The New York Yankees have acquired 22-year old righty starting pitcher Michael Pineda and 19-year old righty starting pitcher Jose Campos from the Mariners for 22-year old righty swinging C/DH Jesus Montero and 24-year old righty reliever/starter Hector Noesi. The Yankees were getting a little antsy as far as starting pitching went with a little more than a month before spring training opened, which led to this trade. Michael Pineda made the All-Star team as a rookie last year and he was also #5 in the voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He whiffed 173 batters in 171 innings while only giving up 133 hits as he was dominating last year. Pineda will have the best arm of ANY pitcher on the Yankees’ staff in 2012 as he brings no-hitter stuff to the mound quite a bit. Fellow righty starter Jose Campos won’t be ready for prime time for a while. He pitched in 14 games (all starts) in A-ball last year and he was 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Campos has now pitched in 40 games (30 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 14-10 with 1 save, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

The Yankees didn’t want to trade Jesus Montero, but they have depth at catcher in the organization and they can just go throw some cash to hire a new DH. Montero came into last season as the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 18 games for the Yankees in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 20 for 61 (.328 avg, .996 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. He also played in 109 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 121 of 420 (.288 avg, .814 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 18 homers and 67 RBIs. Hector Noesi was another pitcher that the Yankees’ really liked. He pitched in 30 games (2 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

In the end, the Yankees made a pure baseball trade here as it had absolutely nothing to do with money, which is kind of refreshing. I think this deal will help both teams as the Yankees needed help in the starting rotation while the Mariners are desperate for hitting.

The New York Yankees have signed 36-year old righty starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a 1-year, $10 million dollar deal. Kuroda pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Los Angeles 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. This was a good move for the Yankees as Kuroda has been a solid pitcher in the majors so far in his career. He will be facing tougher lineups in the A.L. and in a hitter’s park for half of his games….in Yankee Stadium. But, I think he is going to win a lot of games with the Yankees’ offense and bullpen backing him up in 2012. I love this move for the Yankees.

The New York Yankees have signed 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Preston Mattingly to a minor league deal. Mattingly played in 53 games in A-ball last year and he was 38 of 164 (.232 avg, .635 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 463 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 396 of 1,708 (.232 avg, .611 OPS) with 207 runs scored, 25 homers, 165 RBIs and 75 stolen bases. Mattingly is a “legacy” as they would say in the movie Animal House. That is because Mattingly’s daddy (Donny Baseball) was a really good player for the Yankees from 1982-1995. He won an American League MVP Award for the Yankees back in 1985. Don Mattingly played in 1,785 games in his 14 years with the Yankees and he was 2,153 of 7,003 (.307 avg, .830 OPS) with 1,007 runs scored, 222 homers, 1,099 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Don’t expect miracles out of Preston Mattingly as he certainly in no chip off the old block.

UPDATE: (3/27/2012) - The Yankees have released Preston Mattingly.

The Yankees have signed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Cole Garner to a minor league deal. Garner played in 4 games for the Rockies in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 2 for 9 (.222 avg, .522 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs. He also played in 46 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 61 for 185 (.330 avg, .923 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Garner has had some solid seasons in the minors, and that’s where he’ll likely start in 2012 for the Yankees.

The Yankees have signed 27-year old righty reliever/starter Adam Miller. Miller pitched in 31 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year for the Indians and he was 1-5 with 2 saves, a 5.93 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He has now pitched in 135 games (94 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 33-30 with 2 saves, a 3.71 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Miller has had a lot of issues with his middle finger on his throwing hand. But, he was once one of the brightest prospects in all of baseball, so this is a worthwhile gamble for the Yankees.