| Brandon Contes. 15th December, 2006 - 12:13 am
 Andy Pettitte is set for his second stint with the New York Yankees after spending the past three years with the Houston Astros. The Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth $16 million along with a $16 million player option for 2008.
Pettitte's time in Houston was not as successful as one may have hoped. He was injured much of his first year with the Astros, starting just 15 games while posting a 6-4 record with a 3.90 ERA.
His second season was arguably the best of his career as he went 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA.
Finally in 2006, he went 14-13 with a 4.20 ERA. Although his overall numbers for last season were not great, he got much better as the season went on. His ERA for the months of July, August, and September were 3.77, 2.27, and 2.67 respectively.
Although Pettitte will be getting an enormous amount of money next year, and most people would argue that he is not a $16 million pitcher, you know what you are going to get with him. Pettitte is a very consistent pitcher who has had few injury problems throughout his career.
He is not going to have any trouble pitching in New York like many free agent pitchers do, and he is a good postseason pitcher. Pettitte has pitched in some very big games in his career, helping the Yankees win four World Series titles.
With pitchers such as Miguel Batista getting $9 million per year, or Ted Lilly receiving $10 million per year and even Gil Meche who will be paid $11 million annually, Pettitte at $16 million doesn’t look so bad.
My Grade: B+
Continuing the trend of throwing a lot of money at pitchers this offseason, Andy Pettitte will be making $16 million next year. At least with Pettitte you know what you are going to get, a very good pitcher who will have no problem pitching in a big spot, and a chance to win every outing. |
