Cesar Tordesillas

Andy Pettitte will earn a base salary of $12 million plus potential awards bonuses in a one-year contract agreed upon with the Yankees.

New York designated catcher Eli Whiteside for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

After returning from the broken ankle, Pettitte went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 75 1/3 innings. He also went 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in three September starts and posted a 3.29 ERA in his two postseason starts. Despite not adding to his total in October, he remains the active postseason wins leader with 19.

"I definitely think that if I would have pitched a full season and thrown 200 innings, that I definitely wouldn't feel as fresh and physically feel as good as I do right now," Pettitte said.

Pettitte expressed confidence that the Yanks will be able to field a World Series contender in 2013, which also played into his quick decision to continue pitching.