Though there’s work left to be done in assembling the 2014 roster, it’s time to look back at an eventful year in the Yankees universe. The boldest-faced names of this pinstriped generation made big news in 2013, whether it was with suspensions (and appeals and hearings and lawsuits), injuries or graceful steps into retirement. And that was before the Hot Stove cooked up some momentous free-agent exits and entrances.
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1. A-Rod is hip to controversy
UPI January surgery on his left hip turned out to be just the first of Alex Rodriguez’s problems in 2013.
Later in the offseason, Rodriguez found himself in the middle of the largest PED scandal in baseball history, when documents connected him to Anthony Bosch and the now-closed Biogenesis clinic in south Florida.
The ensuing MLB investigation led to an unprecedented 211-game suspension levied against Rodriguez while he was rehabbing his hip injury.
It was a rehab unlike any other, with the third baseman going from the Yankees facility in Tampa all the way up through the team’s minor league system, with stops in Charleston, Trenton and Moosic, Pa. Along the way, Rodriguez defended himself against the accusations — even taking shots at general manager Brian Cashman and the front office — and insisted he could still be a productive player.
Rodriguez appealed the suspension, and in addition filed a pair of lawsuits: one against MLB and commissioner Bud Selig, another against Yankees doctor Christopher Ahmad.
Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz is expected to rule on the suspension sometime next month, and the uncertainty surrounding Rodriguez’s availability — as well as how much of his salary will be wiped off the books — have hung over this Yankees offseason.
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2. Jeter's 'nightmare' season
Getty Images Derek Jeter expected to be back in the Yankees lineup on Opening Day following offseason surgery to repair the left ankle he broke during Game 1 of the ALCS in 2012. Instead, he wound up suffering another fracture to the ankle during spring training, and that turned out to be one of many issues the 39-year-old had with his legs last season.
After several setbacks, Jeter finally made his season debut on July 11 — a day earlier than expected, when GM Brian Cashman summoned him from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a day game in The Bronx.
Jeter wasn’t able to last the game, suffering a strained right quad that kept him out until July 28.When he returned, he hit a home run in his first at-bat, but then went down with a right calf injury. He was shut down for good on Sept. 11 due to left ankle soreness.
In all, the shortstop played in just 17 games in what he repeatedly called a “nightmare” campaign. When he was on the field, he passed Eddie Collins for 10th all-time on the career hit list, finishing the season with 3,316.
After the season, instead of picking up Jeter’s $9.5 million option, Hal Steinbrenner OK’d a one-year, $12 million deal for 2014.
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3. Mo and Andy bid farewell
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The Yankees missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, so nearly all attention in September turned to the final games of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, both of whom had announced they would retire at the end of the season.
After a year filled with sendoffs and gifts — ranging from the thoughtful (Minnesota’s rocking chair made of broken bats) to the bizarre (a surfboard by the A’s) — at every stadium the Yankees visited, Rivera was honored with his own day at the Stadium and then made his final appearance on Sept. 26 in The Bronx.
After coming in during the eighth inning, Rivera was removed in the ninth, so the fans could cheer him off the field. Joe Girardi had Pettitte and Jeter go to the mound to take their longtime teammate out of the game, and Rivera’s tearful reaction made for perhaps the most iconic moment of the entire baseball season.
Pettitte also went out in style, tossing a complete game in Houston on Sept. 28.
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4. Joe doesn't go
Paul J. Bereswill At the end of a disappointing, playoff-less season, it hardly seemed a foregone conclusion that Girardi, whose contract was up, would return to the Yankees dugout. But after a brief flirtation with the Cubs, Girardi re-upped with the Yankees for four years and $16 million.
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5. Adios to Cano, hello to everyone else
Robinson Cano poses for a photo in his new Mariners jersey. AP The Yankees had a pretty good indication early in the offseason their (eventual) seven-year, $175 million offer to Robinson Cano wouldn’t be enough to keep the second baseman in The Bronx. Even with their goal of avoiding the luxury-tax threshold of $189 million next season, they quickly tried to overcome his loss by making some bold moves early in free agency.
First, they signed catcher Brian McCann to a five-year deal worth $85 million that could go to six years and $100 million. Jacoby Ellsbury was the next big addition, leaving the Red Sox for The Bronx, where he presumably will play center field and bat leadoff. He signed for seven years and $153 million.
And when they knew Cano was leaving for Seattle for a massive 10-year, $240 million pact, the Yankees quickly added Carlos Beltran, giving him three years for $45 million. They also re-signed Hiroki Kuroda on a one-year, $16 million deal.
Coming Wednesday: Top 5 Mets storylines