Caption
Close
Tampa, Fla.
Starting his 10th season as New York Yankees manager, Joe Girardi wants to lead the team beyond 2017 and watch the Baby Bombers mature.
Girardi is entering the final season of a $16 million, four-year contract. The Yankees won the 2009 World Series in his second season but have missed the postseason in three of the past four years and have not won a postseason game since the 2012 AL Division Series.
Speaking Tuesday as the Yankees reported for spring training, Girardi said “I don’t envision myself doing anything different. This is what I know. This is what I’ve done for a long time.”
Girardi doesn’t anticipate discussions about an extension with owner Hal Steinbrenner before the end of the season.
“It doesn’t really impact me,” Girardi said. “I’m going to go do my job the same way, the way that I believe is, for me, the right way. They have not extended managers as long as I can remember during the course of the season. So, I’ll just go do my job and whatever happens, happens.”
More Yankees: Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher are joining the group of guest instructors at spring training this year. A-Rod and Swisher were both instructors with the Yankees’ instructional league team last fall. This is the first time they’ll be in the coaching role at spring training. Holdovers include Goose Gossage, Reggie Jackson, Hideki Matsui, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Stump Merrill and Lee Mazzilli.
Arbitration: Toronto’s Marcus Stroman, Houston’s Collin McHugh and Tampa Bay’s Jake Odorizzi have won their salary arbitration cases, and St. Louis’ Michael Wacha, Milwaukee’s Chase Anderson and Arizona’s Taijuan Walker have lost. Decisions for all six starting pitchers, eligible for arbitration for the first time, were announced Tuesday. Teams and players have split 12 decisions this winter. Four players, all relief pitchers, remain scheduled for hearings this week: the Yankees’ Dellin Betances, Baltimore’s Brad Brach, the Chicago Cubs’ Pedro Strop and Pittsburgh’s Tony Watson. The sides are on track for 16 hearings, the most since teams won 10 of 16 decisions in 1994.
Marlins: The team has lifted its prohibition on facial hair after one season. The ban was adopted after Don Mattingly was hired as manager before the 2016 season.
Pirates: Third baseman Jung Ho Kang will miss the start of spring training on Friday. Kang is scheduled to go to trial in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 22 following his arrest in December on charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.
Rays: The team finalized a $2 million, one-year deal with injured pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. The 27-year-old right-hander is expected to miss the 2017 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery last August, when he was with the Yankees. The deal includes a $2 million club option for 2018 that includes the chance to earn performance bonuses. Eovaldi was 9-8 with a 4.76 ERA in 21 starts and three relief appearances last season and is 38-46 with a 4.21 ERA over parts of six seasons in the major leagues.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.