Give me Hairston. Either Hairston!

The Yankees are pursuing Andruw Jones. Yes, the 33-year-old longtime Braves outfielder who has not played a full season since 2007 or hit above .250 since 2006. But apparently his glove is still tempting, since the Yankees are looking for a backup outfielder NOT a backup DH.

Jorge Posada IS the DH, according to the Yankees.

I don’t think the Yankees should bother with Jones. His glove may still be gold, but who knows? He’s not healthy enough these days to judge that. The free agent outfield market is very thin, but here are the top alternatives:

Latest Damon news revealed by Hairston on XM (Updated)

Jerry Hairston Jr., now with the Padres, spoke with Jim Bowden on XM Satellite Radio today and amazingly said this about Johnny Damon:

“Brian Cashman’s going to get mad at me, but Yanks didn't make me offer because he's waiting on Damon price to come down.”

That right there is Hairston getting back at the Yankees for not offering to re-sign him. Well played, JHJ.

Now I’m sure Cashman is going to get asked about this, and he’ll have one of two responses.

1. Most likely, he’ll just shoot down the “rumor” leaving everyone confused on who to believe.
2. But he could also answer Hairston was being truthful and the Yankees are moving closer to coming to terms with Damon. It’s still possible!

UPDATE: And here’s your response via Ken Davidoff:

Brian Cashman says it's "right" that he never made an offer to J. Hairston Jr., but "not right" that he is waiting for Damon's price to drop

Told you.

Also, be sure to check out Tyler Kepner’s latest blog post titled “Career Crossroads for Johnny Damon.” Kepner compares Damon’s career to Lofton’s and concludes Damon could wind up waiting for a key player to go down with an injury in spring training and take the player’s spot.

I haven’t heard that prediction yet, but I’m sure Damon and Scott Boras are keeping that idea in their minds.

Hat tip iYankees for tweet

Hairston signs with Padres, no offer from Yankees

Jerry Hairston Jr., the Yankees’ 2009 utility player, signed a $2.125MM contract with the Padres yesterday, joining his brother Scott Hairston. Buster Olney tweeted the Yankees didn’t even make an offer, and have “no recent contact with Johnny Damon.”

All three news bits were a bit surprising to me. Come on Cashman, the Padres went $125K over your budget and you didn’t even make an offer? Now the free agent market lacks a player who can play both infield and outfield at a decent level, so the Yankees will most likely settle for an outfielder. Dan LaTorraca of Bronx Baseball Daily listed six possible options.

Also, if the Yankees haven’t contacted Damon, then who has? His list of suitors shrink by the day along with his price tag.

Another news item for you: Chad Gaudin and Boone Logan signed one-year deals with the Yanks, avoiding arbitration.

Damon to Tigers? + Other notes

The Tigers are the latest team to show interest in Johnny Damon. After losing Curtis Granderson, Detroit could use a third outfielder.

• According to MLB.com's depth chart, Austin Jackson is set to start in center field and Carlos Guillen is marked down as the left fielder and designated hitter. Signing Damon could create a nice rotation of those three players plus Ryan Raburn as a backup. Magglio Ordonez wasn't very productive in right last year, but a .310/.376/.428 hitting line is still good enough to be starting.

• Also, Carlos Beltran's knee surgery could mean bad news for Yankees fans who want to see Jerry Hairston Jr. back in pinstripes. Ken Rosenthal tweeted the Mets are interested in picking up the utility player, as he is the only FA left who can play center and shortstop.
  
  The Yankees and their $2 million budget don't look like aggressive suitors right now, so that really hurts their chances against a club like the Mets. It may be time to start thinking about Reed Johnson as the outfield backup.
  
  
• Yankees spring training tickets went on sale this morning. So, if you're living in Florida, click here.
  

Sherman: Yanks allotted $2MM for LF

It sounds a little bit ridiculous, but according to Joel Sherman of the Post, "the Yankees are telling agents that they only have $2 million, at most, to spend on a left fielder."

That might be just enough to sign Jerry Hairston Jr., Rocco Baldelli or Marcus Thames, but the amount probably would fall short to acquire Xavier Nady or Reed Johnson (Sherman says all are Yankees targets).

Sherman also revealed the Yankees had competed a deal for Mike Cameron (now on the Red Sox) last July, but Hal Steinbrenner wasn't willing to pay the cost of $5.5 million to keep Cameron the rest of the year. If that doesn't show you the Yankees are serious about payroll, I don't know what does.

However, Cashman was able to convince Steinbrenner last offseason to expand the payroll to retain Andy Pettitte. Because of this, Johnny Damon remains a "remote" option for left field.

My thoughts, again, are: it is unnecessary to bring Damon back after acquiring Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson, and re-signing Hairston would suffice. Baldelli and Thames also are fine options, and I would prefer Johnson to Nady.

---
While you are reading this, I'll be in an IMAX 3D theater watching Avatar. I've heard nothing but good things (except for those who "have no interest watching blue people roam around another planet").

Yankees, among others, interested in Hairston Jr.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting via twitter (h/t MLBTR) five teams, including the Yankees, are interested in signing Jerry Hairston Jr. Rosenthal expects he'll get a one-year deal worth $2-3 million, and possibly a multi-year contract from some teams.

Hairston's line of .237/.352/.382 for the Yankees in 93 plate appearances last year is respectable for a utility player. His versatility on defense increases his value exponentially, as he is capable of playing every position except pitcher and catcher. He also has enough speed to pinch run, but not quite enough to be a stolen base threat. He's also a great veteran presence in the dugout and clubhouse.

I really hope he is one of the guys the Yankees pick up for their bench. He won't be the power option, but he does just about everything else. I expect a deal to be completed soon, as it probably won't be a very complex contract.

Game 153: Yankees notes

The Yankees hung on to a 3-2 victory over the Angels yesterday, giving them their first series win in Anaheim since 1994.

Here are some other important notes from the win:

• Ian Kennedy made his season debut, pitching the eighth inning with a one-run lead. With nobody else available in the bullpen, he walked two and hit one to load the bases. Fortunately, he induced a pop up from Erick Aybar to escape the jam.
• Jerry Hairston Jr. felt a pop in his left wrist in his fifth-inning at bat. He will undergo an MRI today, which will most likely determine whether he is a go for the playoffs or not.
• A.J. Burnett struck out 11 in 5-1/3 innings pitched. That’s his second-highest total for a game this season, and third time striking out 10 or more. CC Sabathia has two more strikeouts than Burnett for the season, but has one more start under his belt.
• Joe Girardi pulled off his typical using-three-different-pitchers-in-one-inning strategy in the seventh, and it paid off. Damaso Marte allowed a single, and then got Bobby Abreu to ground into a double play. Jon Albaladejo replaced him, allowed a double and was replaced by Phil Coke. Coke struck out Kendry Morales.
• Freddy Guzman, a September call-up for the Yankees, showed off his speed by swiping second base in the eighth inning. He didn’t score, but he showed the Yanks what he can do. I posted earlier this month about Brett Gardner equaling Dave Roberts. Well, Guzman might equal Roberts too.

Damaso Marte recalled, Pena demoted

Ken Davidoff is reporting through twitter that the rehabbing Damaso Marte is finally ready to rejoin the Yankees’ bullpen. Instead of demoting a pitcher, the Yankees will use 13 pitchers and send down *backup* utility infielder Ramiro Pena.

I used the asterisks to emphasize the unimportance of Pena to this team right now. So yes, the Yankees finally made a move that I agree with.

Pena is a solid defender and provides some speed off the bench, but he isn’t as versatile or as good as Jerry Hairston Jr. I like having a surplus of pitchers too because the new Joba rules suggested that the Yankees would have to use more pitchers.

As for Marte’s helpfulness to the club, that is to be determined. He pitched well in Scranton in 11 appearances: 11 innings, 10 hits, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 9 K. That is a little too many base runners for my liking, but at least he is escaping the jams. Time will tell if he can keep that pace up in the majors.

I hope Joe Girardi works him up from low leverage to high leverage appearances, as he is most definitely not a trusted reliever right now.

So why is he up, you might ask. He is being paid $4 million a season for the next three years. It would be a waste to see him in the minors. If he is fully healthy and can perform at a moderate level in the majors, he’s better than nothing.

Teixeira’s Tex message beats M’s

Two first-inning runs for the Mariners (60-56) was their only spot on the scoreboard against Andy Pettitte. The Yankees (73-43) tied it up in the fifth, and then won it in the ninth on Mark Teixeira’s leadoff jack for a 4-2 win.

Quick ‘Cap:
Pettitte allowed three straight hits in the first inning, and struggled to get the top three hitters out again in the third. However, he battled, as usual, and ended up with a season-high 10 strikeouts over six innings.

The Yankees worked a run in the second on Jerry Hairston Jr.’s groundout, and then the Yankees tied it in the fifth on Derek Jeter’s single. Teixeira finally broke the tie in Mark Lowe’s second inning of work in the ninth. Nick Swisher added an RBI single for good measure, but Mariano Rivera didn’t need the insurance, as he did his thing in the ninth. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
I thought this was headed for extras, but Tex decided to hammer in the nail on his MVP candidacy. It was his 30th homer of the year, only trailing Carlos Pena by one for the league lead.

Nice to see Pettitte racking up the Ks. He, along with most of the staff, has been dealing since the break.

Line of the Night:
Hairston: 1-for-4, RBI. He is batting a cool .364 for the Yanks with five runs and six RBI. Not bad for a utility man. Not at all.

Up Next:
The Yankees can win another series with a win Saturday night. Sergio Mitre (1-1, 7.04) will face Luke French (2-2, 4.31).

Yanks’ streak ends at seven

It was only a matter of time before the Yankees lost a close game. Prior to tonight’s 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays (54-57), the Yankees (69-43) had won 12 of their last 14 games with the final score within three runs.

Quick ‘Cap:
Derek Jeter hit his 20th career leadoff home run to give the Yankees the early lead. After an exchange of one run in the third inning, the Blue Jays rallied for three runs off Sergio Mitre in the fourth. Two of those runs were unearned because of a throwing error by Mitre that would have ended the inning on a double play.

The Yanks tied it up at 4 with back-to-back homers in the fourth by Robinson Cano and Jerry Hairston Jr. Lyle Overbay hit a solo jack in the fifth, which proved to be the game-winner. Alfredo Aceves tossed four scoreless innings in relief, but are viewed as wasteful because he’s done for the series and the Yankees still lost. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
I can’t believe Joe Girardi didn’t have Hairston Jr. bunt Cano to third in the seventh inning. The Yankees could have easily tied the game with an out, and the run never scored and was the difference in the game.

Line of the Night:
Jeter: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI. He is tied with Cano for the team-lead in batting average at .315.

Up Next:
The Yankees will look to even the series against Scott Richmond (6-6, 3.97) Tuesday night with Joba Chamberlain (8-2, 3.73) looking for his fifth straight win.

Who is Jerry Hairston Jr.?

The Yankees acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. at this past deadline for minor league catcher Chase Weems. Hairston is 33 years old and spent the first seven years of his career with the Orioles. He’s been with the Cubs, Rangers and Reds since then, and has played every single position except catcher and pitcher.

He has already started two games at two different positions (3B, LF) with the Yankees, and is 3-for-6 with two RBI in those games.

It’s nice to see some early success with the bat, but Hairston will be mainly used to give the regular starters half or full days off and possibly a late-game pinch-runner/defensive replacement. He’s already reminding me of the White Sox hero Dewayne Wise.

Shelley demoted to make way for Hairston

Tyler Kepner has reported via Twitter that newly acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. has taken Shelley Duncan’s spot on the team. This leaves Cody Ransom and Hairston as the utility boys.

I know I’ve been posting a lot about Shelley recently, but this is a disgrace. He was thrilled to be back with the Yanks. How in the world do the Yankees think Ransom is better fit for the bench than Duncan?

Shelley’s minor league numbers are 100 times better than Ransom’s, and Ransom has never proven himself as a major league hitter.

In my mind, this puts Ransom fourth on the depth chart for third base, with Hairston and Eric Hinske ahead of him, and third up the middle behind Hairston.

Ransom is now a complete waste of a roster spot, as Duncan would have at least been a good pinch-hit guy in late-game situations (Ruben Sierra comes to mind). I really, really hope the Yankees aren’t done making moves, because this is an awful way to start a new month.

If this report is really true, it only makes me believe even more now that Brian Cashman is planning on adding an arm. I feel like any Triple-A pitcher would be of more use than Ransom right now.

Oh, and Duncan never got to play last night. He must have a lot of motivation right now in the minors.

Yanks add Jerry Hairston Jr., Nothing more at deadline

According to the Star-Ledger, the Yankees and Reds agreed to a deal sending utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. to the Yankees.

Brian Cashman didn’t acquire a pitcher — much to the dismay of most Yankees fans — but there is still a chance a waiver deal is made in August. This assumption would fit nicely with Cashman’s statement from about a week ago.

According to Marc Craig’s tweet, Mark Teixeira said, “We have everything we need here to win.” I sort of agree with him there, but sometimes the deadline is good for adding pitching depth. Hairston is an upgrade over Cody Ransom, but I expected pitching to be the main focus of today.

Meanwhile, the White Sox acquired Jake Peavy, and he approved it this time around. The main player from the White Sox just so happens to be tonight’s starter Clayton Richard. No word on the replacement, yet.