The Yankees have signed 35-year old switch-hitting outfielder Randy Winn to a 1-year, $2 million dollar deal. He played in 149 games for the Giants last season and he was 141 for 538 (.262 avg, .671 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 2 homers, 51 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Winn has now played in 1,601 games in his major league career and he is 1,710 of 5,981 (.286 avg, .762 OPS) with 840 runs scored, 106 homers, 637 RBIs and 209 stolen bases. The thing the Yankees really like about Winn is that he is a good enough defensive player to handle any spot in the outfield.

The Yankees have acquired 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Greg Golson from the Rangers for 24-year old righty swinging infielder Mitch Hilligoss and cash considerations. Golson played in 123 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 118 for 457 (.258 avg, .642 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 2 homers, 40 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He also played in 1 game for the Rangers last season and he was 0 for 1 with a whiff. Golson has now played in 7 games in his major league career and he is 0 for 7 (.000 avg) with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base. Golson will provide depth in AAA for the Yankees and get a call if the need arises. Hilligoss played in 51 games in A-ball last season and he was 38 for 163 (.233 avg, .582 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 14 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. I like this move for the Yankees as they didn’t give up much for Golson.

Lefty starting pitcher Ron “Louisiana Lightning” Guidry was one of the best left-handed pitchers in Yankees’ history. He pitched in 368 games (323 starts) in his career with the Yankees and he was 170-91 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. But, it was 1978 when he won his only Cy Young Award that he was devastating. He pitched in 35 games (all starts) in 1978 for the Yanks and he was 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He threw 273 2/3 innings that year allowing only 187 hits while whiffing 248 batters showing how nasty he was. He also threw 16 complete games that year in which he shut out the opposition 9 times! You’ll never see numbers like that again. So Guidry is #10 all-time in games pitched (368) in Yankees’ history. He also is #5 in starts (323), #5 in wins (170), #2 in strikeouts (1,778) and he is tied for sixth in shut outs with Spud Chandler with 26.

The Yankees are really deep in talent at 1B with Mark Teixeira, Nick Johnson and Juan Miranda. It all starts with 30-year old switch-hitting Mark Teixeira. He played in 156 games last season for the Yankees and he was 178 for 609 (.292 avg, .948 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 39 homers and 122 RBIs. Teixeira has averaged 151.4 games played per season and he has averaged 95.6 runs scored, 34.6 homers and 114 RBIs per year so the Yankees are pretty confident that they know what they are getting with him. Teixeira also flashes solid leather as he only made 4 errors in 152 games at 1B last year for the Yankees. He makes all of the infielders on the Yankees better because of how well he handles throws in the dirt.

31-year old lefty swinging Nick Johnson will likely be the full-time DH but he is the one who would fill in if Teixeira got hurt or needed a day or two off. He is a solid hitter but he is overrated with the glove on as he made 12 errors in 129 games with the Marlins & Nationals last season. 29-year old switch-hitting Nick Swisher could also play some 1B for the Yankees this season but they want him to concentrate on RF. He played in 20 games for the Yankees at first base last season and he made 1 error.

26-year old lefty swinging Juan Miranda has been a decent prospect for quite some time but he just hasn’t got a extended look with the Yankees yet. He played in 8 games for the Yankees last season and he was 3 for 9 (.333 avg, 1.000 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He also played in 122 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 127 for 438 (.290 avg, .867 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 19 homers, 82 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Miranda is the kind of player the Yankees usually trade so keep an eye on him at the July trading deadline.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A+

38-year old switch-hitting catcher Jorge Posada is not much of a defensive catcher but he can still swing the bat. He played in 111 games last season for the Yankees and he was 109 for 383 (.285 avg, .885 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 22 homers and 81 RBIs. The Yankees will likely look to make sure they give him enough time off to keep him healthy all year in 2010. In 100 games behind the plate, Posada had 7 errors and 8 passed balls and that is just not good enough, period. Posada threw out 22% of baserunners trying to steal on him last season and Yankees’ pitchers had a 5.04 ERA with him behind the plate. Posada should really be DHing for the Yankees as he gets banged up behind the plate and he is just not a good defender.

24-year old righty swinging Francisco Cervelli will be the back-up catcher for the Yankees if he has a good spring. He played in 42 games for the Yankees last season and he was 28 for 94 (.298 avg, .681 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. Cervelli doesn’t have much power but he is a solid contact hitter and the Yankees can cover for him with the line-up they have in place. Cervelli is a wizard defensively behind the plate as he didn’t have any passed balls last season and he only made 1 error in 40 games there. Cervelli threw out 38% of the runners that tried to steal on him last year and Yankees’ pitchers loved to throw to him as they had a 3.43 ERA with him behind the dish.

33-year old righty swinging Mike Rivera will battle Cervelli for the back-up catcher job for the Yanks in 2010. Rivera played in 41 games for the Brewers last season and he was 26 for 114 (.228 avg, .668 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 14 RBIs. Rivera is a decent defensive catcher as he didn’t make any errors but he did have 2 passed balls in 34 games behind the plate for the Brewers. Brewers’ pitchers had a 4.38 ERA throwing to Rivera and he threw out 22% of baserunners trying to steal on him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: B

The Yankees have signed 26-year old righty reliever Zack Segovia to a minor league deal. Segovia pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last season and he was 1-0 with a 7.84 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He also pitched in 51 games (3 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 3-5 with 6 saves, a 3.24 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Segovia has now pitched in 9 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 1-1 with a 8.22 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.

The Yankees have signed 29-year old lefty reliever Royce Ring to a minor league deal. Ring pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 5-2 with 4 saves, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Ring has also pitched in 94 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 3-3 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Ring’s main problem in his major league career has been his control as he has walked 40 batters in only 65 2/3 innings. Ring will get a chance to compete for a job in the Yanks’ bullpen this spring.

The Yankees have signed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Reid Gorecki to a minor league deal. Gorecki played in 31 games for the Braves last season and he was 5 for 25 (.200 avg, .422 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also played in 106 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 106 for 371 (.286 avg, .815 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 9 homers, 49 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He will likely start the year in AAA-ball getting a call to the show if the need arises for the Yankees.

Reggie Jackson was a perfect fit for the New York Yankees as he played in the All-Star game every year he played for them (1977-1981). He called himself the “straw that stirs the drink” for the Yankees. He played in 653 games during the regular season for the Yankees and he was 661 for 2,349 (.281 avg, .897 OPS) with 380 runs scored, 144 homers, 461 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. Jackson was so arrogant that both home and opposing fans used to throw coins at him while he was playing in RF. He often picked them up and put them in his pocket thanking the fans for a raise. But where Mr. Jackson really made his make was in the post season. He played in 34 games in the post season for the Yankees and he was 39 for 119 (.328 avg) with 26 runs scored, 12 homers, 29 RBIs and 2 stolen bases earning him the moniker of Mr. October. In 1977, Jackson played in 6 games in the World Series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and he was 9 for 20 (.450 avg, 1.792 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 8 RBIs helping the Yanks with the series 4 games to 2. The Yankees played in the World Series three times with Reggie Jackson on the team winning two of them. Jackson was only with the Yankees five years but he has his own niche in team history.