Hip Hip...

Hip Hip...

Congrats to Jorge on his new 4yr $52mm deal. While we are certainly overpaying for a guy on the tail-end of his career, all of the change and uncertainty swirling around the composition of the '08 Yanks made it imperative Jorge was brought back. Hopefully we will see a similar announcement regarding Mo soon.

Molina is an excellent defensive #2 catcher and is a good compliment to Jorge for this year. Resigning Jorge and Molina guarantees us 'plus' personel at the position in '08. Going forward, however, there is no clear-cut heir apparent yet within the organization.

After the '08 season the following are set to be free agents:

(*Team or Player Option)
Rod Barajas PHI
Henry Blanco * CHC
Johnny Estrada MIL
Toby Hall * CWS
Kenji Johjima SEA
Mike Lieberthal LAD
Adam Melhuse TEX
A.J. Pierzynski CWS
Mike Redmond * MIN
Ivan Rodriguez DET
David Ross * CIN
Javier Valentin CIN
Jason Varitek BOS
Vance Wilson DET
Gregg Zaun * TOR

The only moderately attractive bat on that list is Kenji Johjima who will be 33 half-way through the '09 season.

Signing Jorge was the smart move; now we need to develop a catcher from within that he can pass the reigns to starting in '09.