Yankees finalize one-year, $10M deal with Rivera

NEW YORK (AP) -- As promised, Mariano Rivera is staying with the New York Yankees for another season.

After missing most of the season because of a knee injury, Rivera accepted a cut in guaranteed money when he finalized a one-year, $10 million contract Friday.

The all-time saves leader, who turned 43 on Thursday, took a cut from his $30 million deal that had covered the last two years. But he can earn an additional $500,000 if he is MVP of the league championship series, $1 million if he is MVP of the World Series and $1 million if he wins the Rolaids Relief Award.

Rivera was limited to nine games this year after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while tracking down a fly ball during batting practice in Kansas City on May 3.

"Like I've been saying, I didn't want to go out like that," Rivera said in a statement. "I didn't want that to be the last image. But it wasn't an easy decision because there's more than just baseball with me. I have to consider my family and the church, too. But I feel like we have a great group of guys and a team that can compete for a championship. I'm not just coming back to play. I'm coming back to win."

Rivera, with 608 saves in the regular season and 42 more in the postseason, is a 12-time All-Star. The Yankees say his recovery from knee surgery on June 12 will be complete by opening day.

With deals for Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda and Rivera in place, the Yankees will turn their attention to position players.

"I think we're having a successful early campaign to our winter because we've able to retain some high-end, high-caliber starting pitching," general manager Brian Cashman said during an appearance in Connecticut.

Catcher Russell Martin departed, finalizing a two-year, $17 million contract with Pittsburgh on Friday.

New York also agreed to a one-year contract with utilityman Jayson Nix that pays him $900,000 in the majors and $300,000 in the minors, then designated Nix and right-hander Mickey Storey for assignment. The Yankees claimed right-hander Jim Miller off waivers from Oakland.