If the Yankees want to bring back Raul Ibanez to fill the hole at designated hitter, they have competition.
According to multiple sources, the Rangers are interested in having the 40-year-old Ibanez be their DH.
The Yankees have given off signals they would like Ibanez back, but there have been other priorities, such as re-signing Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Ichiro Suzuki and signing Kevin Youkilis.
While Ibanez played well enough in the outfield last year, his value to the Yankees would be as the DH since the starting outfield consists of three left-handed hitters.
After batting .240 with 19 home runs and 62 RBIs in 130 games last year, Ibanez was one of the few Yankees to hit well in the postseason. He will always be remembered for his two homers in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Orioles, when he homered batting for Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning and won the game with a homer in the 12th.
In the postseason, Ibanez, who made $1.1 million last year, batted .318 (7-for-22) with three homers and five RBIs.
It’s possible the Yankees might rotate the DH position or use the right-handed hitting Eduardo Nunez there in order to get his live bat into the lineup.
* When Ichiro and the Yankees get through the contract language and he takes a physical, the veteran outfielder’s two-year, $13 million deal will be official.
The physical could draw the process out because Ichiro is in Japan and would have to travel to America to be examined by Yankees doctors.
* The Yankees were hit with an $18.9 million luxury tax by Major League Baseball, the 10th consecutive year they will pay a penalty for their spending.
The Yankees finished with a $222.5 million payroll for purposes of the tax, according to figures sent to teams Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press. The Yankees have run up a luxury tax bill of $224.2 million over the past decade.
The Red Sox, following their payroll-shedding trade with the Dodgers last summer, finished just $47,177 under the $178 million threshold. The Angels wound up at $176.7 million and the Phillies at $174.5 million.
Figures include average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters, adjustments for cash in trades and $10.8 million per team in benefits.
—Additional reporting by The AP