It's decision day for David Robertson

It's been almost an entire week since the Yankees decided to official extend a qualifying offer to closer David Robertson, and now the Yankees' 9th inning man has until 5 p.m. today to either accept ot decline the offer.

Robertson is expected to reject the $15.3 million offer, which would make him the highest paid closer ever, and instead become a free-agent to negotiate with everyone. No players has ever accepted a qualifying offer from their club, and Robertson certainly doesn't look like he'll be the first.

Even with the likelihood that he'll have a 2015 Draft pick attached to him this winter, Robertson has been drawing a ton of interest around the league already. Finding a solid 9th inning guy that you can count on for an entire season is not easy to find, and Robertson has been more than dependable throughout his Yankees career, first setting up for Mariano Rivera, then taking over the closer role this season, racking up a career-high 39 saves in 63 games this season, while posting a 3.08 ERA and a incredible 13.4 strikeouts-per-9 rate.

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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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David Robertson hasn't talked about a contract extension with the Yankees yet

David Robertson is no Mariano Rivera, but a great first half has made a lot of Yankees fans forget that the future Hall of Fame closer is no longer closing out games in the 9th inning.

So far this season, Robertson is 23-for-25 in save chances with a 2.76 ERA in 32.2 innings. With those very good numbers, Robertson is setting himself up to make a pretty penny this winter.

Robertson, whose contract is set to expire after the season, told the NY Daily News on Sunday that he has not yet had any talks with the Yankees about extending his contract before he becomes a free-agent.

“We’ll see what happens [after the season],” he said. “There haven’t been any talks, so we’ll see ... There’s just been zero talks. When the offseason comes, it comes and we’ll hear what other teams and everybody else wants to say.”

The Yankees usually don't talk about contract extensions with players during the season -- they talked with Robinson Cano a little bit last year, but held most talks off until the winter. They also don't usually hand out extensions at all -- Brett Gardner got one during spring training this year as he entered the final year of his contract.

I've never been good with putting tags on how much a player should be making, but giving something like what the Yankees gave Gardner this spring -- four-years, $54 million, would be perfect, but I also wouldn't be satisfied with the Yankees bumping that up to $60 million.

Question: You're Brian Cashman, what kind of contract would you give Robertson? Comment below.

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Yankees' bullpen keeping the team afloat through the first half of the season

With just three games left before the All Star Game, the New York Yankees haven't had many bright spots. Despite sitting just four games out of first place in the inept American League East, the Yankees have won just one more game than they have lost (46-45).

The Yankees have suffered injury after injury to their pitching staff, and after the news of Masahiro Tanaka heading to the disabled list, Joe Girardi has now lost 80 percent of his starting rotation since Opening Day. One of the only reasons the Yankees even have slim playoff chances is the back end of the bullpen.

With the loss of future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera to retirement it was expected that the New York bullpen would take a step back from dominance in previous years that saw a 1-2 punch of Rivera and Robertson in the eighth and ninth innings. To borrow the phrase from ESPN's Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.

Robertson has taken the mantle from Rivera and has pitched as well as expected with 22 saves in 24 opportunities with a 2.84 ERA to go with 57 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 31 2-3 innings. In Robertson's two blown saves, he's allowed seven earned runs in just one inning. Roberston has 16.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

As good as Robertson has been in the first half of the season, rookie Dellin Betances has been much better. The 6'8 fireballer has struck out 81 batters in just 53 1-3 innings with just 16 walks. Betances has a 0.731 WHIP and a 1.52 ERA.

Betances, a 2014 All Star, has a legitimate case as the most dominant reliever in all of baseball. His mix of pitches, which starts with a high 90s fastball and a devastating curve ball has left nearly every batter he's faced on the defensive almost immediately.

There has been talk that Betances should move to the ninth inning and put Robertson in the set-up role where he excelled in the past, but that is premature. Robertson is one of the best closers in baseball and at this point there is no reason Girardi should consider a change. You could say that is a nice problem to have in a season that is surely giving Girardi more gray hairs.

The third man in the back end of the Yankee bullpen is Adam Warren. Warren isn't as flashy or as dominant as Betances or Robertson, but he has struck out 45 and walked 15 in 48 innings with a 2.63 ERA. He's been stable and given Girardi a reliable arm out of the bullpen to provide depth for the other two.

Together Warren, Betances and Robertson have formed a deadly three-headed monster that has the ability to shorten every game to six innings. It could have been even more deadly if not for the rash of injuries that has fallen on the Yankee starting rotation, instead Girardi has to give away some games to retain the health of Betances and Warren, but that hasn't stopped those three from giving the Yankees one of the best bullpen tandems in the game.

With the news that Tanaka might not pitch for the rest of the season, the Yankees will continue to try and squeeze wins out of a lack of starting pitching depth, but if they're going to reach the postseason in Derek Jeter's final season, the bullpen will be key.

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Yankees 6, Twins 5: Brian Roberts has his best game of the season

A night after snapping a five-game losing streak by scoring seven runs against former Yankee Phil Hughes, and Bombers and Twins took the field on Friday afternoon for their second Fourth of July matchup against each other in as many years.

The Yankees jumped all over Twins starter Kyle Gibson early in the game, scoring six runs in the first two innings. The Yanks, throughout the game, were ripping extra-base hits all around the park. Brett Gardner kicked off the game with a triple to left, then Brian Roberts doubled him home to put the Yankees up 1-0. After Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out, moving Roberts to third base, Mark Teixeira double to deep center field, scoring Robert easily to make it a 2-0 game. Teixeira moved to third on a past ball, then scored on a sac-fly by Carlos Beltran for the third run of the inning.

Brian Dozier put the Twins on the board with a lead off homerun in the bottom half of the 1st inning against Chase Whitley, who also gave up a single and a walk in the inning before get third out.

Francisco Cervelli opened up a three-run 2nd inning for the Yankees with a double into the left field corner. Kelly Johnson grounded out to move Cervelli over to third, then Brendan Ryan hit a sac-fly to bring home Cervelli, extending the Yankees' lead to 4-1. Brett Gardner followed with a walk, moved to third on a ground-rule double by Roberts, who had one helluva game at the plate, batting second in place of Derek Jeter, who got the day off. Roberts doubled three times, with also his fourth triple of the season. It should also be noted that Roberts was wearing high socks today, so maybe he should do that more often.

Ellsbury followed up with single that brought home both runners to put the Yankees up 6-1.

Again in the 2nd inning, Chris Colabello started the frame with a solo blast off of Whitley to put the Twins with four, making it a 6-2 games. Whitley worked around a pair of infield singles in the 2nd but only made through one more inning after giving up two runs in the 3rd.

After Kendrys Morales hit a one-out single to right, Oswaldo Arcia tripled to deep center field, scoring Morales. A batter later, Trevor Plouffe singled to put the Twins down by just two runs.

Whitley was done after 74 pitches in just three innings of work. He's been hit around hard in his past few starts, giving up four runs on eight hits in this one, with his ERA inflating up to 5.14. Even worse, the Yankees have no options to replace him without making a trade -- and don't say Adam Warren.

David Huff took over to start the 4th inning, and he tossed his best outing of the bullpen since joining the Yankees this season for the second time in his career. He pitches three perfect inning, striking out three on just 35 pitches. Warren faced three batters in the 7th, record two outs before giving the ball to Dellin Betances, who finished off the 7th, then pitched the entire 8th inning, giving up a run that brought the Twins within a run, making it a 6-5 game.

David Robertson pitched the 9th inning, striking out the side around a two-out double by Kurt Suzuki to seal the Yankees' second consecutive victory and his 20th save of the season.

The Yankees are back ot being above .500, and will try to go two games over on Saturday afternoon with David Phelps on the mound against Yohan Pino at 2:05 pm ET.

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David Robertson's first season as Yankees' closer off to a good start

We started living in a new world this year -- one where Mariano Rivera isn't the closer of the New York Yankees. For the first time in more than a decade, the Yankees were forced to name a new closer with Rivera heading into retirement after last season.

The man taking over was David Robertson, who many trusted after several excellent years as the setup man ahead of Mariano, while many doubted his ability to handle the 9th inning. There was talk over the offseason after Brian Cashman bringing in a free-agent closer, such as Fernando Rodney or Grant Balfour, to replace Rivera, but in the end, the job was given the most deserving candidate in Robertson.

We're half way through Robertson's first season as the closer, so I though it would be a good time asses how he's pitching.

Robertson recorded his 19th save of the season on Thursday night against the Minnesota Twins, striking out the side around just his 10th walk of the season. Rivera issued a quite a few walks early in his career, but never walked more than 12 batters in a season after 2005, including just nine free passes last season.

Robertson's three strikeouts last night put him at 51 in 28.2 innings this season. A lot of people have been focusing on Dellin Betances' incredibly high 14.33 strikeouts per nine innings rate this season, while the fact is that Robertson's is actually higher, at 16.01 strikeouts per nine innings. To be fair, though, Betances has pitched nearly 20 more innings than Robertson, so it wouldn't be surprising to see that number lower a little bit over the season.

Robertson's 19 saves this season are out of just 21 chances up to this point. Entering July 4 last season Rivera was 28-for-29 in save opportunities. Robertson obviously hasn't had as many chance to record a save, and that could probably be due to the two weeks he spent on the DL with a groin strain earlier in the season. During D-Rob's DL stint, Shawn Kelley was 4 of 5 in saves as the temporary closer.

So only two blown saves to this point, and none since June 1 against the Twins at Yankee Stadium. Many of the Robertson haters would have expected more by now.

Probably the biggest part of this season that he is having is the fact that he'll be a free-agent after the season. A pitcher with his abilities and experience, there will be a lot of teams out there that would love to have Robertson in their bullpen.

It's not often that the Yankees hand out contract extensions to players, which was what made the Brett Gardner extension during spring training such a surprise, given that he, too, was headed for free-agency after the season. The Yankees gave Gardner a new four-year, $54 million pact, and something very similar to that before the season would have been a great deal for the Yankees, but now that Robertson is very much succeeding as the closer, the price will go likely go up this winter.

Plenty of teams nowadays are having a tough time finding a closer that can stick in for several years in their bullpen, and the Yankees have a great one in Robertson following up the Hall of Famer Rivera.

We've been living in this new world for a few months now, and I have to say: I'm really liking it.

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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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Spring Training notebook, Day 9: Pineda feels good, looks 'jumpy'

TAMPA, Fla. -- Michael Pineda threw his first live batting practice session Sunday morning, throwing to live hitters for the first time this year. And though it wasn't great, it also wasn't terrible.

“The ball was coming out really good,” catcher John Ryan Murphy said. “Sometimes he tends to cut them a little bit, but that’s usually his first few warm-ups. After he starts getting through a little better, the fastball comes out really good.

"His command was really good today. I don't think he’s where he thinks he should be yet, but overall he was pretty good. … (His command) was better in the bullpen. He was just a little jumpy out there on the mound I think because he was excited and anxious about his first day out there.”

Murphy said that Pineda was throwing much better in the bullpen during warmups, but I can tell you from experience that throwing to just your catcher in the bullpen is much different than having an actual hitter in the box.

"Today was just my first time," Pineda said. "I need to be ready for the games, not batting practice."

** Yankees manager Joe Girardi announce the starting rotation for the first four spring training games: Vidal Nuno will take the mound against FSU on Tuesday; Ivan Nova gets the ball against the Pirates on Wednesday; David Phelps will take the mound Thursday, also against the Pirates; and Adam Warren will start against the Tigers on Friday.

Nuno said that he expects to throw two innings, and I would bet that you can expect the same from the other four starters.

** After coming to terms with right-hander Andrew Bailey Saturday night, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that he doesn't expect Bailey to be in the big leagues until late in the season, possibly August or September.

Before he said that, the hope was that he would be ready to pitch by the middle of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery late last season, but considering that he hasn't even began throwing yet, there is still a long way to go in his rehab process.

** While everyone was focusing on Brett Gardner and the four-year contract extension that he signed with the Yankees, it was revealed that Derek Jeter will make his spring debut on Thursday against the Pirates. That game can be seen on YES.

** Speaking of Gardner's extension, Cashman said that he hasn't had any talks with David Robertson's agent about an extension. Robertson is eligible to become a free-agent after the season.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter @GavinEwbank.

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Spring Training notebook: Day 2

TAMPA, Fla. -- Sunday was the second day of official workouts this spring. Mark Teixeira took most of the headlines while speaking to the media, while also getting in some swings on the field. But that wasn't the only thing worth talking about.

Teixeira sets high expectations for himself: First baseman Mark Teixeira, who is coming off of wrist surgery last season, arrived at Yankees camp Sunday, and spoke to the media about his expectations, who is wrist is doing, and what his recovery plans are in spring training.

"I feel good. I'm excited about being here." he said. "No setbacks the entire offseason, the summer into the offseason, which is good. My surgeon was very happy and Steve is happy. So I'm happy."

Teixeira said that his injured wrist didn't really have much effect on his offseason workouts.

I actually got to lift more, which was good. I feel like I've put on a couple of pounds of muscle, which is nice for me. My offseason started July 1st, and with the rehab and extra time, concentrating on my body and not worrying about resting, I got plenty of rest which was good. The first month or two of the offseason is just resting from a long season. I didn't have that this year so I was able to work a little bit more."

He's coming into the season with some high expectations placed on himself, saying that he's hoping to play at least 150 games, and be the 30 homerun, 100 RBI game in the middle of the Yankees' lineup like like they expected him to be when he was signed in 2009.

"I absolutely plan on playing 150-plus games this year. That's my goal. Every now and then I'll have a day off, of course. That's just natural. You get beat up a little bit during the season, but I expect to have a healthy, productive season." he said.

He later added, "There's not one guy that has to carry this team, but absolutely I expect to hit in the middle of the order, hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs. That's going to take pressure off everybody and help us win games."

As for his plans this spring, Teixeira said that he is "going to get my 50-plus at-bats in Spring Training. I'm going to get as many swings as I need. It'll be a little slow the first couple of weeks just to make sure I'm easing into things."

He said that he started swinging a bat in January, taking about 20 swings from each side, and building up 5-to-10 each week. Right now, he is 45-to-50 from each side of the plate, and will continue to add on as the spring progresses.

Relievers take their turn: After the startings threw bullpens on Saturday, the Yankees had two groups of relievers throw bullpens on Sunday, including should-be closer David Robertson, who was joined by Shawn Kelley, Matt Dailey and Matt Thornton.

Cesar Cabral, Brian Gordon, Chris Leroux and Mark Montgomery were part of the second group to throw.

Putting on a show: Catching prospect Peter O'Brien was mashing balls during batting practice today. Even though the Yankees have enough catchers to last them the next decade, the 6-foot-3, 215 pound O'Brien will be someone to watch down the road, or possibly in the trade market.

Manny throws a bullpen: Manny Banuelos threw his first bullpen session of the spring, coming off of Tommy John Surgery. Yankees manager Joe Girardi also confirmed recent reports that Banuelos could make the team out of spring training as the second lefty in the bullpen.

However, it's more likely that he'll start the year in Triple-A -- as I wrote in Sunday's Warming up, the Yankees would be very wise to start Banuelos in the minors as a starter, rather than putting him in the big leagues to start the year.

Up next: Pitchers and catchers are back at it again on Monday, expecting to be on the field around 10:30am EST at spring training complex.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter (below).

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Spring Training position battles: The bullpen

This is when life after Mariano Rivera really ends. The closer role is expected to be filled by David Robertson, but everything is up for grabs in the Yankees' bullpen as spring training begins.

There will be more than enough relievers in camp for the Yankees this spring, but being able to find the right guys will be no easy challenge. As of right now, only Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton, and likely Preston Claiborne have secured jobs in the bullpen for this season.

Like I said before, Robertson is almost certainly going to be the closer. At least that's what comments from Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi have suggested.

Kelley is the front-running, for the time being, to be Robertson's 8th inning setup man. He proved to be a valuable arm for the Yankees last season after finally working his way back from two Tommy John surgeries. If he can handle the 8th like he handled the 6th and 7th innings last season, then he won't have any problem being the setup man.

Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances have a chance to play important roles in the Bronx this summer.

If Betances is able to control his pitches, and be the pitcher that he was projected to be, the Yankees can finally get everything out of him that they have been hoping for. And who know's, he might be abel to work himself into the setup man role by the end of the season.

As for Banuelos, though he projects to be a middle-of-the-rotation start in the majors some day, there is actually a chance that he can make the Yankees' Opening Day roster as the second lefty out of the bullpen. If the Yankees really like what they see from him, and his arm returns to normal after the Tommy John, they could say "what the hell, let's him him to Houston with us."

I'm not really a fan of this plan, in particaular. I would prefer that they start him in Triple-A and let him work his way back as the starter he could be one day. If he doesn't work out as a starter again, then you can make the decision to move him to the bullpen, just as they did with Betances.

Jose Campos and Cesar Cabral are two more young guys that can play important roles in the big league bullpen this year.

I would think that the runner-up for the fifth rotation spot will be moved into the bullpen as the long-reliever. Or the Yankees could just pencil in Adam Warren for this job because he pitched pretty well in long-relief last season. Maybe even Vidal Nuno, too, if the Yankees liked him as much as I did when be debuted last year.

Matt Daley, Chris Leroux and Mark Montgomery are three non-roster players that could have a chance to make the 25-man roster. Montgomery came close to winning a bullpen job last spring, but an injury killed that chance.

Because there are s many spot open for the taking, the bullpen competition will be one of the more interesting to watch this spring.

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Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter (HERE).

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Looking at the potential Yankees bullpen next season

We've spent so much time this offseason talking about who is going to play third and second base, and who the Yankees are going to sign with round out the starting rotation, that a lot of attention has seemingly been taken away from the bullpen.

For the first time almost 20 years, there is some uncertainty at the backend of the Yankees' bullpen entering the upcoming season.

David Robertson appears to be the favorite to over the closer role, while there has also been talk of the Yankees bringing in one of the free-agent closers instead.

However, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner came out and said this past week that Robertson will be their guy, saying, “We're going to rely on [David] Robertson. I'm sure he'll do a good job for us.”

Pressed whether he thought Robertson would be the team's closer, Steinbrenner said, "I think you'll have to ask [Joe] Girardi that, but that's my understanding. He's the number one candidate. Rightfully so."

But that still leaves us with the rest of the bullpen? Who will be doing what? Ans who will even be there in houston on Opening Day?

Starting with the setup man, Robertson had been in that role for the past few seasons, and now that he's likely going to be closing, Girardi is going to need someone to setup. Assuming the Yankees don't sign someone, I think that Shawn Kelley will go into spring training as the favorite to win that job.

He was a very reliable pitcher for the Yankees last working working in the 6th, 7th and sometimes the 8th inning. He's a pure strikeout guy, doesn't walk a whole lot of people, and could be the man in the 8th.

Following behind him will be Matt Thornton and Preston Claiborne, who Girardi counted as one of the only three sure-things in the bullpen this season -- Kelley and Robertson being the other two. Thornton will replace Boone Logan as the team's lefty-specialist after signing a two-year, $7 million deal with the Yankees this winter, and Claiborne will likely be more of a middle-inning reliever after being more of a mop-up man for Girardi last season.

No one has ever been able to take a picture
of Pineda in pinstripes

You can also look at someone like Dellin Betances, who could get a roster spot as a middle-reliever, maybe a late-inning guy -- like the Yankees are hoping he can be -- as the season goes on.

The Yankees will go into spring training with a handful of pitchers looking to win a job in the starting rotation -- David Phelps, Michael Pineda, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno and David Huff. Should the Yankees sign Masahiro Tanaka, only one of those guys are needed in the rotation, but two will likely get jobs if Tanaka isn't in pinstripes this year.

Either way, it'll likely be that two of those starters could end up in the bullpen as long-relievers. Warren was decent in that role last season, and might be there again in '14, and as much as I'd like to see Pineda win a starting job, it could also be very beneficial for him and the Yankees if he starts the year in the bullpen.

This kid hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2011, and it would be good for him to get some innings from the bullpen before jumping straight into the rotation.

Starting Pineda in the bullpen, Phelps would be the leading candidate for the 5th spot in the rotation. He spent most of his 2013 -- when he wasn't on the DL -- in the rotation. He mainly got his chance to start when Ivan Nova went down with injury, and pitched well enough to keep it when Nova was ready to come back.

Looking at who the Yankees could possibly add to the mix for competition this spring, they've already added Thornton, as mention, and also signed pitchers like Matt Daley, Robert Coello, Brian Gordon to minor league deals in the past couple of weeks.

A lot of the talk earlier in the offseason involving the Yankees possibly adding a closer involved the Joe Nathan, but he signed with the Detroit Tigers long ago, taking him off the board. A couple successful closers of the past couple of years, Grant Balfour and Fernando Rodney are still on the board.

Balfour is still out there because of some wrist and knee concerns that caused the Baltimore Orioles to back out of a deal with him. And Rodney is still a free-agent because he followed up a great 2012 season with a shaky year with the Tampa Bay Rays, causing him to lose some of his value as he heads into the final years of his career.

And speaking of Balfour, recent reports have the Washington Nationals being interested in the right-hander, leading them to the idea that trading Drew Storen would be something worth looking into. I think that making a trade for him was also be a good idea.

Brian Cashman drafted Storen in the 34th round of the 2007 draft, but couldn't get any deal done to sign him. If Cashman still likes his as a pitcher, it would almost be a no-brainer do at least make a call to Washington to gauge was the asking price is there.

If the Yankees can work something out to acquire him, Storen would give them a great late-inning are that they're looking for, and could possibly be the 8th inning setup man for Robertson.

There are also a few low-risk, high-reward players out there that the Yankees could take a look at, and it wouldn't hurt them at all to do so.

Joel Hanrahan was an all-star closer with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012, then got hurt after being traded to the Boston Red Sox last winter. He had to undergo Tommy John Surgery last season, and is expected to workout for teams in the spring, suggesting that he is ahead of schedule, and could be ready to get back in the majors early in the season.

If you ask me, it wouldn't do any harm to sign him on a minor league deal, let him spend some time in Triple-A Scranton while he gets his groove back, and hope that he comes back just as good as he was while in Pittsburgh.

The same can be said about Eric O'Flaherty, who also underwent Tommy John Surgery last season. Another very good reliever that could possible just as good as he was before he got hurt. Give him a minor league deal and let him work his way back into the Yankees' bullpen sometime mid-season.

I've also mentions this offseason a guy like Andrew Bailey, who was great while with the Oakland Athletics a few years ago before coming to Boston. Mitchell Boggs was a solid reliever with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012, but was a terrible 2014. Maybe you sign one of them and hope they bounce back under pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

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Five Yankees file for arbitration

Tuesday was a pretty low-key date in Major League Baseball. It was the final day for players to file for arbitration. The five Yankees that were eligible filed for arbitration today -- Ivan Nova, David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli.

After filing today, the team and the players will exchange salary numbers on Friday, and they can't come to any agreement on a number, the two sides will take their business to an arbitrator for him to decided.

Based on the projections, the five players combined are expected to cost the Yankees somewhere around $15 million next season. Let's use the numbers projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to see what we have.

Robertson: D-Rod has been one of the leagues best relief pitchers over the past few seasons whlie setting up for the great Mariano Rivera as the Yankees' closer. Now that Rivera is gone, Robertson is expected to take over the closer role in 2014, and that in return should give him a bump in pay from the $3.1 million he made last season.

According to MLBTR, Robertson can expect to get a $2.4 million raise through the arbitration process, effectively earning him $5.5 million this season.

Nova: Nova has seen a lot of up and down throughout his short career with the Yankees. He got off to a rough start in 2013, but put together the best second half of the season on the Yankees' staff. He's 27 and going through his first year of arbitration, and is expected to get paid nicely for his performance this past season.

He'll be the Yankees' third starter in the rotation when the season starts, and MLBTR thinks he'll be making $2.2 million in the position.

Gardner: Gardner has found himself in an interesting spot heading into the final year on his contract with the Yankees. They can value him as their best trade piece, and he can value himself as a player close the talent level of Jacoby Ellsbury. He's probably going to have a nice payday one he hits free-agency -- or if the Yanks sign him to an extension.

The might trade him at some point this season is they don't get the starting pitcher they're looking for, but until that happens, MLBTR thinks they'll be paying him $4 million through arbitration.

Cervelli: Likely to be the Yankees' backup catcher behind newly acquired Brian McCann, Cervelli missed most of the 2013 season because of injuries, and would have missed 50 games because of a PED suspension -- of you don't remember, he was one of the 12 players that accepted suspensions in the Biogenesis case while Alex Rodriguez if fighting until he dies.

Well, he's back, he's presumably healthy, and he's ready to battle for the backup job with Austin Romine this spring. MLBTR also thinks he'll be ready to play under a $1 million salary.

Kelley: Kelly pitched pretty well out of the Yankees' bullpen last season as their go-to strikeout guy late in the game. He wasn't as great to end the season as he was in the first half, but he still could be one of the go-to pitchers out of the bullpen again this season.

MLBTR has him making $1.5 million through arbitration, which is a pretty fair number, if you ask me.

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Players too easily relied on, and too easily counted out

If the Yankees are to make it back to the postseason in 2014, some players will have to perform at a level that they either never have before or haven't in recent years. Though the team has a decent and well balanced lineup, the starting rotation and bullpen have some question marks.

One key player is starting pitcher Michael Pineda, who is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation after missing all of 2012 and 2013 due to shoulder problems.

Pineda will only be 25-years-old come Opening Day, and his rookie year with the Seattle Mariners was phenomenal as he went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 171 innings (9.1 K/9). The question is, are Yankees fans expectations unrealistic?

If you believe he is going to dominate from the start or possibly even at all, and throw 200 innings with ease, then yes, you're expecting too much.

Back in September, the Yankees were in desperate need of an extra starter, yet they didn't bring Pineda up from the minors. The reason? They weren't convinced he was ready and that he had regained his arm strength. If a team that desperate for pitching doesn't call on someone like Pineda, they must have a reason.

This isn't to say that Pineda won't be good in 2014 or that he won't some day be dominant, but don't be surprised if there are some bumps in the road.

Another player that may require patience in 2014 is David Robertson, who will likely be the heir to the closer role vacated by Mariano Rivera. Replacing a legend like Rivera is difficult, even more so for a pitcher like Robertson with almost no closing experience.

Even the great Rivera had some problems in April of 1997 when he was first replacing John Wetteland as closer. As good as he was, he was not Mariano Rivera.

Of course there will be some Yankees fans who will be shouting at Joe Girardi to try someone else as closer if Robertson has any problems, but remember, Girardi caught Rivera during those hard times and when he finally pulled through, so have some faith.

On the flip-side, there is one player who Yankees fans seem to expect to go out with a whimper. That player happens to be Derek Jeter. Yes he is going to be 40-years-old and is coming off a season in which he missed 147 games do to ankle injuries, but remember, he is only two years removed from leading the Major Leagues in hits (216).

Never count out the captain.

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David Robertson should be the Yankees' closer in '14

David Robertson says that he’s ready to take over for Mariano Rivera, baseball’s all-time saves leader, as the New York Yankees’ closer next season — and I believe him.

"I think I’ve got the stuff to do it," Robertson told the NY Post Saturday at a charity event. "It’s just a matter of coming out there and doing it. It’s the same thing as throwing the eighth inning. You got to get three outs, but there is no one behind you."

For the past few seasons, Robertson has been sitting in the bullpen with Rivera, leading the way for Mo to come into the game in the 9th inning to do his thing. Now that Rivera is gone, someone has to step up and take his place. Not only should Robertson be the top choice, but he deserves to be the top choice.

Sorry to do this, but click here to read the rest of my column on yanksgoyard.com.

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Cashman Isn't Sure If Robertson Is Ready To Close

For the first time in a long time, the Yankees will be looking for someone to take over the roles as the teams closer, and at the moment, there's no definite answer for the questions we're all asking: Who's going to close games for the Yankees next season?

General Manager Brian Cashman spoke to the media this afternoon during the GM meetings in Orlando, Florida, and he said some things that could only push the answer a little farther away.

Cashman said that he's exploring all options when it comes to who will be closing out games for the Yankees next season. Joe Girardi will be having to ball off to someone new in the 9th inning for the first time next season after Rivera retired this offseason.

David Robertson is expected to be the first one in line to get the closing gig after spending the last few years being a very solid 8th inning pitcher, setting up the bridge to Mariano in the 9th.

Cashman said, though, that he's not sure Robertson is ready to fill the shoes of baseball's greatest closer, and that's why he could be looking at bringing someone else in.

“I’m not sure Robertson is capable yet." he said. "He’s never done that before. I think he’s earned the right to take a shot at it. And he very well may be the guy. But we're not anointing him the guy. We'll wait and see how our winter plays out, and then how our spring training works out. Then Joe [Girardi] and Larry [Rothschild] will determine at some point at the end of spring training who our closer is.”

Cashman was asked if experienced closers like Joe Nathan and Grant Balfour are the types of pitchers that the team is targeting.

“I’ve heard from their agents. I’m going to explore every option out there. again, our team has a lot of areas to fill. And the bullpen, as a collective, is weakened now with the loss of Mariano Rivera and the loss of, currently, Boone Logan, who is a free agent. So we need to improve in that area. So whether it’s big names or small names, I need to look at all of them.”

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Rivera Unlikely To Pitch For The Yanks This Weekend

The Yankees only have two games left this season, and they'll most likely be playing without their longtime closer Mariano Rivera.

Rivera hasn't pitched since his Yankee Stadium sendoff on Thursday when he retired the first four Tampa Bay Rays hitters he faced before two of his closest friends, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, came walking out of the dugout with two outs in the 9th to retrieve Rivera from the ballgame -- likely for the final time.

Prior to tonight's game at Minute Maid Park, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Mariano told him he's not pitching tonight, and there's a very good chance to he won't be available tomorrow -- unless he changes his mind.

"I think that is a big part of it," Girardi said about Thursday's magical moment effecting Mo's choice not to play against the Astros this weekend. "That was a special night for him the way it unfolded. He wants it to end that way."

Girardi also said that it's very unlikely that Rivera with get the opportunity to live out his dream of playing in center field. So we can all stop talking about that now -- although I was really hoping for it to happen.

“I don't think we're probably going to see that as well,” Girardi said. “At least I gave him the opportunity. It’s his decision.”

Last night, in the Yankees' 3-2 win over the Astros, David Robertson -- the likely 2014 Opening Day closer -- closed out the 9th inning for the Bombers, setting down the 'Stros to seal the victory.

So, unless Mo changes his mind, we've pretty much seen the last of Mariano Rivera pitching for the New York Yankees.

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Yanks Fall The The Giants 2-1 On Mariano Rivera Day

Today was all about Mariano Rivera. The Yankees honored him for about 50-minutes before Sunday's game, retiring his number, giving him gifts, and there was even a live performance of "Enter sandman" by Metallica.

But there was still a game to be played, and Andy Pettitte was apart of it, taking the mound for the Yankees in his final start at Yankee Stadium, and possibly the final start of his career as he will retire at the end of the season.

The day that started out in celebration by the Yankees had turned into celebration by the San Francisco Giants after taking the lead in the 8th inning with a double off David Robertson, ruining Mariano Rivera Day in the Bronx, as the Yankees fell to the Giants 2-1 in the series finale.

"It's hard to believe that we're sitting here and that we lost another game," said Pettitte. "This was a big loss, there's no doubt about it. We've got to try to pull off a miracle here."

Pettitte was sharp to start the game, he was attacking hitters and running through innings fairly quickly, as he was nearly perfect through the first five innings before issuing a walk to Pablo Sandoval with two outs in the 5th.

Even without the perfect game, Pettitte still had a no-hitter going into the 6th inning, but it was broken up after Ehire Adrianza hit a solo homerun to left field off Pettitte, giving the Giants their first hit, as well as breaking up the shutout with one swing.

There was only one thing hurting Pettitte throughout the afternoon, and it was that the Yankees weren't scoring him any runs. The only run put up by the Yanks was a solo homerun by Mark Reynolds in the 3rd inning off Giants starter Yusmeiro Petit, who was pretty effective on the mound, giving up just the one run on six hits, while striking out seven over 6.1 innings.

With 102 pitches through seven innings, Yankees manager Joe Girardi sent Pettitte back out for the 8th inning, but after giving up a double to Sandoval to open the inning, Girardi called for Robertson out of the bullpen, giving up Pettitte a chance to let the Yankee Stadium crowd give him one last standing ovation.

"It was a great moment for me and I really enjoyed it," Pettitte said. "I was glad I got the opportunity to do that, and the fans were awesome, just like they've always been to me."

Pettitte was great, but didn't get much help behind him. He only gave up one run on two hits, while walking one and striking out six on 104 pitches over seven plus innings in his final home start in pinstripes.

Robertson, the Yankees' likely closer of the future, came up big for the other team once again, getting a groundout to start his day before giving up a double to Tony Abreu to score pinch-runner Nick Noonan from second base. Girardi saw enough of Robertson, forcing him to bring in the man of the hour, Rivera.

"I feel like I let everybody down," Robertson said. "I let Andy down."

Mariano, this time entering to the recorded version of "Enter Sandman", quickly retired the first two hitters he face in the 8th to end the inning, then after the first two Giants hitters reached base to start the 9th, he set the next three down, including a double play to end the 9th.

Rivera helped keep the Yankees in the game, but the offense also helped keep the Giants winning this game, as they had several chances throughout the afternoon to put some runs on the board, like in the 8th when they had runners on 2nd and 3rd to start the inning, but Zoilo Almonte ran himself out at home for the first out, then a few batters later, Robinson Cano was thrown out at home on a base hit by Eduardo Nunez to end the inning.

"Sometimes we make mistakes, and that's the way it is," Yankees third-base coach Rob Thomson said. "He was being aggressive, he saw something and he reacted to it."

The loss sets the Yankees back to four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Indians in the Wild Card race after both of those teams won on Sunday, and with six games left to play for the Bombers, the Yanks and Rays open up a make or break three-game set in the Bronx on Tuesday.

"We're still alive, obviously, but this one really hurts," Girardi said. "It's tough."

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A-Rod's Grand Slam Leads Yanks To 5-1 Win Over The Giants

Somewhere off in the distance, you can almost hear Bud Selig smashing his TV with a baseball bat.

Heading towards another poor offensive showing, and a pitching battle that looked like we could be playing all night, Alex Rodriguez blasted his major league record 24th career grand slam in the 7th inning to lead the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Giants Friday night in the Bronx.

"You just want to come up in a big spot and get a big hit," said Rodriguez. "Hopefully, that hit gets your offense going."

CC Sabathia wasn't at his best once again, but he battled for the Yankees to give them seven innings of one-run ball, keeping the Yanks in the game long enough for A-Rod to break the 1-1 tie in the 7th.

"We really needed it," manager Joe Girardi said. "Like I've said, I don't know if we can afford to lose any more games. That's the bottom line at this point. I kind of look at every game from here on out as extremely, extremely important."

The Yankees entered the 7th inning against former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, who came into the inning have given up just one-run on a solo homerun by Alfonso Soriano in the 2nd inning. Eduardo Nunez singled to open the frame, then after a strikeout by Lyle Overbay, Nunie stole second and Brendan Ryan was hit by a pitch.

JR Murphy hit a groundball the third base that was stopped on a nice play by Pablo Sandoval, by the throw to first was offline, leaving Murphy safe at first. Then Ichiro walked against Lincecum to load the bases, forcing Giants manager Bruce Bochy to bring in George Kontos, who the Yankees traded for Chris Stewart last season.

Lincecum had been pitching pretty well all night against the Yankees, but he just seemed to run out of gas at the end, as he wasn't able to finish off the 7th, getting tagged with four runs on five hits, while walking two and striking out six on 121 pitches over 6.2 innings. Then, of course, A-Rod hit a grand slam off Kontos to put the Bombers up 5-1.

"That's a nice job by Tim, and he just had some tough luck there that last inning," Bochy said.

That set up a scoreless 8th inning by David Robertson, paving the way for the great Mariano Rivera to start off his final homestand with a perfect 1-2-3 9th inning -- non-save situation -- to shutout the Giants and give the Yankees only their second win in the last seven games.

"You don't want to get in a situation where they have a couple guys on and you have to bring [Rivera] in," Girardi said. "This way you have wiggle room. We have an off-day on Monday, so I figure I can use him three days in a row."

In between, Sabathia was on the mound for the Yankees, and although he pitched at the level that would have warranted more than just one run against any other team -- like the Red Sox, who hit CC hard last Saturday -- he still managed to fight through seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits, while walking three and striking out four on 107 pitches.

"I was kind of erratic a little bit with the control, but we were able to make pitches and keep them off the board for the most part," Sabathia said.

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