The Yankees have signed 29-year old righty reliever Manny Delcarmen to a minor league deal. Delcarmen pitched in 26 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers & Mariners last year and he was 3-2 with a 5.59 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2010 for the Rockies & Red Sox. Delcarmen has pitched in 298 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 11-8 with 3 saves, a 3.97 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Delcarmen is a big time longshot to make the Yankees’ bullpen this spring.

The Yankees’ big weakness coming into last year’s post-season was the starting rotation. They have went out and fixed it for the 2012 season with a couple of huge moves recently. Here is a look at how the starting rotation looks for 2012:

#1: C.C. Sabathia: 31-year old lefty starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia is going to be the ace of the Yankees’ starting rotation in 2012. He started 33 games for the Yankees last year and he was 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Sabathia has been the Yankees’ ace since the first time he stepped on the mound for them. He has pitched in 101 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Yankees and he is 59-23 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Sabathia is a workhorse who seems to throw harder as the game goes on, but with the depth in the pen, they might try to start watching his innings a big starting this year. Sabathia 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. He is a true ace.

#2: Ivan Nova: 25-year old righty Ivan Nova really stepped up in the second half of last year for the Yankees. He was sent to the minors for a little bit and he came back a totally different pitcher. He pitched in 28 games (27 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Yankees resisted dealing Nova last year as a lot of teams were calling about him, and it proved to be smart to keep him as he has a very bright future. Nova has pitched in 38 games (34 starts) in his first two years with the Yankees and he is 17-6 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

#3: Hiroki Kuroda: 36-year old righty starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda was inked to a 1-year deal last week and he will likely be the #3 starter for the Yankees in 2012. He pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 115 games (114 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. It will be interesting to see how well Kuroda does in 2012. He pitched in a pitchers’ park his whole career and in the National League…where the lineups are weaker. That being said, I still think he will do fine due to the lineup and bullpen that will have his back.

#4: Michael Pineda: 23-year old righty flamethrower Michael Pineda will be the Yankees’ #4 starter in 2012. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Mariners as a rookie last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Pineda is one of the best power arms in the majors right now as he comes right after batters. That could get him into some trouble at Yankee Stadium as it’s nowhere near the pitchers’ park that Safeco Field is. That being said, Pineda has a huge upside.

#5: Freddy Garcia: 35-year old righty Freddy Garcia will have to compete with A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes for this job in spring training. He was by far the best pitcher of this bunch last year. 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. Garcia would finish a distant third in this competition stuff wise, but he really knows how to pitch which gives him a slight edge heading into spring training.

A.J. Burnett: 35-year old righty A.J. Burnett is making the most money of this trio, but that usually doesn’t matter much to the Yankees. He pitched in 33 games (32 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 11-11 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Burnett has now pitched in 99 games (98 starts) in his first three years with the Yankees and he is 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP as he has been a bust for them so far. Burnett has now pitched in 314 games (309 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 121-111 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Burnett will need to step up in spring training if he’s going to beat out Garcia and Hughes for the #5 spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation.

Phil Hughes: 25-year old righty Phil Hughes had an injury ravaged 2011 season for the Yankees. He pitched in 17 games (14 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 5-5 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has now pitched in 120 games (71 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 36-23 with 3 saves, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. If Hughes loses out in this competition, the Yankees will move him to the bullpen.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2012: B

The Yankees have designated 28-year old righty reliever Kevin Whelan for assignment. Whelan pitched in 2 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the majors last year for the Yankees and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 2-3 with 23 saves, a 2.75 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. The Yankees needed Whelan’s roster spot for Hiroki Kuroda.

UPDATE: (2/1/2012) - Kevin Whelan has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright minor league assignment from the Yankees. He will try to win a job in the pen this spring.

41-year old switch-hitting C/DH Jorge Posada decided to call it a career yesterday. He played in 115 games last year for the Yankees and he was 81 for 344 (.235 avg, .714 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 14 homers and 44 RBIs. Posada played in 1,829 games in his 17 years with the Yankees and he was 1,664 of 6,092 (.273 avg, .848 OPS) with 900 runs scored, 275 homers, 1,065 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Posada finishes his career #9 in games played in Yankees’ history as he played in 1,829 games. He also finished #8 in homers (275), #7 in doubles (379) and #7 in walks (936) in Yankees’ history. Posada went to 5 All-Star Games and he also won 5 Silver Slugger Awards in his career. Posada played in 125 games in 15 post-seasons for the Yankees and he was 103 of 416 (.248 avg, .745 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Posada was starting to slow down and I think he picked the perfect time to hang up the cleats. It will be interesting to see if he gets into Baseball’s Hall of Fame down the road. Even if he doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame, he was one of the best catchers in Yankees’ history.

The Yankees knew they need help in the starting rotation for 2012. So they were laying in the weeds waiting for the right time to pounce and that they did last week when they traded for Michael Pineda and signed Hiroki Kuroda to a 1-year deal. Here is a look at the new players for 2012 so far:

In the field: The Yankees have not signed a free agent to a major league deal that plays in the field. Outfielders DeWayne Wise (an excellent defensive player) and Cole Garner will battle for the #5 outfielder on the Yankees this spring. The Yankees also signed 2B/3B Jayson Nix to a minor league deal.

On the mound: Michael Pineda and Hiroki Kuroda will probably be the Yankees’ #3 and #4 starters when the 2012 season begins, behind C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova. The Yankees did a great job of waiting out the pitching market until the price came down….just like a very smart poker player….waiting for the right hand to play. The Yankees also signed lefty reliever Hideki Okajima to a minor league deal and he will have a good shot of making the Yankees’ bullpen this spring.

Overall: The Yankees have patched up their biggest weakness of last year (the starting rotation)….so it’s all systems go for 2012.