The Yankees have re-signed closer Mariano Rivera to a 3-year, $45 million contract. Rivera had one of his worst seasons of his major league career in 2007. He was 3-4 with 30 saves, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 2007. Rivera could make a run at Trevor Hoffman’s save record if he can stay healthy and productive. He has a career record of 62-44 with 443 saves, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Rivera has now worked 953 innings in his career and he has allowed 759 hits, walked 238 batters and whiffed 857. This was a good move for the Yanks as the Sandman still has it.

The Yankees have re-signed catcher Jose Molina to a 2-year, $4 million dollar contract. Molina played well after coming over from the Angels last season in a trade. Molina played in 29 games for the Yankees last season and he was 21 for 66 (.318 avg, .772 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. It’s highly unlikely that Molina will continue to hit like he did for the Yanks last season when you consider his career numbers. Molina has now played in 402 games in his major league career and he is 253 for 1,043 (.243 avg, .624 OPS) with 104 runs scored, 16 homers and 107 RBIs. This was a good signing for the Yankees who need to make sure that Posada gets more rest due to his age.

You have to wonder if it’s smart to re-sign a 36-year old catcher coming off of a career season to a 4-year, $52 million dollar contract….but that’s exactly what the Yankees did last night. Posada played in 144 games last season for the Yanks and he was 171 for 506 (.338 avg, .969 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 20 homers and 90 RBIs. Posada has now played in 1,432 games in his Yankees career and he is 1,334 for 4,814 (.277 avg, .860 OPS) with 744 runs scored, 218 homers and 861 RBIs.

The Yankees have picked up Bobby Abreu’s option for the 2008 season which is worth $16 million bucks. Abreu played in 158 games for the Yanks last season and he was 171 for 605 (.283 avg, .814 OPS) with 123 runs scored, 16 homers, 101 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Abreu has now played in 1,643 games in his major league career and he’s 1,766 for 5,881 (.300 avg, .908 OPS) with 1,074 runs scored, 221 homers, 984 RBIs and 296 stolen bases.