Kuzul

Andruw Jones enjoyed a successful 16-year career in the major leagues, but it appears that he will be taking his game elsewhere next season.ESPN Stats & Info had the news, along with an interesting tidbit regarding his career: Andruw Jones: reportedly signs to play in Japan in 2013. He leaves MLB tied with Juan Gonzalez for 40th in career HR with 434— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 8, 2012 Sports Illustrated (via Nikkan Sports) announced that the team Jones will be joining is the Rakuten Golden Eagles. SI's report also mentions that "Nikkan Sports estimates the deal is worth approximately $3.5 million including signing bonus, base salary and performance bonuses."With the New York Yankees last season, Jones hit just .197 with 14 home runs and 34 RBI. He provided some power off the bench, and in limited starting duties, but that was all he could muster in 94 games played.That's ...

Michael Pineda, the future staff ace, didn't make it out of spring training. Mariano Rivera, the closer of all closers, was sidelined for the season by a freakish injury suffered while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City.Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are putting up numbers that would be acceptable for players making half their salary, and catcher Russell Martin is struggling to hit his weight.And yet here are the New York Yankees sailing along with the best record in baseball at the All-Star break.Why?Well, because Derek Jeter carried them through a difficult first month or so of the season. Andy Pettitte came out of retirement to solidify the starting rotation. Rafael Soriano stepped in admirably for Rivera. And a cast of extras on the bench and in the bullpen has responded with timely hits and shutdown relief work.The Yankees are winning even though Robinson Cano and perhaps ...

In January of this year, the New York Times ran a story that said the Yankees are saving now for a potential free-agency splash next winter. The story highlighted hurlers Matt Cain of the Giants and Cole Hamel of the Phillies as potential targets for the pinstripes. But could the Yankees be loading up the ole piggy bank for the heir apparent to Derek Jeter? Could it be that the Bronx Bombers are eyeballing Starlin Castro, the sweet-swinging shortstop for an annually afflicted Chicago Cubs franchise? At first this question seems preposterous, especially in light of how well Jeter has been playing thus far this season. But looking big picture, a few things have occurred in the past month that points to the potential for Castro to eventually become a Yankee. First, Castro is eligible for arbitration after the 2012 season. While the Cubs have signed Castro ...

The Yankees finally addressed their starting rotation yesterday, when they shipped top prospect Jesus Montero and right-hander Hector Noesi to the Mariners for All-Star right-hander Michael Pineda and 19-year-old right-hander Jose Campos.The team also signed Dodgers free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million deal as the rotation now looks significantly stronger and has plenty of depth with Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia likely headed to the bullpen.However, in dealing Montero, the Yankees now have a hole at DH that will need to be addressed in the weeks to come leading up to spring training. Luckily, there is never a shortage of DH options for a team both internally and on the free-agent market.Here is a look at who could step into that role for the Yankees in 2012.Begin Slideshow

Andruw Jones and the New York Yankees have come to terms and settled on a one-year contract.  The agreement will not become official until Jones completes a physical. His contract is for $2 million, plus additional potential performance incentives of $1.4 million, according to CBSSports.com. Jones has been a benefit to the Yankees as a fourth outfielder who is able to come off of the bench cold and perform well.  He is a powerful hitter and has had great success against left-handed pitching.  According to Yankees.com, this may open up the possibility of Jones replacing Brett Gardner against left-handed pitchers. During 77 games that he played in the 2011 season, Jones batted an average of .247, 13 home runs and 33 RBIs.  Against left-handed pitching, he batted .286, and out of 36 hits, 16 of them he took extra bases. Over the course of his career beginning in 1996, he ...

The New York Yankees will ring in the New Year by re-signing their utility outfielder and big bat off the bench, Andruw Jones.Jones had a solid year off the bench for the Bombers in 2011, hitting 13 home runs and 33 RBI in 190 at-bats.It might be one of the most underrated signings this offseason for New York (although there isn't much competition) and here's why.Begin Slideshow

The Yankees just can’t catch a break. After dealing with an ailing Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre and Greg Golson this spring, the oblique strain is back and is now affecting key player Curtis Granderson. The right muscle strain caused the hitter to be scratched from the lineup on Tuesday and may deprive Granderson of participating in Opening Day on Thursday against his former team, the Detroit Tigers. Despite improvement from Granderson, there is still a change he may not be ready for Opening Day. Although it only took Mitre days to overcome the strain, it took Chamberlain 10 days and Golson two weeks to fully recover. Rushing players back with this type of strain will most likely end badly. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi told the Daily News, "We told him, look Curtis, we don't need to rush this back where you say 'I have to play by Friday or Saturday.' You don't have to do ...

Is it just me, or are there any other people scratching their heads over the Yankees' personnel decisions this offseason? This is the time of the year that the Pinstripes are supposed to re-tool for another run at another World Series crown, isn't it? So far the Yanks have failed to sign a top-tier free agent outside of Rafael Soriano who will be paid $10 million to pitch the eighth inning in front of Mariano Rivera. Perhaps the most telling fact about the Bronx Bombers' offseason mediocrity is the rejection of Cliff Lee when he turned down the Yankees and signed with Phillies for less money. You have to go back to 1992 to find the last time that a free agent turned down a better offer from the Yankees to sign with another team when Greg Maddux opted to sign with Atlanta rather than wear pinstripes. That's almost 20 ...

Pitchers and catchers report in 23 days and, to be expected, the pickings on the free-agent market are slim. The biggest news in the past few weeks has been reliever Rafael Soriano signing with the New York Yankees. The 31-year-old who previously closed for the Tampa Bay Rays was given $35 million over three years to be Mariano Rivera’s set-up man—money the Yankees always seem to have at their disposal no matter how much they spend. New York remained busy, adding outfielder Andruw Jones on a one-year pact worth $2 million. He will fill the role left by Marcus Thames, who recently signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers after providing some pop with the Yankees last season as their fourth outfielder. The last few years of Jones’ career have not gone the way he would have liked. He was one of the two Jones Boys on the Atlanta Braves from 1996-2007—teaming ...

The New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with Andruw Jones on Thursday to replace Marcus Thames as a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder. While Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, is not the same outfielder he was 13 years ago when he was still breaking into the Majors, he's still a far better defensive option than Thames. But at what cost? Jones hit just .230 last year with the Chicago White Sox, and what's scarier is that was his highest average since 2006. Thames, who put up a .288/.350/.491 line last season, was better in all three categories, and he hit .300 against lefties, while Jones hit just .256. In fact, over the past four years, Thames has a higher overall batting average (.253 vs. .212) and slugging percentage (.491 vs. .412) than Jones. Starters Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson are both fine defensive outfielders, so shouldn't the main purpose of a backup be ...