Chavez happy to be back with Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. -- It wasn't quite the Yankees or bust for Eric Chavez, but it was close.

"If there was no interest at all, in my mind I was probably going to shut it down," the 34-year-old Chavez said, meaning retirement. "I wouldn't say here or nowhere . . . The way everybody goes about their business here, it's very professional. And it became too appealing for me not to come back again."

He agreed to a one-year deal worth $900,000 plus incentives Tuesday, ending a process that started in earnest two weeks ago, Chavez said. Even before that, he had worked with hitting coach Kevin Long during the winter.

(The deal was not yet official Thursday; Chavez still has to pass a physical.)

Chavez hit .263 with a .320 OBP, two homers and 26 RBIs last season, spending May 6-July 25 on the DL with a fractured left foot. He'll be used primarily as a backup third baseman and at first on the rare days Mark Teixeira is rested.

"I'm happy the way things worked out," Chavez said. "The team looks fantastic. Looks like it's in position to win a lot of ballgames again."

Romine's back

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Austin Romine, who has an outside chance to win the backup catcher job, is likely to miss Friday's workout, though it's not considered serious. "His back's a little sore," Joe Girardi said. "He caught today, but we'll probably hold him out tomorrow."

Changeups need work

Girardi said he'd like to see three of his youngest pitchers -- Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes -- work on their changeups in spring training.

"They're younger guys that haven't pitched six, seven, eight years in the big leagues and haven't had time to develop new pitches," Girardi said. "They've been guys that have had to really go with two pitches that they have, or three, to compete at this level. We feel that now's the time that you are younger, that you can work on something."

Settling on No. 5

Conventional wisdom is that the job of fifth starter comes down to Hughes and Freddy Garcia. Garcia has not performed well in spring training in the past, but Girardi said he'll look beyond statistics in evaluating the pair.

"I don't get caught up so much in the numbers. It's more of how he's throwing the baseball," Girardi said. "To me, it's just watching how the ball's coming out of his hand. You've been taught don't get too caught up in the numbers in spring training, and I've heard that preached for a long, long time."