier in the year suggested that the Yankees would be looking to bring back their long-time general manager.

The Yankees have averaged more than 96 wins a year and won four World series championships in his previous 16 seasons at the helm, so even with the arguments that the team isn't focused enough on younger, more in-their-prime players, Cashman's strategies have made him a very successful GM for  over a decade.

The Yankees have a policy of waiting until after the season to talk about renewing contracts for any upcoming free-agents, and Cashman won't be anything different.

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Yankees make seven September call-ups, other roster moves

The Yankees on Tuesday afternoon announced a flurry of roster moves prior to tonight's series opener against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

September call-ups:

C John Ryan Murphy
OF Chris Young
OF Antoan Richardson
RHP Preston Claiborne
RHP Bryan Mitchell
RHP Chase Whitley
LHP Chaz Roe
RHP Rich Hill

Not really the biggest moves they could have made, and nothing in there that'll make this club good enough to reach the post season. Whatever, I guess.

In other roster moves:

Outfielder Zoilo Almonte was designated for assignment; right-hander Matt Daley was released; outfield prospect Slade Heathcott was recalled from Double-A Trenton and then placed on the 60-day DL; and Masahiro Tanaka was transferred over to the 60-day DL, which means he's done for the season.

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Yankees ink outfielder Chris Young to a minor league deal

The Yankees have signed former Mets outfielder Chris Young to a minor league deal, as first reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Young will spend a few days in Triple-A Scranton, and is almost certain to be added to the Yankees' 40-man roster and brought up to the big leagues as a September call-up on September 1.

Young was released by the Mets on August 16 after batting .205 with just eight homeruns. He was in his first season with the Mets after signing a one-year, $7.25-million  contract over the winter.

A right-handed bat, Young can give the Yankees another option off of the bench in September, and will be able to give the 40-year-old Ichiro Suzuki some more time off here and there.

The Yankees aren't losing anything with this signing, so I don't see any problem with it.

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Masahiro Tanaka throws 35 pitch bullpen session at Yankee Stadium

Injured starter Masahiro Tanaka took another big step in his road back to the big leagues on Wednesday, throwing a 35 pitch bullpen session off of the mound at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka told reporters that the bullpen was “good” and “better” than his last time throwing, and more importantly, there was no pain in his right elbow.

This was also Tanaka's first time throwing something more than fastballs since he was shutdown in mid-July -- he threw his breaking ball, including five splitters.

As for what's up next for Tanaka and the Yankees, that is still unknown. We know for sure, though, that he won't be returning the the big league team this month, as Brian Cashman has said. Right now, a mid-September return seems very likely.

The next step for Tanaka, as long as the pain stays away, would normally be a live batting practice session, followed by some simulated games, and than minor league rehab starts.

"I don’t really have a realistic timeframe because I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves,” Girardi said. “But the next step would be throwing BP, then a simulated game, then obviously a rehab game. The fact that he felt good today was encouraging. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow; obviously that’s really important. But he was able to throw his curveball, his slider and his split; I watched it and he looked pretty good.”

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Pitching news: Michael Pineda to start on Wednesday; Manny Banuelos promoted to Triple-A

In Baltimore today to kick off a big three-game series against the AL East leading Orioles, the Yankees made a big announcement.

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make his return to the big leagues to face the Orioles in the series finale on Wednesday night. I'm assuming that Esmil Rogers will be moved back to the bullpen with Pineda back. A roster move might not happen until Wednesday.

Pineda only made four starts in April before he was caught using pine tar during a game against the Red Sox, leading to a 10-game suspension. He got hurt during that suspension and has been on the disabled list ever since.

Pineda, who had a 1.83 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 15/3 K/BB ratio over his first 19 2/3 innings (four starts) this season, looked good in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Scranton on Friday, allowing one run on six hits over 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out seven.

Man Ban promoted to Triple-A

Baseball America's Josh Norris has reported that pitching prospect Manny Banuelos has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton after spending the past couple of months with Double-A Trenton.

After starting the season with High-A Tampa, making five starts, Banuelos was promoted to Trenton in May, where he posted a 4.59 ERA with 44 strikeouts and 19 walks in 49 innings of work. He's been pitching a lot better lately, giving up four earned runs in his last four starts.

Banuelos, who is pitching in his first full season since having Tommy John Surgery in 2012, could possibly make his way up to the big leagues in September when rosters are expended to 40. Some say it's possible, but I can't see it.

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Yankees bring back infielder Scott Sizemore on minor league deal

The Yankees announced during Saturday's game against the Cleveland Indians that they have re-signed infielder Scott Sizemore on an minor league deal. Sizemore, who was released by the Yankees on July 31, will be placed on the disabled list in Triple-A Scranton.

Sizemore has only played in six games with the Yankees' big league squad this season, spending most of his time in the minors as extra infield depth. He hit 5-for-16 (.313) with two doubles and four RBIs in those six games.

His numbers in the minor weren't bad, hitting .272 with 15 doubles, five triples and 35 RBIs in 66 games for Triple-A Scranton.

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David Robertson needs a "legit offer at this point" to sign extension with the Yankees

David Robertson has yet to talk about a contract extension with the Yankees, who would have been very smart to lock him up on a multi-year deal before the season started.

“It would have to be a legit offer at this point of the year," Robertson told the NY Post on Wednesday night after the Yankees' 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Robertson, who did not pitch in the game, has been given the past couple of days off after recording three saves in three nights earlier this week, giving him 30 saves in his first season as the Yankees' closer.

“This offseason I probably would have gone for a discount, although I wasn't a closer,’’ said the 29-year-old right-hander, who is in the final year of his contract. Putting together a great year so far, one that has made people seemingly forget that Mariano Rivera is no longer here, Robertson likely won't be re-signing at a cheap price this winter.

The Yankees are known for not talking about extensions before a player's contract runs out, but they broke that rule during spring training this year when locking up Brett Gardner on a four-year, $52 million extension -- how great is that deal looking right now? -- and the Yankees really missed an opportunity to keep Robertson on less money.

So he'll likely become a free-agent this winter, and can easily command a lot of money. There is a chance that the Yankees give him a qualifying offer for about $15 million, which would make him the highest paid closer in the league.

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Yankees send Matt Thornton to the Nationals in waiver claim

In a somewhat surprising roster move this afternoon, the Yankees are sending Matt Thornton to the Washington Nationals after the left-hander was placed on waivers by the Bombers today, reports CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

By waiving Thornton's contract and sending him to the Nationals, the Yankees will save about $4 million that was left on his salary -- the rest of this season, plus the $3.5 million he's owed in 2015.

Thornton wasn't the best pitcher in the Yankees' bullpen this season after signing on during the winter, be he's been solid as the lefty out of the bullpen, posting a 2.33 ERA with 20 strikeouts and six walks in 24.2 innings this season. At 38-years-old, it would make sense that the Yankees don't want to be on the hook for him much longer, but they're losing a good bullpen arm with this move.

According to Daniel Barbarisi, left-hander Rich Hill, who signed a minor league deal with the Yankees a few weeks back, will be called up to take Thornton's place as the LOOGY in the bullpen.

*******

In other waiver news, Heyman also reports that Brett Gardner, Stephen Drew, and Martin Prado have cleared waivers. Not that the Yankees are really trying to trade these guys at the moment, but it opens up the door down the road.

Gardner, who is in the final year of his contract before a four-year, $52 million extension kicks in, is hitting .286 with 15 homers, 50 RBI, 71 runs, 18 steals and an .831 OPS this season.

Both Prado and Drew were just acquired last week and it would be hard to see the Yankees having any interest moving either of them.

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Masahiro Tanaka will test his arm by playing catch at Yankee Stadium today

Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka will test out his injured right by playing catch at Yankee Stadium on Monday, reports ESPN's Wallace Matthews. General Manager Brian Cashman also confirmed the report to the NY Post on Sunday.

It's been nearly three weeks since Tanaka received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow on July 14 and has been resting his elbow since. If all goes well with the throwing today, the rehab will continue and he'll try to get back to the Yankees as soon as possible. If something goes wrong and Tanaka still feels something in his arm, Tommy John surgery becomes even more likely to happen.

Tanaka hasn't pitched since July 8 in Cleveland, where he allowed five runs, including two home runs, in 6 2/3 innings against the Indians.

Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Sunday that Tanaka would almost need to go through a spring training-type rehab, about four-to-five weeks, before being ready to return to the majors.

"I'm not exactly sure how we would do that," Girardi told Matthews. "It's not starting all over because he's been built up. But it'll be probably [throwing] 60 feet, and then 60 and 90, and 90 and 120, then flat ground and bullpen and probably a rehab game."

The Yankees didn't pick up any starting pitchers at the trading deadline -- just Brandon McCarthy, and that was prior to the All-Star break -- but they might not need any with Pineda on his way back, and the possibility of Tanaka coming back sometime in September for the final playoff push.

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David Phelps exits game vs Red Sox with right elbow inflammation

The Yankees announced just moments ago that David Phelps left Sunday night's game against the Boston Red Sox after just two innings due to inflammation in his right now, and just because of the fact that he had given up five runs on six hits.

They say that he'll be re-evaluated in New York in the coming days to know just how bad things are.

With four starters already on the DL, this is the last thing that the Yankees need to deal with right now, having to lose another starting pitcher. When you hear elbow, you pretty much think Tommy John right away, so we can only hope it's not that.

There aren't many options for the Yankees right now. Maybe they call up Bryan Mitchell from Triple-A, or even throw Chase Whitley back into the rotation. You can also imagine that Brian Cashman will be working the waiver wire this month for any decent pitchers that might be out there.

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Yankees will stop pushing Carlos Beltran back to the outfield

It's been a few months since Carlos Beltran put on a glove and played right field for the Yankees this season, and it doesn't seem like a return to the outfield is coming anytime soon.

Just ahead of the 4 p.m. buzzer on Thursday's trading deadline, the Yankees acquired the very versatile Martin Prado, who can play around the infield as well as in the outfield, where both Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have said the 30-year-old will mostly play, which takes the pressure off of Beltran to rush things and possibly re-injure his elbow.

"I think there’s probably a little less of a, I don’t want to use 'sense of urgency,' but (sense) that we need to get him out there," Girardi said before the game. "We have more options. We were carrying three outfielders for a while there. Carlos was the fourth, and then we were running infielders out there. But with Martin (Prado), who’s played a lot of outfield, and then having Ich too -- we’ll make sure (Beltran)'s ready when he goes out there."

Beltran hasn't played the field since May 12, when he felt pain where doctors later found a bone spur in the joint. He started a throwing program a couple weeks ago, but isn't to the point yet, he says, where he can make a throw to home plate from the outfield is needed.

Signed to a three-year, $45-million deal in the offseason, Beltran has been limited to just 24 games in the outfield this season. He's served as the Yankees' DH since originally returning in June.

He went on the DL with a concussion just before the All-Star break, but has been on fire since then, hitting .375/.429/.625 (21-for-56) with four homeruns and 12 RBIs.

In getting Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yankees are now able ot relegate Ichiro Suzuki back to the bench role that he played well in earlier in the season before being forced to full-time outfield duties. Because of that, they now have a true fourth outfield in Ichiro, meaning there's not much of a need for Beltran right now.

"I think we’ll keep him throwing and see where he's at," Girardi said. "The one thing we don't want to risk is him having a setback. We've kind of taken it day by day, but we'll keep him throwing."

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Brian Roberts to be designated for assignment by the Yankees

Shortly after completing a pair of moves just before the final bell of the non-waiver trading deadline had rung, in which the Yankees were able to complete for both Red Sox infielder Stephen Drew and Diamondbacks infielder/outfielder Martin Prado, Brian Cashman spoke the media on a few different topics.

The most important thing that he mentioned: second baseman Brian Roberts will be designated for assignment to make room for Prado on the roster.

The big question with Roberts coming into the year was whether or not he would be able to stay healthy after miss a large chunk of the last four seasons. While he did stay healthy, we hasn't very good at the plate outside of a couple hot streaks, and his play as second base was sub-par, too. He hit just .237 with a .659 OPS in 91 games. The 36-year-old will likely clear waivers and try to catch on elsewhere for the remainder of the season.

In the mean time, Drew will take over as the everyday second baseman for the Yankees since Derek Jeter is still alive and well as the Bombers' shortstop. With Mark Teixeira, Chase Headley, Jeter and Drew as the starting infield core, Cashman told reporters that the newly acquired Prado will be tried out in right field, where the Yankees have finally found a better option to Ichiro Suzuki, who is struggling pretty badly at the plate right now.

Cashman also mentioned the RHP Esmil Rogers, who was claimed off of waivers from the Blue Jays today, will be added to the 25-man roster before Friday night's game on Boston. The Yankees will need to make a move to add him to the roster.

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Yankees make last minute deadline trade for D-Backs' Martin Prado

Just when you thought that Stephen Drew was the only deadline deal that Brian Cashman managed to pull off, Jake Curry comes at you with this:

Yankees have acquired Prado from Arizona.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 31, 2014

According to MLB.com Steve Gillbert, the Yankees will be sending C/1B Peter O'Brien out to Arizona, bringing back Pardo in return. The Yankees are also giving the D-Backs cash or a player to be named later, according to a team release.

 Prado was having a bit of a down year for the Diamondbacks, hitting .270 with five homeruns and 42 RBIs this season. Over his last 162 games, the  batting .285/.332/.403 with 72 R, 34 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 83 RBI, & 2 SB.

But while he can hit, the real value is with his glove, where he can play all around the diamond, spending most of his time at third base this season. He can also play the outfield, and I'm thinking that he'll play mostly right field as an upgrade for the struggling Ichiro Suzuki.

Prado still has two years and $22 million left on his current contract, so he'll give the Yankees good third base option next season in case the team does not want to re-sign Chase Headley, and even in the even that Alex Rodriguez has played his last game in pinstripes.

As for O'Brien, the Yankees clearly sold high on the right-handed hitter with 33 homeruns between High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this season. Originally a catcher, the Yankees were working him at first base with the hopes of getting him to the big leagues a little quicker. Seems like a bad deal at first, but O'Brien is not a super talented prospect, and the Yankees found the right deal to move him.

I feel like I'm always saying this, but again, Brian Cashman made yet another move in which he didn't have to part ways with one of the biggest prospects in the system.

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Yankees claim Esmil Rodgers off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays

With trade rumors and fake Twitter accounts taking over the internet today, the Yankees have made a move -- not a trade, however -- just two hours away from the 4 pm deadline.

The Yankees have claimed right-hander Esmil Rogers off waivers from the Blue Jays, according to the YES Network's Jack Curry.

Rogers has been designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays for the second time this season earlier in the week. He only appeared in 16 games for the big league squad, posting a 6.97 ERA with a 59 ERA+ and 1.65 WHIP in 20.2 innings this season.

I'd have to guess that he'll go down to Triple-A Scranton and just be some extra pitching depth in case the Yankees ever need it. Wouldn't rule out him joining the Bombers in Boston this weekend, though, after the bullpen put in a lot of work in Texas this week.

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Yankees acquire left-hander Chris Capuano from Colorado Rockies for cash

As the trade deadline approaches, Brain Cashman refuses to sit around and do nothing.

The Yankees announced on Thursday night that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Chris Capuano from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash considerations.

Capuano, 35, started the year with the Boston Red Sox after signing a minor league deal near the end of the winter, appearing in 28 games with Boston out of the bullpen this season, posting a 1-1 record with a 4.55 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 29 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings.

He was released by the Red Sox on July 1, and signed with the Rockies a few days later, on the Fourth of July, staying with the Rockies' Triple-A, where he was 1-0 with a 3.07 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

SB Nation's Chris Cotillo says that Capuano will immediately join the Yankees' big league roster. If that's true, my guess is that Jeff Francis, who has only appeared on one game since being acquired over two weeks ago, will either be optioned to Triple-A, or designated for assignment since a 40-man roster spot would need to be cleared for Capuano.

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Kelly Johnson placed on the 15-day DL with groin strain

A day after acquiring one third baseman, another has gone down with an injury.

The Yankees announced on Wednesday that infielder Kelly Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain, which he suffered in last night's 1-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Having used all of their bullpen, the Yankees called up RHP Chris Leroux from Triple-A Scranton, while designating RHP Bruce Billings for assignment.

Johnson started in right field for the Yankees last night with Chase Headley no becoming the everyday third base. It was likely that Johnson would play more in the outfield with Ichiro Suzuki struggling at the play.

Johnson was batting .219 with six homeruns and 22 RBI in 77 games for the Yankees this season.

They'll be getting a boost in the bullpen with Leroux joining then. Signed by the Yankees over the winter, he appeared in two big league games earlier in the season, and has spent most of his year in Triple-A as a starter.

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Yankees acquire Chase Headley from the Padres for Yangervis Solarte and minor leaguer

The Yankees are closing in on a deal for San Diego Padres third base Chase Headley, reports the YES Network's Jack Curry. ESPN's Andrew Marchand says that the Yankees will be sending Yangervis Solarte and minor league pitcher Rafael De Paula, who has spent the last couple of seasons in High-A Tampa, to the Padres.

Headley was with the Padres in Chicago, so we'll have to see if he's able to get to New York in time for tonight's game against the Texas Rangers.

Headley hasn't been great since 2012, when he hit .286 with 31 homeruns and 115 RBIs -- he's hitting just .229 with seven homeruns and 32 RBI this season -- but he's still a good switch-hitter that could turn things around in Yankee Stadium, compared to playing in the big, spacious Petco Park.

After turning 30-years-old in May, Headley will be a free-agent after the season, so even if the Yankees aren't able to re-sign him, they never really gave up in the first place. Great move by Brian Cashman for getting a potentially productive hitter for very little.

The Yankees have been interested in Headley for a couple of years, and they have finally gotten their man. It's a start in fixing this team, but there are still more moves to be made.

I would just like to thank the @Padres and the city of San Diego for the best years of my life. I'm excited to join the Yankee organization!
— Chase Headley (@ChaseHeadley7) July 22, 2014

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