The Yankees have designated 28-year old righty reliever Edwar Ramirez for assignment to make room on the roster for recently signed reliever Chan Ho Park. Ramirez pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Yanks last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. In three years with the Yankees, Ramirez has pitched in 96 games (0 starts) in which he is 6-2 with 2 saves, a 5.22 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The Yankees won’t miss Ramirez even if another team claims him on waivers as they have a lot of relievers who are better than he is.

UPDATE: The Yankees have traded Edwar Ramirez to the Rangers for cash considerations.

31-year old lefty swinging Nick Johnson has returned to where his major league career started for the 2010 season. Johnson will be replacing Hideki Matsui at DH. Johnson played in 133 games last season for the Nationals & Marlins in which he was 133 for 457 (.291 avg, .831 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 8 homers and 62 RBIs. Johnson will be replacing Johnny Damon in the #2 slot in the Yankees batting order because of his ability to get on base. But, look for his power numbers to improve this season for the Yankees as he will be aiming for the jet stream a lot in RF. With that in mind he could top his career high of 23 homers in a season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: B-

The Yankees have signed 36-year old righty reliever Chan Ho Park to a 1-year, $1.2 million dollar deal. Park pitched in 45 games (7 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 423 games (287 starts) in his major league career and he is 120-95 with 2 saves, a 4.35 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Yankees as Park can work a lot of innings for them in 2010.

The Yankees have signed 28-year old righty reliever/starter Dustin Moseley to a minor league deal. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Angels last season and he was 1-0 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Moseley has now pitched in 64 games (23 starts) in his major league career and he is 8-7 with a 5.41 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He will likely compete for a long relief role this spring with the Yankees.

It sickens me to know that 34-year old Alex Rodriguez will likely be the all-time leader in runs scored, homers and RBIs despite being a admitted cheater but the Yankees welcome guys like him with open arms (Giambi, Pettitte, Clemens and many more) as their lone goal is winning the World Series at all costs. Rodriguez played in 124 games last season and he was 127 for 444 (.286 avg, .934 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. His season started late due to a hip injury but he still put up good numbers. It’s hard to tell what A-Rod has done legit and what he has done with roids as I still don’t believe that he is totally clean. Oh, well he will likely put up eye popping numbers again in 2010 for the Yankees as long as he can stay healthy. Now you know why Joe Torre calls Alex Rodriguez A-Fraud. Rodriguez made 9 errors in 116 games at 3B for the Yankees last season while showing below average range.

24-year old switch hitting Ramiro Pena will likely be A-Rod’s backup at 3B in 2010. He played in 27 games at 3B last season for the Yanks last season and he made 2 errors while showing slightly above average range at the hot corner.

PROJECTED GRADE AT 3B IN 2010: A

35-year old righty swinging Derek Jeter has shown no signs of slowing down despite his advancing age. Jeter played in 153 games for the Yankees last season and he was 212 for 634 (.334 avg, .871 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 18 homers, 66 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Jeter was the leadoff hitter for the Yankees full time last season and he adjusted very well to it getting the offense going full blast. Last season Jeter went over 200 hits in a season for the 7th time and it was also his 12th season of scoring 100+ runs. The most impressive feat for Jeter last season was the fact that he is now the all-time hit leader in New York Yankees’ history with 2,747 and counting. Jeter only made 8 errors in 150 games for the Yankees last season but he showed poor range despite making a highlight reel play once in a while. The Yanks will put up with his defense as he more than makes up for it with his bat.

24-year old switch hitting Ramiro Pena will be the utility infielder for the Yankees this season. He played in 69 games for the Yankees last season and he was 33 for 115 (.287 avg, .700 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 1 homer, 10 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Pena played in 34 games at shortstop last season for the Yankees and he made 3 errors while showing poor range there. Pena will likely move around giving the older players on the Yankees a day off once in a while.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: A+

The Yankees have signed 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Marcus Thames to a minor league deal worth $900,000 bucks if he makes the team. Thames played in 87 games for the Tigers last season and he was 65 for 258 (.252 avg, .777 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 13 homers and 36 RBIs. Thames has now played in 522 games in his major league career and he is 376 for 1,549 (.243 avg, .797 OPS) with 230 runs scored, 101 homers and 261 RBIs. This was a outstanding signing for the Yankees this late in the off-season as Thames should give them a big bat off the bench in 2010.

27-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano is one of the best hitters at his position in all of baseball and that won’t change anytime soon. Cano played in 161 games for the Yankees last season and he was 204 for 637 (.320 avg, .872 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 25 homers, 85 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Ex-Yankees’ hitting coach Don Mattingly once predicted that Cano would win at least one batting title in his major league career and I believe him as Cano has a very nice hitting stroke. Plus, he’s in such a loaded lineup that teams can’t afford to pitch around anyone in their batting order giving Cano a lot of good pitches to hit. He does need to improve his defense some as he made 12 errors in 161 games at 2B last season while showing slightly below average range. Still, that is nitpicking as Cano is one of the best 2B in all of baseball.

24-year old switch-hitting Ramiro Pena will be Cano’s primary back-up at 2B in 2010. He played in 8 error-free games at 2B for the Yankees last season while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: A