Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Left-hander Andy Pettitte is coming back to the New York Yankees.
Pettitte, who retired before last season, has agreed to a $2.5 million minor league deal and will work his way back into shape, baseball sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.
Pettitte started 21 games in 2010 for the Yankees, going 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA. He was 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA in 2009, his last full season.
Pettitte had spent a couple days in Yankees camp as a guest instructor this spring. And last Friday, when he was in Orlando for a charity event for his church, Pettitte came over to the Braves’ facility and threw batting practice to the Yankees in uniform.
He was in Orlando last Friday for a charity event with his church. He came over to the Braves facility at Disney and threw batting practice to to the Yankees in uniform.
Pettitte announced his retirement on Feb. 5, 2011, saying he ” didn’t have the hunger, the drive that I felt like I needed” to continue pitching in the big leagues.
That announcement came as a trial date loomed for Pettitte’s friend and teammate, Roger Clemens, on charges he lied to Congress when he said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs.
Pettitte, who had admitted publicly to using human growth hormone on two occasions to recover from injuries, was expected to testify in Clemens’ trial, which ended in a mistrial before he could take the stand. But Pettitte insisted when he retired that his potential role as a witness played no role in his decision.
Jury selection for Clemens’ new trial begins on April 16.
Pettitte has compiled a 240-138 record and a 3.88 ERA in 13 seasons with the Yankees and three with the Houston Astros. He is a three-time All-Star, a two-time 20-game winner and a member of five Yankees world championship teams.
WRITTEN BY Information from ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand and The Associated Press was used in this report & FULL STORY HERE