Yankees rumors: Sticking with in-house catching options

The New York Yankees did not extend an offer to free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski before he signed with the Texas Rangers, and the club is currently prepared to head into 2013 with a backstop trio of Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart and Austin Romine, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:

#yankees did NOT make an offer to AJ pierzynski. plan at present is to go with cervelli/stewart/romine

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 21, 2012

Entering the offseason, the Yankees were the favorite to sign Russell Martin. After being added as a free agent prior to the 2011 season, Martin posted a productive two years with New York. Without a clear replacement option on their roster, the Yankees figured to re-sign the backstop this winter.

However, Martin received a more lucrative offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates that the Yankees were unable to match given their financial limitations. With Martin, Pierzynski, Geovany Soto and David Ross are off the market, the Yankees have few options remaining beyond their current in-house trio.

Cervelli has hit .271/.339/.353 over five seasons with the Yankees as a backup behind the plate. Stewart, a career reserve player, has hit .217/.281/.302 over parts of six seasons in the bigs. While Romine was once considered one of the top prospects in baseball, he’s coming off an injury-plagued 2012 campaign.