Chan Hooooooooo

The Yankees signed Chan Ho Park to a 1 year, $1.2 million deal.

My take? Fine. They Yankees spent very little on a serviceable arm to add to the bullpen mix. But, this signing could make things more interesting than they look at face value, and of course those of us who cover the Yankees will go nuts over what was probably just a meaningless, depth-related signing. Does this mean that Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin could be used as trade bait? Maybe, but could they really fetch all that much on the open market when half-year pitchers like John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez are still lurking?

Although it seems every story about the Yankees includes these two names right now, could this be a move that effects Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes? Many of us scoffed at the notion that Joe Girardi would be holding an open competition for the fifth spot, assuming that it was a two man race. However, a move for an extra arm like Park could be viewed as solidifying the bullpen and freeing up Gaudin, Mitre, or even Alfredo Aceves' creamy goodness to become a starter. In this case, could Joba and Phil both end up in the bullpen? To me it still seems unlikely, as my money is on Hughes to win the spot regardless of who is in the competition, but it will give us something interesting to watch while players with jersey numbers in the 90's are playing all spring.