Yankees, Raul Ibanez share mutual interest in return

The New York Yankees and veteran outfielder/designated hitter Raul Ibanez share a mutual interest in having the lefty slugger return to the Bronx next season, reports Ken Davidoff of the New York Post:

Ibanez hopes the fun will continue… he intends to keep playing and his first choice is to re-sign with the Yankees.

"If I get an opportunity to play for the Yankees again," he said, "it would be fantastic."

The Yankees have significant interest in retaining Ibanez… but they’ve asked Ibanez to hang tight while they resolve the situations with their starting pitchers and Mariano Rivera.

The 40-year-old Ibanez hit .240/.308/.453 with nineteen home runs in one hundred thirty games for the Yankees this season, receiving most of his at-bats against right-handed pitching. While his regular season performance was nothing to write home about, his three crucial late-inning home runs in the playoffs have likely endeared him to the Yankee faithful for life.

Now a seventeen-year MLB veteran, Ibanez is a career .278/.340/.470 hitter.