The Yankees have re-signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia to a 1-year, $4 million dollar deal plus incentives. Garcia pitched in 26 games (25 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has now pitched in 329 games (327 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 145-95 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This was a smart move for the Yankees as Garcia pitched really well for them last year. Even the Yankees are balking at the prices for the top starters on the free agent market.

The Yankees have signed 29-year old righty swinging 2B/3B Jayson Nix to a minor league deal. Nix played in 46 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 23 for 136 (.169 avg, .554 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 264 games in his first 4 years in the majors and he is 161 of 778 (.207 avg, .648 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 30 homers, 84 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Nix has also whiffed 210 times already in his major league career as he goes up to the plate hacking. This was a good signing for the Yankees as insurance for A-Rod’s hip.

30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson finished 4th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today. Granderson played in 156 games for the Yankees last year and he was 153 of 583 (.262 avg, .916 OPS) with 136 runs scored, 41 homers, 119 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Granderson has now played in 966 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 970 of 3,628 (.267 avg, .837 OPS) with 647 runs scored, 167 homers, 485 RBIs and 104 stolen bases. Granderson showed this year what kind of potential damage he can do with the Yankees. He could win an MVP Award in the near future as long as he keeps hitting lefties.

29-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano finished 6th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today. Cano played in 159 games for the Yankees last year and he was 188 of 623 (.302 avg, .882 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 28 homers, 118 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,053 games in his first 7 years with the Yankees and he is 1,263 of 4,104 (.308 avg, .843 OPS) with 613 runs scored, 144 homers, 621 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Robinson Cano has such a sweet swing that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him eventually win a MVP Award.

31-year old switch-hitting 1B Mark Teixeira finished 19th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. He played in 156 games for the Yankees last year and he was 146 of 589 (.248 avg, .835 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 39 homers, 111 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Teixeira has now played in 1,374 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,467 of 5,213 (.281 avg, .904 OPS) with 872 runs scored, 314 homers, 1,017 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. I look for Teixeira to rebound batting average wise in 2012, and he will have his usual power numbers as he is very consistent.

The Yankees will be looking for help in free agency and I think I have found the three guys who would be good fits for them. Here is a look at who I think they should go after:

1. C.J. Wilson - Lefty starting pitcher C.J. Wilson would slot #2 in the Yankees’ rotation between C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova. The only thing that would concern me about Wilson and the Yankees, is that he hasn’t had a lot of success thus far in the post-season.

2. Paul Maholm - Lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm would be a decent pitcher for the Yankees as their stadium favors lefty pitchers. He might not know what to do with all of the run support he would be getting in the Bronx.

3. Rick Ankiel - Lefty swinging outfielder Rick Ankiel can play all three outfield spots and he has a lot of power in his stick.

47-year old Joe Girardi finished 5th in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the Year Award. The Yankees won the A.L. East last year with a 97-65 (59.9%) record. Girardi now has a 462-348 (57%) record in his first five years as a major league manager. He has won the Manager of the Year Award one time (with the Marlins), but it’s going to be hard for him to win another one because the Yankees are expected to win big every year.

The Yankees have signed 31-year old lefty reliever Mike O’Connor to a minor league deal. O’Connor pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Mets last year and he was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 35 games (21 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-10 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. O’Connor will get a shot to win a job in the Yankees’ bullpen next spring as the second lefty behind Boone Logan.

31-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia finished in 4th place in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award voting. Sabathia pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 355 games (all starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 176-96 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Sabathia has a real shot at joining the 300 win club if he can just stay healthy.

UPDATE: (11/21/2011) - C.C. Sabathia finished 14th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award today.

41-year old righty closer Mariano Rivera finished 8th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award voting in 2011. He pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Yankees in 2011 and he was 1-2 with 44 saves, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Rivera has now pitched in 1,042 games (10 starts) in his first 17 years with the Yankees and he is 75-57 with 603 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Rivera became the all-time saves leader in major league history in 2011 and he also became the first pitcher to ever work in over 1,000 games with the same team! He is the best closer in major league history, period!