Capping off a tumultuous offseason in which the Yankees seemed to have been denied every player they really wanted, Andy Pettitte has decided to retire. While we can hold out hope that Andy changes his mind at some point and joins the club for the second half ala Roger Clemens, this leaves the Yankees with very little margin for error in their rotation. They need CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and AJ Burnett to pitch well, and have to get decent production from at least one of their young pitchers or reclamation projects. They still project to win about 90 games and to be better than the other wild card contenders, but the gap between them and their closest competitors is very slim, such that one injury to a top 3 starter could really hurt their chances of making the postseason. There is no way to spin this as anything other than a blow to the Yankees championship hopes.

As for Andy, he is a fan favorite here in New York, and rightfully so. For many of us, watching him blossom from a prospect into a rotation stalwart was an important element of the beginning of our Yankee fandom, as Ben Kabak eloquently notes:

I grew up with Andy Pettitte. I was 12 and he was 23 when he came up to pitch in the Majors. I saw him morph from a prospect to a team leader and a stalwart in the rotation. I’ll certainly miss his stare, his familiar leg kick, his pick-off move and the fact that he would pitch every five days and give it his all. We’re all growing up and getting older, and it just won’t be the same in the Bronx without him.

There will be a lot of eulogizing done over the next few days, both for Andy’s career and for the Yankees 2011 season. Discussions of Andy’s Hall of Fame worthiness are likely to dominate the former, while gratuitous shots at Brian Cashman and the Yankee front office are likely to characterize the latter. We will address these issues over the next few days. For now, let’s just tip our caps to a great Yankee. Andy Pettitte will be missed.

From Bob Klapisch:

#Yankees are prepared for Pettitte to tell them he’s retiring, saying “everything” points that way. Decision should come this week.

The Yankees had said that they were already moving forward as if Andy was not returning, but you have assume that his official retirement would exacerbate their pitching issues and accelerate any timeline for obtaining a starter. If he does announce that he is leaving, I would expect the Yankees to move quickly on low-risk type guys such as Jeff Francis, and to explore possible trades with a bit more interest. If they start the season with Sergio Mitre in the rotation, I will be shocked. Regardless, this news is blow to the Yankees rotation, and will require Brian Cashman to get creative with his pitching moves. Hopefully, he is up for the task.

From @BobKlap:

Yankees heard from friend of Pettitte’s that he’s def retiring, altho that was three weeks ago. Still waiting on his decision.

Obviously, Andy’s retirement would be a big blow for the Yankees. It would make acquiring Cliff Lee even more imperative, and would force the Yankees to consider addressing the other hole in their rotation by going outside of the organization. The free agent market is fairly bare in terms of suitable starting options, so a trade would need to be explored. We will have more on this as it develops.

Update: Friend of the blog Craig Calcaterra has an opposing report, stating:

Source close to Pettitte tells me that while you never know with Pettitte, the expectation is that he’s coming back.

Sounds like a decision has yet to be reached.

Update: Brian Cashman said that Pettitte told him after the season that he was leaning towards retirement. He added that he spoke to Andy’s agent about 7-10 days ago, and was told that Andy is still leaning in that direction.