Yankees Rumors: Hiroyuki Nakajima, Jorge Posada, Eric Chavez Edition
By Editorial Staff
Yesterday we reported that the New York Yankees will be seeking rotation and bullpen upgrades as they continue to prepare for the 2012 season. However, Saturday’s big Yankees news had to do with a player that will no longer be donning the pinstripes. Today’s Yankees news deals with the great Jorge Posada, New York’s negotiations with Hiroyuki Nakajima and the free agent that is currently having his name tied to the Yankees.
A report came out yesterday indicating that former Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is set to announce his retirement in the next two weeks. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Posada, who entered the fall as a free agent, told his agents not to make calls on his behalf this offseason.
While his agents did receive several calls and offers for Posada, none of them came from his former club, the Yankees. Posada wanted to wait until after the holidays to make his final decision, and it appears that he’s ultimately decided to step away from the game of baseball for good.
Beyond Posada, more news came out regarding the Yankees failed negotiations with Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima.
It’s being reported that not only were the Yankees and Nakajima far apart on what role the infielder would play, but also what the length of his contract would be. Nakajima and his agent wanted to ink a one-year deal which would allow him to potentially find work as a starter next offseason while the Yankees wanted to sign the 29-year-old to a long-term contract.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the Yankees final offer for Nakajima was about $1 million per year, but the infielder had issues with the length of the deal as well as his role in New York.
Finally, the Yankees continue to hold talks with Eric Chavez, who has become their main bench target since talks fell through with Nakajima.
For more on the Yankees, be sure to check out Yanks Go Yard.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.