Garcia back in Yankees' rotation

In reaching agreement with Freddy Garcia on a one-year contract for about $5 million, the Yankees retained a veteran pitcher they liked and alleviated their anxiety about engaging in a free-agent market that doesn't impress them and a trade market that doesn't encourage them.

Garcia, 35, will earn about $5 million to pitch for the Yankees next year, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed. The New York Times first reported that Garcia and the Yankees were closing in on a deal.

Garcia was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) in 2011. He and Bartolo Colon stunned the Yankees with excellent results in 2011, helping the team record an American League-leading 97 victories. A Garcia return particularly interested the Yankees because he pitched fairly well for the White Sox in 2010, because of Garcia's leadership in the clubhouse and because of his youth relative to Colon, 38.

With Garcia on board, the Yankees can be more discriminating as they pursue upgrades to their starting rotation -- although, to be clear, they still want one more established arm. C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson are among the high-profile free agents that interest them, and on the trade front, the White Sox's John Danks and the Athletics' Gio Gonzalez capture their fancy.

The Yankees also like Yu Darvish, the righthander whom the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are likely to post, but there is internal doubt whether managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner will authorize the funds necessary to sign Darvish -- it could be as much as $100 million, between the posting fee and the contract -- in the wake of the Yankees' failed signing of Kei Igawa.