The Yankees need a high-end starting pitcher desperately. Andy Pettitte has come out of retirement once before.
So would the Yankees — in their time of need — call to see if the left-hander had any interest in coming out of retirement once again?
“He has shut it down for good,” general manager Brian Cashman said Friday. “That door is closed.”
Pettitte went 11-11 last season, finishing 21st in the AL in ERA at 3.74 — which actually was better than Red Sox ace Jon Lester (3.75). Nevertheless, at 41, he admitted late last year he no longer thought he could push his body through a full season, nor did he want to try any longer.
The Yankees currently have a rotation front three of CC Sabathia (off his worst season), Hiroki Kuroda (at 39) and Ivan Nova, and then a group that includes Michael Pineda, Adam Warren and David Phelps.
They had been hoping to add youth and quality with 25-year-old Masahiro Tanaka. But uncertainty lingers over whether his Japanese team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles, will post him.