Via George King -
Yankee staff members have heard Mike Mussina say he is retiring. However, Mussina hasn’t officially announced this past season – when he won 20 games for the first time in a borderline Hall of Fame career – was his last.
Mussina, who will be 40 in December, hinted at retirement following his 20th win in Boston on the final day of the season.
Since the Yankees won’t hold organizational meetings until a week or two, they haven’t decided if Mussina – or Andy Pettitte – fits into their 2009 plans.
According to a Yankee official, Mussina wouldn’t surprise anybody if he filed for free agency following the World Series to keep his options open. That way if he doesn’t attract interest from teams fitting his desire – accessible from his Montoursville, Pa., home and with a team that has a chance to win – Mussina can retire.
After CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the free-agent pitching class drops off. Ben Sheets’ health is an issue but his stuff great. After him it drops off to Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez.
So, it’s not out of the question that Mussina, who made $11 million this season, would draw attention from a team willing to pay him.
How much attention would really be out there? Let’s look at the Moose Market. It has to be a team near Montoursville. It has to be a team with a decent chance of winning – so, forget the Pirates, Reds and the Nationals. It has to be a team willing to pay $11 million or more a year to a 40-year old pitcher. So, who does that leave?
It’s the Yankees, Mets, Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Orioles. Hey, that’s enough teams to call it a “market.” So, it does make sense for Mussina to file for free agency. Why not?
4 Responses to “Moose To File Free Agency, Keep Options Open?”
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October 9th, 2008 at 8:45 am
of course it makes sense to file for Moose. cant fault him for keeping his options open, and getting some offers together.
i actually think for Moose, it might make more sense to go to CitiField and take a 2 or 3 year deal to cruise thru the NL lineups if he want a real shot at 300.
but, he’s a creature of habit, so id imagine if he pitches at all, it’ll be with the yankees.
on the yankees side, if you believe what you read, it sounds like they want 2 out of the big 3 FA pitchers, which leaves one spot for Pettitte or Moose, really. then who do the Yankees take back?
the yankees should most assuredly offer arbitration, too, and get the draft picks should he go to the Mets or Phils (most likely destinations for me for him, anyway).
October 9th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I was under the impression, thanks to the Clemens years, that a player HAS to file for free agency to retire…might be wrong tho
October 9th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I don’t blame Moose for filing. I’m sure he doesn’t know if he even WANTS to pitch again but he’s giving himself the option in case he decides he does want to come back and the Yanks end up going in a different direction.
Personally, I expect Moose will either retire or come back to New York.
As far as the list of potential suitors, I’d say:
Yanks/Mets: Both possible.
Blue Jays/Orioles: I can’t see either team going for him. The Jays may lose Burnett but they’ll get Dustin McGowan back and seem to be more interested in youth. As for Baltimore, they’re a good 2-3 years away from being .500 again so I don’t see either side wanting to explore that reunion.
Phillies: Possible, but also a major hitter’s park.
Red Sox: It wouldn’t surprise me. Then again, after Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, and Wakefield, I figure they’d still want to leave a spot open for one of Buchholz/Masterson/Bowden to crack the rotation.
Indians: Here’s a team that desperately needs arms. However, here’s a team that is stingy as hell. I can’t see them spending the money to bring Moose in, even if they need him.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Corey – that’s not the case. Guys who retire in the middle of the season do not file for free agency.