Al Leiter signed to Minor League deal

[Mattingly]

Now Yankee farmhand and ex-Met Al Leiter has signed a minor league deal. I'm not sure how often he'll be used, but like the late 1990s, the Yanks are sure stocking up on pitchers. At his age, he can't be allowed to sit around too long, and I think he'll do just fine this spring. If/when he makes the club, he should be a good arm out of the pen. Hopefully, if he spot starts, he'll be a bit more economical in his pitch count.


On July 17 in his first appearance with the 2005 Yankees,
Al Leiter held the Red Sox to one run in 6 1/3 innings
for the win at Fenway Park. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Yanks sign Leiter to Minor League deal
Versatile left-hander appeared in 16 games with New York in '05
By Bryan Hoch / Special to MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Al Leiter will return for at least one more spring.

The 40-year-old left-hander agreed to a Minor League contract with the Yankees on Friday, accepting an invitation to Spring Training with the organization that originally drafted him back in 1984.

Leiter was acquired by the Yankees last July 16 after being designated for assignment by the Florida Marlins. He became a trusted veteran option for manager Joe Torre, making 10 starts and six relief appearances for the club, earning a win in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Angels.

Leiter would get a one-year, $1.5 million contract if he makes the 40-man roster, and could earn $500,000 more in performance bonuses.

The Toms River, N.J., native owns a career 162-132 record and strongly contemplated retirement after the season, but appeared to find a niche as a left-handed reliever.

It was a role that Leiter hadn't filled since coming out of the bullpen in 22 games for Toronto in 1993, but it was enough for the Yankees to bring him to camp, offering competition for imported left-handed relievers like Mike Myers and Ron Villone.

In 62 1/3 innings pitched for New York last season, Leiter went 4-5 with a 5.49 ERA, allowing 66 hits and walking 38 while striking out 35.

Leiter was one of 20 non-roster players invited to Spring Training on Friday, bringing the total number of players expected to report in Tampa to 60.

The other players invited to camp were: left-handers Dusty Bergman and Frank Brooks; right-handers Matt Childers, Mark Corey, James Brent Cox, Philip Hughes, Ramiro Mendoza, Jose Enger Veras, Steven White and Kris Wilson; catchers Ben Davis, Jose Gil, David Parrish, Irwil Rojas and Omir Santos; infielders Eric Duncan, Daniel Garcia and Russ Johnson; and outfielder Chris Prieto.

Bryan Hoch is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Big deal.
Waste of Steinbrenners cash.

[Mattingly]

Big deal.
Waste of Steinbrenners cash.

To me, it's low-risk, hi-rewards. He could be the Tanyon Sturtze that we'd wanted but didn't continue giving us.

I see all these pitchers as insurance for each other. I don't see one right after the other failing, so if someone can come through, I'm in favor of it.

All I ask is that he not get hammered out there.

[DoubleX]

ugh, yet another pitcher. I don't like this deal because it means another mediocre veteran that will stand in the way of some of the Yankees younger arms getting a shot to show what they can do.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

To me, it's low-risk, hi-rewards. He could be the Tanyon Sturtze that we'd wanted but didn't continue giving us.

I see all these pitchers as insurance for each other. I don't see one right after the other failing, so if someone can come through, I'm in favor of it.

All I ask is that he not get hammered out there.

FYI: he usually is, proving by his 05 numbers!

[Mattingly]

FYI: he usually is, proving by his 05 numbers!

To me, he's got 2 months to prove himself. When David Cone was encouraged by the same Al Leiter to try out with the Mets, Coney failed and retired immediately.

Leiter showed some signs of encouragement against Boston, then would have 100+ pitches in only about 5 innings. You couldn't possibly ask the pen to work 3-4 innings every 5th day. I do remember him coming around and economizing his efforts later on.

He did well when Moose was taken out in Game 5 of the ALDS. He gave starter Randy Johnson more time to warm up, which was highly important. The question for me is which Leiter are we going to get? The good one who can stop several teams (not just Boston, but whoever faces us, and if it's TB or KC, so be it), or the 20+ pitch per inning guy who's struggling to gain control, but the pitches just aren't working, and opposin batters are sitting on it, letting him twist in the wind.

I don't see a whole season of him, and all of this depends upon his spring performance. If he doesn't do well this March, I'm not sure there are many 40-year-old pitchers in the farm for a long period of time.

[DoubleX]

To me, he's got 2 months to prove himself. When David Cone was encouraged by the same Al Leiter to try out with the Mets, Coney failed and retired immediately.

Leiter showed some signs of encouragement against Boston, then would have 100+ pitches in only about 5 innings. You couldn't possibly ask the pen to work 3-4 innings every 5th day. I do remember him coming around and economizing his efforts later on.

He did well when Moose was taken out in Game 5 of the ALDS. He gave starter Randy Johnson more time to warm up, which was highly important. The question for me is which Leiter are we going to get? The good one who can stop several teams (not just Boston, but whoever faces us, and if it's TB or KC, so be it), or the 20+ pitch per inning guy who's struggling to gain control, but the pitches just aren't working, and opposin batters are sitting on it, letting him twist in the wind.

I don't see a whole season of him, and all of this depends upon his spring performance. If he doesn't do well this March, I'm not sure there are many 40-year-old pitchers in the farm for a long period of time.

You're probably right that Leiter won't hang around as a farmhand. Even so, in spring training he'll be taking up innings that could be better spent on some of the younger guys getting a look. Signings like this really retard the youth movement of the franchise and leads me to believe that the team didn't learn anything last year about the value of having a good farm system.

[AVA8]

You're probably right that Leiter won't hang around as a farmhand. Even so, in spring training he'll be taking up innings that could be better spent on some of the younger guys getting a look. Signings like this really retard the youth movement of the franchise and leads me to believe that the team didn't learn anything last year about the value of having a good farm system.

I completely agree with this; however, with all the bad leftys we've had over the last few years (Gabe White, Felix Heredia, Alan Embree, Stanton in his second go around, et all) it is nice to have another one just in case something happens.

[sandlot]

I see all these pitchers as insurance for each other. I don't see one right after the other failing, so if someone can come through, I'm in favor of it.

Exactly. The acquisitions address short-term needs, but don't really fit a larger master plan. They overlap and suggest lack of confidence, thus the need for insurance. This season could see a whole lot of games where no pitcher throws more than three innings. I don't know if anyone keeps stats on that, but they would be interesting reading. They had 8 complete games thrown last year, but 4 were by one pitcher, Johnson. There was a ton of work for the relievers and that's likely to increase, not decrease.

[Mattingly]

You're probably right that Leiter won't hang around as a farmhand. Even so, in spring training he'll be taking up innings that could be better spent on some of the younger guys getting a look. Signings like this really retard the youth movement of the franchise and leads me to believe that the team didn't learn anything last year about the value of having a good farm system.

To me, Al Leiter simply represents a short-term fix, as he's already played in the majors and has playoff experience. He could be a decent clubhouse presence for the young guys, all while people like Sean Henn, Jorge DePaula, Colter Bean et al are fully ready. He's like a stopgap or a bench-warmer.

Some will see an older player's signing as equal to an older player movement. To me, it's just his providing a short-term solution today while we worry about tomorrow.

Exactly. The acquisitions address short-term needs, but don't really fit a larger master plan. They overlap and suggest lack of confidence, thus the need for insurance. This season could see a whole lot of games where no pitcher throws more than three innings. I don't know if anyone keeps stats on that, but they would be interesting reading. They had 8 complete games thrown last year, but 4 were by one pitcher, Johnson. There was a ton of work for the relievers and that's likely to increase, not decrease.

Which pitchers wouldn't throw more than 3 innings? I expect everyone in the rotation to throw 6-7 innings. I'm not a big fan of CGs, and I don't know why Joe allowed Randy Johnson to throw a few of those last season, unless it was a 1-0 or 2-0 game. Even then, we have the finest closer out there, so no need for him to work the 9th when rested Mo can still protect a 1-run lead.

When you say "they" had 8 complete games, are you referring to the Yanks or MLB?

I think that the whole situation with the pen is that Joe will have to increase his use of guys who have proven reliable, but not use them exclusively. He'll have some guys like Wayne Franklin, who shouldn't even have been the Royals' mopup guy, on our staff. Instead, with a choice of an overabundance of relievers, he should keep guys working regularly. Nobody should have more than 2 days off. In years past, we've had guys getting 6 days rest, making them stale.

Catch 22: can't get the success w/o the work; can't get the work w/o the success. Joe's gotta stick with guys, and if they prove ineffective over a period of time, send them down or cut them. Either that or just keep one exclusively for mopup work. If someone proves effective, don't kill his arm, but work him and rotate so that other guys can prove themselves effective also.

[sandlot]

Which pitchers wouldn't throw more than 3 innings? I expect everyone in the rotation to throw 6-7 innings. I'm not a big fan of CGs...

Any and all. I'm saying that Father Time is hard at work, and there's a number of pitchers who've previously had arm trouble. The abundance of relievers suggests doubt not only about which relievers will work out and won't, but also doubt about the starters. While Johnson threw a lot of innings, there was also a number of times he got yanked early after being shelled. Are those occasions likely to increase or decrease? Same for Mussina. Nothing I can say about Pavano, except that I hold my breath. Wang and Chacon could end up the workhorses. As for CGs, I stick to my contrarian position that more work, often, is preferable to too little work, infrequently. Are there any hard data to support the widely held proposition that limiting work extends arms or careers? I believe that just as some runners are sprinters, while other middle-distance or marathoners, some pitchers are built for short-, medium- or long-distance work. I've also asked, but received an answer to the question: What evidence is there that a five-day rotation is preferable a four-day rota?

When you say "they" had 8 complete games, are you referring to the Yanks or MLB?

Yanks, according to their Website. Johnson 4 CG, Mussina 2, staff 2. Total was 8. Dunno MLB total offhand.

[Indianagol]

Which pitchers wouldn't throw more than 3 innings? I expect everyone in the rotation to throw 6-7 innings. I'm not a big fan of CGs, and I don't know why Joe allowed Randy Johnson to throw a few of those last season, unless it was a 1-0 or 2-0 game. Even then, we have the finest closer out there, so no need for him to work the 9th when rested Mo can still protect a 1-run lead.

I have to disagree with you there.

If a guy is doing great and has thrown 100 pitches in a game in the 7th inning, why take him out? I say "If it's not broken, don't fix it." If the pitcher is dominating, or at least keeping the other team at bay, don't use up your bullpen by taking him out.

MLB Teams put too much pressure on the bullpen, which explains the great demand for them, for relievers are relied on too often. The relievers pitch more often than the starters, which explains why a young reliever can burn out his career early.

The term "relief pitcher", to me, defines someone who comes in to relieve a struggling starter. They are not called "continuing pitchers".