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Andy Pettitte is back in the Bronx.
The New York Yankees hired Pettitte as a franchise adviser on Saturday, marking his return to the team after his retirement in 2013. He spent 15 of his 18 MLB seasons with the franchise, earning three All-Star nods and five World Series championships.
He is the all-time franchise leader in strikeouts with 2,020 and is tied with Whitey Ford for most starts by a pitcher in a Yankees uniform. He was coming off a stint as pitching coach for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, helping the team reach the finals before losing to Japan.
Pettite’s hiring is the second high-profile addition for the Yankees this month, as the team fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson and replaced him with three-time All-Star Sean Casey.
The Yankees rank eighth in the MLB for team ERA at 3.71, and that’s a lot to keep the team afloat while the offense ranks 29th.
New York is 53-47 and in fourth place in the AL East. The Yankees are 8.5 games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles and 1.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot.
