Former Yankees Update : Chris Dickerson

As much as this saddens me to report former Yankee outfielder, and personal favorite of us at the Greedy Pinstripes, Chris Dickerson has signed a minor league deal with the rival Baltimore Orioles. This does not make much sense to me because he could have just signed another minor league deal with the Yankees and not be stuck behind fellow lefties Nick Markakis, Xavier Avery, Nate McLouth, and switch hitter Trayvon Robinson but what do I know?

Michael Pineda To Throw Off Half Mound

Michael Pineda will throw off of a half mound today for the first time since major surgery in his right throwing shoulder. Pineda will be entering his age 24 season in 2013 and has been throwing off of flat ground since September after his shoulder surgery way back in May of the 2012 season. We still should not be relying on him as reinforcements come mid season but progress is never a bad thing especially for a guy we gave up Jesus Montero for.

Former Yankees Update : Nick Johnson & Freddy Garcia

Former Yankees first basemen and designated hitter Nick Johnson has decided to call it a career at age 34. Right wrist and hand injuries really ended his career prematurely as he never could stay healthy and harness that high walk ability and hitting ability. This is a shame because I always really liked Nick Johnson and his awkward looking open stance. Good luck with the rest of your life Nick!

In other former Yankees news Freddy Garcia has signed a minor league deal with the San Diego padres according to reports. Freddy Garcia will be entering his age 36 season and the junk baller should benefit from Petco Park and the move to the National League. As long as he is not on the Yankees again I guess we cannot complain now can we?

Yankees Sign Juan Rivera To A Minor League Deal

The Yankees have announced that they have signed former Yankee and right handed outfielder Juan Rivera to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Rivera will be entering his age 34 season in 2013 and will be reunited with a Yankees team that signed him as an International Free Agent way back when he was 17 years old in 1997. Matt Diaz and Russ Canzler cannot be happy about this news as Juan is now direct competition to him for the platoon partner for Ichiro Suzuki.

Andy Has Until 2/20 To Decide On WBC

The Yankees have announced that Andy Pettitte had until February 20th to decide whether he is going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic this year. Joe Torre has come out and said that the option is still there for Andy to pitch hence why there is one open spot for a starting pitcher still on the roster. The Yankees have announced that they would not like to see Andy in the WBC because of his injury history and such and we have not heard much out of Andy yet. Kris Medlen can withdraw and be replaced from the event since he just had a baby so the decision will probably go down to the wire for Andy.

Jeff Baker Comes Off Board, Signs W/ Rangers

And yet another right handed option for the Yankees comes off the board without even an offer by Brian Cashman and company as Jeff Baker signed a minor league deal today with the Texas Rangers. The deal obviously includes an invite to Spring Training. Matt Diaz and Russ Canzler jump for joy once again.

George Kottaras Comes Off Board, Signs With Royals

George Kottaras was designated for assignment last week by the Oakland Athletics after they acquired John Jaso in the Michael Morse trade. The Yankees never seemed to show interest in the left handed hitting walk machine catcher for some reason and he has officially come off the board today being claimed by the Kansas City Royals. Kottaras was attractive because of the fact that he will only earn $1 million in 2013 and will be under team control through arbitration through the 2015 season but for whatever reason the Yankees seem confident in Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli, and Chris Stewart.

Alex Rodriguez Could Miss All Of 2013 Season

Brian Cashman while talking to WFAN New York in a radio interview said that there is a possibility that Alex Rodriguez could miss the entire 2013 season after his left hip surgery in January. There was no set back or instance that prompted this so it is not like the Yankees fans have anything to worry about but A Rod has a long way to come back from a second hip surgery so I guess this is a possibility. With all the set backs and such we saw last year with injuries I can see where this could be a concern for the Yankees. Still even with that said I am still willing to file this under the "nothing to see here" folder.

Yankees To Hold Benefit For WCBS Employee

I will send you to Lohud and Chad Jennings for all the details but I wanted our readers to see that the Yankees will be hosting a Hot Stove benefit for a WCBS employee, Carlos Silva. Carlos is a WCBS radio producer and engineer and has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and will be getting help from John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman, Joe Girardi, Mark Teixeira, Mariano Rivera and Brian Cashman to pay his medical bills. This benefit will be held at Times Square Hard Rock Cafe in New York starting at 6:00 pm with a VIP Meet and Greet followed by the Hot Stove forum. There will also be an auction, seen at www.yankees.com/auction ,  for such items as a hitting instruction session with Robinson Cano, a pitching instruction session with Mariano Rivera, bat boy/girl for a day, and other great prizes.  Check out the links for all the details and if you can make it and help out then I highly recommend everyone going out and doing their part to support a member of the Yankees family. For the Yankees being the "Evil Empire" we sure do the right thing time and time again, stay classy New York!

David Robertson & Yankees Avoid Arbitration

I'm back, baby!

David Robertson and the Yankees have avoided arbritration, agreeing to a $3.1 million deal.

Robertson was filing for $3.55 million, while the team had countered with $2.85 million. With D-Rob now all set for 2014, the Yankees have avoided arbitration with all five of their eligible players.