The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with Andrew Bailey, ESPN's
Buster Olney tweets. Olney reports that the deal contains multiple
incentives. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes was the first to report that the sides were
close to a deal (via Twitter).
Bailey, 29, had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in July, and
was not tendered a contract by the Red Sox this offseason. Nevertheless, more
than 15 teams had called to check in with the reliever by early December,
according to an MLBTR report. If the timetable we reported at that time
holds, Bailey will be ready to suit up in pinstripes by mid-May.
A former All-Star closer with the Athletics, Bailey has struggled with
injuries since his rookie season, and managed just 44 innings for Boston
after he was acquired in a winter 2011 trade. However, he could provide a
midseason boost to the Yankees, as his career 2.64 ERA attests to. The club's
bullpen is in a state of flux following the retirement of Mariano Rivera, and
appears to have few certain options behind closer David Robertson. January's
sigining of lefty Matt Thornton is the team's lone major bullpen acquisition
in an offseason in which Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain have been lost to
free agency.
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