Warming up: Boston's Lucchino fires shots, Levine answers back

The United States and Canada weren't the only bitter rivals going at is Friday, as Boston Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino made some interesting comments during a media session that caught the attention of Yankees president Randy Levine.

Lucchino took some shots at the Yankees after the Bombers spent $438 million to sign Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran this winter.

“We're very different animals. I'm proud of that difference,” Lucchino, speaking about the different styles of the two clubs. “I always cringe when people lump us together. Other baseball teams sometimes do that. They are still, this year at least, relying heavily on their inimitable old-fashioned Yankees style of high-priced, long-term free agents. I can't say I wish them well, but I think we've taken a different approach.”

Since Theo Epstein left for the Chicago Cubs after the 2012 season, the Red Sox have tried very hard to rid themselves of big, long-term contract, leading to such moves as trading away Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in August of 2012.

Last winter, they built their teams with a handful of savvy free-agents signings, like Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, David Ross, Jonny Gomes and Stephen Drew. All of those signings played big roles in Boston's World Series run last season.

The Yankees, on the other hand, tried hard to save money the last couple of offseason in hopes of getting under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold by 2014, but after missing the playoffs last season, the spent nearly $500 million on free-agents in hopes of getting them back to October.

"If you compare what we did last year in the offseason to what they've done this year, there's quite a contrast there,” Lucchino said. “I'll quickly say we do keep open the prospect of signing a long-term deal with a free agent, paying a sizable amount of money to attract a star in his prime. We haven't ruled that out. There's just a rebuttable presumption against doing that. But you can rebut it. The circumstances can allow for you to go ahead and do it. The Yankees do it more often it seems to me as a matter of course."

Yankees team president Randy Levine returned serve after hearing of Lucchino’s comments.

“I feel bad for Larry; he constantly sees ghosts and is spooked by the Yankees,” Levine said. “But I can understand why, because under his and Bobby Valentine’s plan two years ago, the Red Sox were in last place. Ben Cherington and the Red Sox did a great job last year winning the World Series, but I’m confident Cash and Joe and our players will compete with a great Red Sox team to win a world championship this year.”

Baseball games finally start this week, with Opening Day still a month away. Yet, the rivalry has already begun to heat up this season. Let's play ball already!

Yankees links worth sharing:

* Ray Perkins faced replacing the legendary Bear Bryant, much like how David Robertson faces replacing Mariano Rivera.

* Even a simple live batting practice session is a big deal when it comes to Masahiro Tanaka.

* A New York Yankees team preview for 2014 from CBSSports.com.

* A list of international prospects that could be coming to the US next year for the Yankees to target.

* Mark Teixeira is going to miss the first week of spring training games, but could start playing in games by March 3rd, at the earliest.

* Tanaka is still making great impressions early in the spring; CC Sabathia had an interesting trip to Dr. James Andrews' office in October.

Today's warm-up song: "Sirens" by Pearl Jam. I don't know if you have heard this song or not, but Pearl Jam really nailed it with this one. Great listen.

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 7: Masahiro Tanaka continues to impress

TAMPA, Fla. -- Masahiro Tanaka certainly drew a lot of hype over the winter leading up to his signing with the Yankees, and it will continue to be that way until he pitches in his first major league game this season -- his first start will likely be against the Houston Astros during the opening series of the year.

And even though he's only thrown a handful of time so far this spring, the compliments just continue to roll in.

Tanaka threw his first live batting practice session today, and yep, you guessed it, people had nothing but great things to say about the $155 million 25-year-old.

"As good as advertised," said Brian McCann, who caught Tanaka for the first time. "He’s got a great split. It really falls off the table. His motion’s completely the same as his fastball, and that’s the key to getting swings and misses."

Austin Romine was one of the hitters to face Tanaka today, and he was almost left speechless when he first saw his highly talked about splitter.

"I think he threw a split and I had to turn around and ask what the pitch was," Romine said. "I’ve never seen a ball move like that before. I haven’t had the chance to catch him yet, but from a hitting standpoint, like I said, I’m glad he’s on our team."

"It really falls off the table," McCann said of the pitch. "His motion’s completely the same as his fastball, and that’s the key to getting swings and misses."

Today was the first time that Tanaka had faced live hitters since the final game of last year’s Japanese playoffs. He guessed that he was throwing around 70 percent, and came away happy with the results.

“I felt really good out there,” he said. “It was the first time I had batters in the batter’s box, but I felt really good out there today.”

Tanaka has not yet been told when he will start pitching in spring games, which begin next week, but he says that he'll be ready for whenever his first action might be.

“I don’t think I need that many live BP sessions,” he said. “I’d like to get into games more and try to build my arm strength through games.”

** CC Sabathia said that he went Alabama during the offseason to Dr. James Andrews’ facility in Alabama to have his mechanics analyzed and stored in a database. It was something that he had done 10 years ago with the Cleveland Indians, and wanted to compare between then and now.

"It’s the same as it was 10 years ago," Sabathia said. "… Pretty much, except the rotation in my hips. You get old. You get bad hips when you get old, right?”

After working extremely hard throughout the winter, Sabathia came into camp weighing 40 pounds lighter than he has in the past.

"I threw all offseason, so I’m ahead of where I was last spring, maybe even the spring before, just from all the work I’ve been doing," Sabathia said. "I’m encouraged by the way I feel. My arm angle seems to be good, getting the ball out, my arm just needs to catch up with the rest of my body."

He threw 25 pitches of live batting practice Friday and that he couldn't find the strike zone very often, but feels much better on the pound after dropping weight and having a full year to recover from his elbow surgery last offseason.

“I felt great,” Sabathia said. “My legs felt great, didn’t get tired, so I’m actually excited. I know it wasn’t the prettiest, but it felt good.”

** Yankees manager Joe Girardi will announce on Sunday who he plans to start in the early slate of spring training games that start with Florida State University on Tuesday, followed by games with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday and Thursday.

The early signs so far, based on who has been throwing lately, point to David Phelps and Vidal Nuno each getting a start next week.

** Girardi has said that Francisco Cervelli, John Ryan Murphy and Romine will battle it out for the backup catchers job behind McCann this season, but he may have also hinted that Cervelli currently has the upper-hand in the competition.

"You’ve got three guys vying for that spot that played for us last year, so obviously there’s some competition there," Girardi said. "You’re looking for the best player, but [Cervelli] has got more experience than all of them and he played very well in the short time that we had him last year."

If you remember, Cervelli won the job last spring, but played in just 17 games in 2013 because of a broken hand that he suffered early in the season, and then a 50-game suspension for his role in the Biogenesis scandal.

Also, the fact that Romine and Murphy have options could come into play. “That’s something that’s always brought up,” Girardi said. “Obviously, we’re in this thing to win it so we got to do what we feel is best.”

** Alfonso Soriano missed his second straight day of workouts for what is being called the flu. Soriano was seen in the weight room earlier in the day, working out a little bit.

"He's a little better today than he was yesterday," Girardi said. "We hope to have him out there tomorrow."

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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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Mark Teixeira will miss the first week of spring games

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is still recovering from the wrist surgery that he had in July, and it's going to cause him to miss the first week of spring training games. The Yankees' first exhibition game is on Tuesday against Florida State University, but Teixeira won't be able to play until March 3rd, at the earliest.

Teixeira has yet to take live batting practice this spring, but says that he is about ten days away from facing live pitchers.

When he does start playing in games, he'll being doing so with his wrists taped, something that he says he had never done before January.

“I am following doctors’ orders,’’ said Teixeira. “The tape feels good and I tape myself.’’

Kelly Johnson is going to be Teixeira's backup at first base according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Johnson is also expected to spend a lot of time at third base, so you can see that this isn't the ideal situation.

Russ Canzler is also in camp this spring as a non-roster invite, and we can assume that he'll play in some games at third base, filling in for Teixeira, and letting Johnson play third base. Corban Joseph is also in camp, and also has experience playing first base.

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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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International prospects that could be US-bound next season

Prior to the 2013 the Yankees decided to acquire a second GCL team. The move allowed the Yankees to bring over more new Latin American players than ever before. Because the Yankees had two rosters, players like Thairo Estrada, Alvaro Noriega, Luis Torrens, Abiatal Avelino and many others had the opportunity to come to the states and get consistent playing time. Estrada for example would of probably had to play in the DSL last year if the Yankees didn't add another GCL team.

Considering the Yankees are expected to make a huge splash in the international market in 2014-2015 they might push even more talent to the GCL this year. This would clear as much room as possible for the 2015 roster crunch. While we don't know exactly who the Yankees are going to send to the GCL next season, there are some obvious candidates.

Below is a list of prospects that may make their stateside debuts in 2014. The list includes any public information on these players. Lastly the list wasn't made in any particular order.

1. Manolo Reyes:

Reyes has had a tough journey so far. He originally signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2008, but was suspended and released due to questions about his paperwork. Because of paperwork issues, and his suspension, he had to wait until 2012 to sign with another team. Fortunately for him, he was able to sign with a team before MLB IFA restrictions were implemented.

The right-hander  signed for 600 thousand.Considering that he is now 24 years old he will have to make a Rafeal De Puala like splash in his debut to be taken seriously. Reyes is known primarily for throwing a very hard fastball that has reached 99 MPH in the past. In addition to his fastball he throws a hard curveball and a powerfull splitter. The stuff seems to be there for him to succeed, but he really lacks command and control.

2. Domingo Acevedo:

Like Reyes, Acevedo's fastball sits in upper 90's and has reached 99 MPH. That's pretty much the only similiarity between the two players. Acevedo has much better control than Reyes and only walked 11 batters in 41 innings. Acevedo's secondary pitches are a changeup and a breaking ball, that both need work. He's an unfinished product, but he's only 19 years old. Acevedo has a very high ceiling. Recently Ben Badler tweeted this about Acevedo  he has a "Mid-90s fastball, feel for a changeup" and is an "enormous human".

3. Simon De La Rosa:

De La Rosa was signed for 50,000 in 2012, a signing that is believed to be a great bargain. Like the previous two players on this list De La Rosa has a mid-90s fastball. But his command isn't perfect, and in general he struggles with command and control. He a BB/9 of 6.55 last season. In addition to his fastball he has a an above average curve. De La Rosa is still just 20, so he won't be that old if he enters the GCL now.

4. Jorge Mateo:

There are a lot of shortstops that appear ready to jump to the states next season, but Mateo has more potential than any of them. Mateo had a WOBA of .405, and a WRC+ of 145 last season, to go with 49 stolen bases, and 7 homeruns. Mateo's weighted stolen base total per a 100 at bats (wSB/100) implies that he is one of the best base-stealers in the minor leagues. Mateo's wSB/100 is 6.5. That is .1 point lower than Billy Hamilton's. Mateo is also thought to be a good defender, with excellent range. Mateo's overall package suggests he may be this years version of Abiatal Avelino.Mateo will be 19 next season and is ticketed to begin the season with one of the two GCL teams.

5. Yancarlos Baez:

Baez was one of the Yankees big international signings in 2012. Baez signed for $650,000, a figure some thought was too high. The Yankees picked him over Wendell Rijo, so they obviously believe in him. Baez is fast switch hitting shortstop, that may have above average offensive potential. Unfortunately Baez missed the entire 2013 season due to injuries and may not be ready to begin the 2014 season in the Gulf Coast League. The Yankees might have to push there anyway, considering they are rumored to have signed several shortstops.

6. Yonauris Rodriguez:

The Yankees signed Rodriguez this past season for $575k. Like Baez, Rodriguez is a shortstop that is known more for his glove than his bat. Rodriguez is a high-energy player who has quick hands, a strong arm and good range on defense. He was actually considered one of the best defensive players at the position in last years IFA pool. However he was not ranked as a top 30 player by Baseball America. Rodriguez is probably going to stick in the DSL this season, but the possibility exists that he impresses the Yankees enough to let him play in the GCL at some point.

7. Angel Aguilar:

Anguilar is the final shortstop on this list, and probably has a better shot to come stateside than the previous two players. That's because he already has a couple years of DSL action under his belt. He had a WOBA of .356 and a WRC+ of 116. Like Mateo, he will be 19 next season and should play on one of the two GCL teams.

8. Alexander Palma:

Palma was the second biggest signing of the Yankees 2012 class. He signed for $800k, and was kept in the DSL for the entire season. Palma is thought to have good bat speed and the ability to be a good hitter. Badler wrote that he was one of the better batters in his class, and while some question his power he should be an all around good offensive player. Defensively he looks like a right fielder who has average speed.

9. Wilmer Romero:

Romero, is a good example of just how far top international players can  fall. He was ranked as the 9th best international free agent, when the Yankees signed him in 2011 but has yet to make his U.S debut. When he first signed Kieth Law had this to say: he's “a potential five-tool center/right fielder.”
Badler also praised him, saying that he “has a projectable, athletic frame with plus speed, a plus arm and plus raw power.” Despite this high praise Romero has spent three seasons in the DSL. Romero will need to show his potential in the GCL next year, or he will be a forgotten prospect. He's still just 20 years old so he has some time on his side.

The previous nine prospects are/were highly thought of players. This is why there was as much public information about their skills or background. However the following group of players are known mainly for their stats, which is why they won't get a detailed writeup. These players are:

10. Christopher Cabrera:

Cabrera was a once highly touted righty starter, that needed Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and needed surgery. Since the surgery he hasn't really been himself, and may never reach his potential.

11. Frank Frias:

Frias put up monster numbers in the DSL last season. Frias posted a WRC+ of 161, and a .432 WOBA. Frias will be 20 years old when the GCL season begins, so it makes sense to start him there. The outfielders ceiling isn't really known, but hopefully those numbers aren't a fluke. It worth noting that DSL numbers carry very little weight.

12.  Allen Valerio:

Valerio just turned 21 years old a month ago, so he will probably be pushed to the GCL next season.  Considering that he plays first and third he'll probably have no trouble finding playing time.  Valerio really improved his 2012 stat line, and may be a later bloomer. Valerio WOBA was .423 and his WRC+ was 156. He also showed a great eye at the plate, by having a walk rate over 16%.

Other possible players are: catcher Brian Reyes, LHP Carlos Diaz, RHP Moises Cedeno, OF  Miguel Mojica, RHP Jordan Ovales, Luis Cedeno, Jhoan Morban, catcher Jesus Aparicio, OF Adam Silva and a few other players.

This may seem like a lot of names, but fans should remember two things: the Yankees brought over 25 international players last season, and not everyone on this list is a star. The first nine players in this article, have the highest profiles and include most of the higher ceiling players.With that said sometimes players can come out of nowhere, so it's a good thing the Yankees have so many low level teams for these guys to play on.

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Josh Sabo is  Minor League writer for Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter @JoshSabo1.

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Warming up: Yankees among seven teams talking to Aledmys Diaz

The Yankees are one of the seven teams currently engaged in talks with Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz, according to Post-Dispatch columnist Joe Strauss. The San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners are also reportedly involved.

MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez tweeted yesterday that he was expected to workout privately for the Yankees.

Diaz, 23, is now eligible to sign with an MLB club after being suspended for one year for lying about his age and identity information.

“He is prepared to [sign] very quickly,” said agent Jaime Torres. “We know he’s going to be in the Major Leagues. It’s only a matter of time. His preference is shortstop, but he’s played second and third and I’m sure would be comfortable playing whatever position is necessary.”

His agent says that he could sign as soon as Friday or Saturday, and since he is now 23, he will not be subject to any of MLB's international signing rules, and can now sign with a club for any price.

The Yankees are expected to be pretty major players for this guy, considering that their farm system not only lacks talent, but once Derek Jeter retires after this season, there is no one below him in the minors that is worth using to replace him.

They have been scouting him pretty heavily over the past few months, yet are said to be done signing big free-agents. Unless they are counting him in their rumored international spending spree, it'll be interesting to see how far they go in talks with him.

We all know that they certainly need him, both short and long-term.

Yankees links worth sharing:

* There is no doubt that Brian Cashman will be around after this season to be the person that finds Jeter's replacement at shortstop.

* Alfonso Soriano might think about retiring after this upcoming season, if his body tells him to do so.

* Jeter came into weighing a few pounds lighter than usual; Michael Pineda threw another bullpen on Thursday, and people are still saying great things about him.

* Mark Teixeira is still a couple of weeks away from returning to the lineup, with exhibition games getting underway on Tuesday.

* Don Mattingly gave some advice to George Steinbrenner on Jeter in 1996, and it has since turned into five World Series championships, and a Hall of Fame career.

Warm-up song: "Gold on the ceiling" by The Black Keys. If you have never heard of this band, then you're missing out, because they are pretty talented.

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

Follow @GavinEwbank

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Spring Training notebook: Day 6

TAMPA, Fla. -- Today was the first day of full-squad workouts for the Yankees, so spring training is completely underway. The first exhibition game is next Thursday against Florida State University at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Here's today's notebook.

No Derek Eater: Thursday was the first official practice of Derek Jeter's final season, and the captain said afterwards that he's coming into camp weighing less than he usually does.

Jeter enters the spring five to six pounds lighter than he has been in previous years in an effort to reduce the strain on his surgically-repaired left ankle, the one that only put him into the lineup 17 times last season.

"I did a lot of conditioning, a lot of running," Jeter said after Thursday's workout. “I wanted to be a little lighter, take some pressure off my legs and move around a little bit better.”

Having weighed 199 in previous years, Jeter says he came to camp this time around at 193 pounds after an offseason of healthier eating and more intensive workouts.

Joe Girardi was even able to tell the difference in Jeter's weigh right away.

“I would say last year at times, just going through what you might consider everyday activity and jogs, running the bases, you would notice it," Girardi said. “His running looked normal to me, what I was used to seeing from him in the past. Today it looked like he never got hurt."

Girardi said there are no real restrictions on what Jeter can do this spring.

“I don't know if he'll play the first game or two, but beyond that we don't really have a lot of restrictions on him right now,” Girardi said. “I think we want to make sure he gets enough days of baserunning in to make sure he’s ready to go.”

Pineda throws: Michael Pineda threw an early pull Thursday, and he came out just fine. Girardi has been saying that he doesn't want player trying to battle for spots on the roster just yet, but would rather that they take things slow for the first couple of weeks.

Pineda has already thrown a couple of times this spring, and has been getting some high praise for the way he is throwing.

"How the ball is coming out of his hand is the biggest thing for me." Girardi said Thursday. "Does he look like he's putting too much effort to let the ball go or is it coming out easy? That's what I've seen. It's coming out easy, I don't see him overthrowing and the stuff being sharp, hitting his spots with some sink and some run to it.

"His slider looks good, his changeup looks good. His mechanics to me look much more polished than they were a couple of years ago. He's had a lot of time to work on it and to think about it. He's much more consistent in his delivery."

Pineda has yet to throw live batting practice, but Girardi said that has nothing to do with health concerns.

"It’s just some guys are a little bit ahead of others for various reasons," he said. "Maybe they started a little bit earlier here with Larry is usually the main reason. We might have a little caution, (but) he’s healthy. Pineda looks good to me."

Living batting practice: Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno, two of the four pitchers battling for the fifth spot in the rotation this season, threw live batting practice today. Both were said to have thrown well; nothing overwhelming, but still well. Good things to hear early.

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

Follow @GavinEwbank

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Alfonso Soriano contemplating retirement after this season

Alfonso Soriano could become the second Yankee to ride off into the sunset, alongside Derek Jeter, and retire at the end of this season, according to George A. King III of the NY Post.

"It depends how I feel," Soriano told The Post Wednesday. "If I'am healthy I will play [in 2015]. If not, I will let it go. It depends how I fell."

Soriano is entering his 14th season in the league, and will be turing 39 in July.

He's coming off of a pretty good  2013 season, in which he hit 34 homeruns and drove in 101 runs, splitting time between the Yankees and Chicago Cubs. In 93 games with the Cubs, he batted .254 with 17 homeruns and 54 RBIs. 

He continued the same pace after being traded to the Yankees in July, hitting .256 with 17 homeruns and 50 RBIs.

Soriano is expected to be the fourth outfielder on the Yankees roster this season -- behind Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Brett Gardner on the depth chart -- while spending most of his time as the DH -- something that he has only done 35 times in his career, having spent most of his time in the National League with the Cubs and Washington Nationals.

"If I am the DH I will have to make adjustments." Soriano said. "When the team is playing defense, I will have to find a way to keep my body warm and ready."

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

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Warming up: Will Derek Jeter be an everyday player in 2014?

Derek Jeter played in 17 games for the last season, and was a large part in the Yankees missing the playoffs for the second time since 2008. Coming back healthy this season, his playing time could again dictate the Yankees' playoff probability.

As Jeter said during his press conference Wednesday in front of almost everyone in the organization, this is going to be his final season before retiring this winter.

One of the things that Jeter talked about Wednesday was how much he plans to play this season.

"I want to play every day." he said. "It doesn’t make a different. Last year when I got hurt a couple times I wanted to play through it. That’s just how I’m wired. That’s just what I want to do. And this year will be no different."

But here's the thing: Jeter is going to be turing 40 this year. No team in the history of the game has had a winning season with a shortstop at least 40-years-old.

Not to mention, he's coming off a year in which he missed a ton of time because of a major ankle injury. We don't know, and really won't know until he starts playing in games, if that injury will have any lasting effect on him, and how much he can play this year. But that's not really something Joe Girardi is worries about.

“The biggest thing for me is seeing how he responds going back-to-back, back-to-back-to-back, back-to-back-to-back-to-back, that sort of thing,” Girardi said. “And trying to get a thought in my mind how many days you can push him in a row. That’s the biggest thing for me. I feel good about running him out there every day, it’s just how many days in arrow and what can I learn in spring training and early in the season and what can I do.”

Girardi also downplayed the possibility of pulling Jeter for late-inning defense.

“My goal is, when I run him out there, is to run him out there for nine innings,” he said.

As much as I would like to say that Brendan Ryan's role with the club will to be a late-inning replacement on defense for Jeter, it sounds like he might be subbing late at second and third base.

I'm not doubting that Jeter can play everyday. It's something that is very hard to do at his age, but Derek Jeter is not like the players that have played before him. He's a Hall of Fame shortstop and arguably one of the greatest players to ever put on the pinstripes.

And like he said Wednesday, playing the game is something that Jeter loves to do more than anything else. Unless he has to be restrained from taking the field, Jeter will be an everyday shortstop for the Yankees this season.

Yankees links worth sharing:

* Chad Jennings | Lohud Yankees blog: Whether he likes it or not, Jeter's farewell tour has begun.

* Ian O'Connor | ESPN New York: Jeter is going out the same way he came in -- as a shortstop.

* Wallace Matthews | ESPN New York: Jeter is going to be riding the same bus that Mariano Rivera took in 2013, and let's hope the ride is just as good.

* George A. King III | NY Post: Alfonso Soriano is contemplating retiring with along with Jeter after this season.

* Dan Martin | NY Post: The Yankees are hoping to give Jeter the proper send-off this season.

Today's warm-up song: "Cabin by the sea" by The Dirty Heads. Good. Very good.

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

Follow @GavinEwbank

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Spring Training notebook: Day 5

TAMPA, Fla. -- Everyone expect the batboy gathered in a room in Tampa today to listen to Derek Jeter talk about his retirement after this season. But that wasn't all that happened at Yankees camp. Ichiro Suzuki talked about fighting for a roster spot, position players officially reported, and more.

Jeter: "The time is right:" Ever since announcing last week his plans to retire after the season, reporters had been dying to ask the question, "why now, Jeter?" We finally got what we were looking for.

"I felt as though this was the right time," Jeter said. "I've been doing this for a long time; this will be parts of 20 seasons that I've been playing here in New York and parts of 23 if you count the Minor Leagues. I just think I've done it long enough and I look forward to doing some other things in my life. But I can't reiterate enough that we still have a season to play.”

Jeter said that his decision to retire had nothing to do with how he feels physically. He said that his ankle and the rest of his body are feeling great.

He added that player baseball has now become a job for him, especially after last season in which he played just 17 games because of various injuries. But Jeter said that he worked very hard this offseason, and expects to be the everyday shortstop this season.

“It’s all about the time. You can't do this forever," Jeter said. "I’d like to, but you can't do it forever. I feel as though the time is right after this year. There’s other things I want to do."

Ichiro making the best of his situation: After bringing in outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran this offseason, the Yankees gave themselves a backload of outfielders on the roster. Since then, Vernon Wells has been released, and Ichiro could be the next one to be moved.

Ellsbury, Beltran and Brett Gardner are going to be the three main outfielders, with Alfonso Soriano serving as the DH and fourth outfielder. Ichiro, however, doesn't really have any roles that we know of.

We can assume that he'll be the fifth outfielder, and come into games late as a pinch-runners, because he can still offer some speed in the bases.

“This is a place where the greatest players gather and play, so I'm really excited to play with those guys,” Ichiro said. “Obviously with the additions, I’m going to have to find a place for myself, but I worked hard this offseason. I worked on a lot of things, and throughout spring training, hopefully those things will come together and we'll see where it goes from there.”

Any thoughts about being released or traded?

“When you're here with the Yankees, you tend to think about those things,” he said. “You just never know with the great players coming here. I thought about a lot of things, which a lot of players do.”

Ichiro said that he has done everything that he can handle by coming to camp in shape, an is going to see how the rest plays out.

He also had something to say about Jeter retiring.

"I was really shocked, as I think were a lot of people." he said. "I didn't want to believe it. But I was actually shocked that he was doing Facebook. That's something that I was really shocked about."

Nunie shows up, plays the field: Eduardo Nunez arrived to camp today and spent a lot of time taking groundballs at both third base and shortstop, two positions that he is going to be competing for this spring. It would be great if Nunez finally plays to his full potential and wins a job at third base, as or just another reserve infielder.

Banuelos throws live BP: Manny Banuelos threw his first live batting practice session today. He had been throwing simulated games late last season, but today was his first in camp.

“Good, good, feels pretty good,” he said. “All my pitches worked. Velocity is good. I didn't throw, like, 100 percent because it was the first time, but it feels pretty good. … I’m happy man. It feels strong, feels good.”

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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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Jose Ramirez could be a sleeper candidate for the Yankees' bullpen

Currently, we know that the Yankees' bullpen will consist of Matt Thornton, Shawn Kelley, and David Robertson. Possibly David Phelps and Adam Warren, too.

Either way, the team still has a couple open slots and many options to fill them.

The Yankees have brought 15 relievers to spring training to vie for a spot in 2014. However, the Yankees best relief option may be in camp as a starter. According to Joel Sherman, Yankees executives believe that Triple-A starter Jose Ramirez has a future of most likely ending up in the bullpen.

Ramirez is the type of pitcher the Yankees look for in a closer or setup man; he has two plus pitches and has the ability to strikeout a lot of players, says Sherman.

And Sherman is right to bring up this possibility, as Ramirez doesn't seem to have the durability or consistency to be a starter. He spent a good portion of the 2013 season battling injuries; he's had shoulder, oblique and elbow injuries in his career.

These injuries are essentially the only reason people question his ability to start. As a starter his, three-pitch arsenal is good enough to be successful. His changeup and fastball are both plus offerings, and his slider is decent as well. With that said, his repertoire is better suited for the pen, because his slider is inconsistent. 

Ramirez's injuries may be related to his mechanics. Back in May, JD Sussman, of Fangraphs, scouted Ramirez and noted that "Ramirez’s delivery has noticeable effort and recoil. While he’s well-proportioned at 6-foot-3 and likely is more than the 190 pounds he’s listed at, Ramirez’s mechanics, along with his other issues, could ultimately push him to the pen."

While Sussman insisted that Ramirez still had a good chance to stick in the rotation, the possibility remains that they move him to the pen. This may scare Yankee fans as they witnessed the Bombers place Joba Chamberlain in the pen when he was clearly a starter. But the two situations couldn't be more different.

For one thing Ramirez doesn't have Joba's talent, but more importantly the Yankees don't really need Ramirez to be a starter. When the Yankees were wrestling with whether or not to start Joba they had little depth. Now the Yankees have four starters in Masarhiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, and Manny Banuelos, that are all 27 or younger.

Plus they have CC Sabathia signed for several more seasons, and could always use David Phelps as a starter. Meaning that the Yankees already have 6 controllable starters for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, due to all the injuries Ramirez has sustained, players like Byran Mitchell, and Shane Greene aren't too far below Ramirez's level.

In other words, there are plenty of similar options to Ramirez if the Yankees move him to the pen, and the they may have an immediate need for him in that position.

As of now David Robertson is the only high leverage reliever the Yankees can trust. Kelley was good last year but doesn't really have a track record yet. If Ramirez is moved to the pen, the Yankees would be getting a second high leverage reliever.

While the Yankees can move him to the pen, they shouldn't do so until they are sure they need to. If Betances can play to his ability they may be able to keep Ramirez as a starter in Triple-A. Betances would give the team their second high leverage reliever, and make changing Ramirez's role less urgent.

Additionally the Yankees could still sign players like Ryan Madson, Andrew Bailey or Joel Hanrahan, for added depth.

I do not believe the Yankees or any other team should make a starter into a reliever, unless that starter completely fails in that role. Ramirez has yet to fail so it makes sense to keep him there unless they really need him.

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Josh Sabo is a Minor League writer for Yanks Beat Blog.

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