Will Jason Giambi bounce back for the Yankees? They are depending on him to play at first base this season but he looked awful last year. It will be interesting to see if Giambi has anything left as he looks like a below average player without steroids. Wilson Betemit will probably get a lot of work late in games as Giambi’s defensive replacement. That’s good news because Giambi is one of the worst defensive players in all of baseball.

The Yankees have signed righties Darrell Rasner, Scott Strickland and lefties Heath Phillips and Billy Traber to minor league contracts. 26-year old Darrell Rasner started 6 games for the Yanks last season and he was 1-3 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Rasner has now pitched in 17 games (10 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-5 with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Scott Strickland has had injury problems n his career and he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2005 with the Astros. Strickland has pitched in 236 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-21 with 20 saves, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Yanks don’t currently have any lefties in the bullpen so Heath Phillips and Billy Traber both have a decent shot to stick with the major league team. Phillips was a rookie last season with the White Sox and he was 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. 28 year old Billy Traber has a lot more experience than Phillips does. Traber pitched in 28 games (2 starts) last season for the Nationals and he was 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. Traber has now pitched in 76 games (28 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-14 with a 5.41 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.

The Yankees have signed Bernie Castro, Nick Green and Cody Ransom to minor leageu contracts. 28 year old switch hitting Bernie Castro last played in the majors in 2006 with the Nationals. Castro has played in 66 games in his major league career and he is 48 for 190 (.253 avg, .633 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 0 homers, 17 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. 29 year old righty swinging Nick Green has been brought back to try to make the Yankees as a reserve infielder. Last season Green played in 6 games for the Mariners and he was 0 for 7. Green has now played in 275 games in his major league career and he is 169 for 703 (.240 avg, .656 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 10 homers and 59 RBIs. 31-year old righty swinging Cody Ransom played in 19 games with the Astros last season and he was 8 for 35 (.229 avg, .784 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Ransom has now played in 133 games in his major league career and he is 33 for 140 (.236 avg, .695 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 3 homers and 16 RBIs.

The Yankees have signed outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league contract. The 31-year old had a tough time last season for the Padres and Astros as he played in 70 games and he was 30 for 171 (.175 avg) with 18 runs scored, 8 homers and 27 RBIs. Lane has now played in 497 games in his major league career and he is 291 for 1,208 (.241 avg, .771 OPS) with 165 runs scored, 61 homers and 189 RBIs.