Andy Pettitte is back. So is my blog! It’s been awhile since I’ve written, and we can all thank the real #46, not Donovan Osborne, for making that happen.

I won’t lie – I was shocked when I returned from getting my car re-registered at the DMV this past Friday and saw my Twitter timeline filled with fans referencing the original tweet from @JackCurryYES reporting Pettitte’s return to the Yankees on a minor league deal. Nobody knows how long it will be for, though I do think it’d be great if he tried to stick around long enough to make a run at Whitey Ford’s all-time franchise record of 236 wins, which Pettitte trails by 33 entering this season.

That’s another issue for another time though. Right now, I’m wondering how the Yankees rotation will shake out once Pettitte is ready to go. Here’s my take.

Brian Cashman has said Andy won’t go north with the team right when Spring Training finishes, so the situation might just work itself out during the year as so many others have through the years. Maybe someone gets hurt and Pettitte slides into their spot. We can’t assume injuries though. If everyone’s in good health and the roster remains as it is, that would leave six pitchers for four rotation spots. I say that because we all know CC Sabathia is in, and some people like to think Michael Pineda isn’t.

It all starts with Sabathia, the horse, and after 16 wins plus a sub-4 ERA last season, Ivan Nova earned himself a seat at the table as well. Then there’s Pineda, whose velocity in Yankees camp has been the biggest topic of conversation since…well…Phil Hughes’ velocity last year. It’s Spring Training. Stop with the radar guns for now. If velocity is down in June, then maybe there’s a problem. Some people also like to make a big deal about Pineda’s rough ending to last season. BREAKING NEWS: rookies struggle. Pineda also made the A.L. All-Star team in his first year, and the Yankees traded arguably the biggest prospect in baseball, Jesus Montero, in order to land him. In no way do I believe Pineda is in legit danger of starting the year with the Triple-A “Empire State” Yankees (we’ll see you soon, Scranton-WB). The kid stays in the picture.

So that leaves us with Freddy Garcia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Hughes, the same righty who dominated out of the bullpen in 2009.

Why, we can just slide him into the ‘pen, no problem, right? Well, I may have advocated for that if David Robertson’s foot injury was serious, but it’s not. Cashman has said in the past that he sees Hughes as a front of the rotation type starter, and numerous reports out of Tampa would have fans believe that the fifth starter derby has been skewed in favor of Hughes over Garcia. Hughes will turn 26 in June, and he’s healthy. It’s time to see what he can give the Yankees as a full time starting pitcher. Period. He’s in my rotation.

That leaves the veterans, Garcia and Kuroda. I can’t see both of them in the same bullpen, and they have one –year contracts. Only one has a no-trade clause: Kuroda.

The 37-year-old has said he’s preparing for this season as if it will be his last. He also has said that he joined the Yankees with the hope of winning a World Championship. In my pitching plan, he goes to the bullpen as the team’s long man, albeit an expensive one. Yes, he was signed for $10 million to perform his usual role as a starter, and I understand that he was the only pitcher aside from Sabathia who Joe Girardi name checked last month as being assured of a rotation spot. The picture, however, is changing with Pettitte now in the fold. It might seem crazy to have such a pricey pitcher in the bullpen, and who knows if Kuroda’s mechanics would translate there, but hey, the Yankees have gotten lesser returns out of other pitchers who were committed for more years and many more dollars. In that role, Kuroda would also act as a terrific insurance policy if something did happen to one of the rotation starters.

Finally, we come to Garcia, who performed so well last season after making the Yankees on a minor league contract. Not that I would expect a market for him to be huge, but I see him as trade bait. He’s proven he can still be effective and he’s only on a contract of around $4 million for one year. Garcia deserves better after his performance in 2011, and as MLB insider Jon Heyman recently pointed out, Garcia has to approve any trade prior to June 16, but that's an obstacle that may be able to be worked around. The situation reminds me a bit of last spring, when the presence of six capable starters, including Garcia, made Sergio Mitre expendable and brought back a useful piece from Milwaukee, Chris Dickerson.

So if everything holds serve, and Pettitte is ready to join a fully healthy pitching staff, that’s my rotation: Nova, Pineda, Pettitte, and Hughes in no particular order after Sabathia’s ace designation. Kuroda to the bullpen, and Garcia on the trade block.

That is, of course, unless Mike Mussina comes out of retirement in a few days when I go to get my tires rotated.