The Yankees have announced the signing of free-agent Andy Pettitte to a one-year deal.

According to the Associated Press, the deal will pay Pettitte $5.5 million, though he can earn up to $12 million in incentives.

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Earlier today, Jon Heyman of SI.com said the Yankees and free-agent LHP Andy Pettitte were in serious talks about a one-year deal worth less than $10 million.

Buster Olney of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believe the deal is worth $6 million, with incentives that allow Pettitte to earn up to $16 million.

Rosenthal later added the the Yankees and Pettitte are ‘closing in on a deal.’

…in other words, if the Yankees sign pettitte, it’s safe to assume they are out of the running for Ben Sheets…

…at this point, i’m not sure who is in the running for sheets, especially if he’s seeking a two-year deal… it seems to me, just looking at the market, that the Rangers, Brewers and Cardinals are seeming like he’s best option, while the Mets remain mostly focused on Oliver Perez… i am starting to think there is less and less of a chance that the Mets are able to sign both pitchers…

In the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo says, “Don’t be shocked if the Phillies have interest in Sheets as well,” as they continue to try to find an inexpensive, front-end starting pitcher.

By the way, Lennon adds, the Mets are not involved in talks with free-agent LHP Andy Pettitte, according to a person familiar with the club’s thinking.

Speaking of pitchers…

Free-agent LHP Tom Glavine is open to pitching for the Nationals, according to the Boston Globe.

Lastly, the Phillies may be looking in to trading Bret Myers, explains Braves reporter Mark Bowman at MLB.com.

However, the Yankees are still open to negotiating with Pettitte, according to FoxSports.com and the Daily News.

Actually, Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Yankees are more likely to lower their $10 million offer than they are to raise it.

In a report about Mark Teixeira for the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch slips in the following about Pettitte:

“If Pettitte’s career in the Bronx is really over, Flushing would be the logical place for him to land… But the Mets’ hierarchy undoubtedly senses Pettitte and the Yankees are playing a garden-variety game of chicken.  If Omar Minaya were to call Pettitte’s agents today, the result would be to give the left-hander the leverage to extract an extra $2 million out of the Yankees… Which is why the Mets aren’t about to pick up the phone - even though the thought has indeed crossed their minds.”

Pettitte in Queens would be painful to the Yankees, and so I can see why such a move might be enticing – for both the player and the Mets, not too mention he’d fit in nicely with, say, Johan Santana, Derek Lowe, John Maine and Mike Pelfrey.  However, like Klapisch says, it seems to me that Pettitte and the Yankees will eventually work it out – they’re just going through a rough patch right now.

In mid-December, Jon Heyman of SI.com said Pettitte had a three-year offer on the table from an ‘unnamed team,’ though Heyman has not mentioned the offer since that initial report.

Speaking of starting pitchers…

The Cubs may soon re-open talks with the Padres about RHP Jake Peavy, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to Rosenthal, while the Braves, Brewers and Phillies are interested in Lowe, they seem unwilling to top Minaya’s initial three-year, $36 million offer.

In Newsday, Ken Davidoff explains that the Mets have no intention of increasing their initial offer ‘at this time,’ because they are ‘confident that they have no serious competition.’

According to Davidoff, the Mets have also been negotiating with Perez and free-agent LHP Randy Wolf.

Speaking of starting pitchers…

Andy Pettitte rejected Brian Cashman’s one-year, $10 million offer, ‘and there is no standing offer for now,’ reports Tyler Kepner in the New York Times.

By the way, the Braves have shown interest in Pettitte, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the O’s have been in contact with Jon Garland.

The Los Angeles Times wrote yesterday that Garland is seeking a two– or three-year deal, and three teams are showing interest in him.

Yesterday, at FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal said Garland is on Omar Minaya’s radar, since the team does not want to spend top dollar for a starting pitcher.

Speaking of starting pitchers…

Kris Benson is at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and the Blue Jays, Indians and Dodgers have expressed interest in him, writes Roch Kubatko for MASN.

The Cardinals are not interested in A.J. Burnett, despite published reports, explains the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Instead, the report says, “The Cardinals remain interested only in short-term relationships with starting pitchers, including Oliver Perez, Andy Pettitte and Brad Penny, among others.”

Lastly, “If the Cubs obtain Jake Peavy, then Jason Marquis or Rich Harden will become trade bait,” reports the Boston Globe.

According to Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record, citing ‘an industry official,’ no Mets from their current 40-man roster are named in the report

…however, i’m picking up some buzz suggesting that this may not be true, as i have heard two names that could be mentioned, one of which we know about already…i prefer to not discuss the potential players, though, until the list is actually made public…additionally, there will certainly be players who once played for the Mets, who will be on the list…

The two-time All-Star is 201-113 with a 3.83 ERA over his 13-year career, and 18-7 with a 3.97 over 35 postseason games.

…it will be interesting to see how this impacts the Yankees quest for LHP Johan Santana, if it impacts it at all…

…thanks to ravi j for the link…

Pettitte had until Wednesday to decide on his option.

…basically, instead of locking in on having to pitch another season for the Yankees, he opted out so he could have more time to figure out what’s next, which, according to pettitte last week on houston tv, is either pitch again for the Yankees or retire…

…the thing is, i still believe he could back off, tell the Yankees he will not be playing,  fade in to the back ground and then suddenly decide he should pitch for his old buddy, Joe Torre, and the Dodgers…

This past season, Pettitte was 15-9 with a 4.05 ERA.

Pettitte has until November 8 to decide whether he will exercise his $16 million player option for next season.

…it’s a lot of money, but he left houston for the Yankees specifically to play for Joe Torre, who is no longer on the team, while pitching alongside his old buddies, like Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens, all of whom are free agents…

In his last 72 games, spanning starts for the Astros and Yankees, Pettitte is 29–22 with a 4.13 ERA.

…what’s weird is that he allowed exactly 238 hits in each of the last two seasons, while throwing just one more inning this past season compared to the one before…strange…

…at any rate, he’s talked of honor to the Yankees and retiring before, and so i still bet he ends up pitching again, either in the Bronx or in los angeles with Joe Torre, Don Mattingly and whomever else heads out that way…