The New York Yankees have arguably the best farm system in baseball. Here is a small list of some of the top prospects.

Tyler Austin, 3B:   The young prospect has good lateral range and a great arm.  Like many developing prospects, he needs to be more consistent on defense and remain focused. At the plate Austin shows solid plate discipline, good pop at the plate, and is capable of stealing plenty bases at will.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees are very close to have agreed to send right-hander A.J. Burnett to Pittsburgh and are expecting to take the proposal to the waiting on the commissioner’s office Friday for approval, sources said.

The Pirates are expected to send a pair of prospects to the Yankees and take on $13 million of Burnett’s salary, sources said.

The commissioner’s office will need to approve the deal because of the money involved, as the Yankees will eat about $20 million of the $33 million still owed Burnett for the last two seasons of his contract, sources said.

As a Yankee the past three seasons, Burnett is 34-35 with a 4.79 ERA. He is 121-111 with a 4.10 ERA in 13 seasons with the Yankees, Blue Jays and Marlins.

Once the Burnett deal is complete, the Yankees will begin their attention to a veteran designated hitter, sources said.

According to sources, Yankees’ brass have their eyes set on Raul Ibanez — who wants to play for the team — to be their designated hitter against right-handers, partly because they believe he can give them some days of outfield play.

Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are also options.

A few weeks ago, the New York Knicks were a dysfunctional team five plus games under .500. Now, they’re a dangerous team on the rise. With the emergence of Jeremy Lin at the point guard position, Amar’e Stoudemire returning from personal matters and Carmelo Anthony return from injury the Knicks look solid at every position.

If that wasn’t enough, J.R. Smith tweeted Friday that he has decided to join Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and phenom Jeremy Lin in New York.

“New York Knicks It Is!” he posted on his Twitter account.

Smith — a career 37 percent 3-point shooter — adds tremendous outside shooting to D’Antoni’s open offense, spreading the floor for Stoudemire and Anthony.

The Pirates and Yankees have agreed on the numbers but not the players. The Pirates are rumored to be willing to pay $13-15MM of the $33MM, while the Yankees will absorb the $19-23MM owed to Burnett. However, the two players the Pirates are willing to trade don’t sit well with the Yankees.

According to Joel Sherman of NY Post, there could be up to four teams interested in Burnett. Two of the teams are the Royals and Indians.

The Yankees will likely trade Burnett in the next few days, however, they want to make sure no stone is left unturned. With Burnett moving, the Yankees will try to sign Eric Chavez and left-handed DH with the money saved from the Burnett trade.

This week the New York Knicks expect their two superstars to come back and join Jeremy Lin in the starting five. It maybe music to the ears of Knicks’ fans, however, there has been concerns on how Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony will fit in with Lin and the up-tempo style of basketball that has led to five straight wins.

In Stoudemire’s case, I think the emergence of Lin will help Stoudemire become more efficient on the offensive end. Pick and roll sets, similar to ones in Phoenix with Nash and Stoudemire will definitely help the All-star power forward out. While Anthony — more of an isolation type player — may need to make adjustments.

“When I get back Jeremy will have the ball in his hands and I’m playing off of that,” Anthony said on Monday.

With five wins, the Jeremy Lin show must continue.

Anthony said on Monday after missing practice due to a strained right groin. “My teammates know that. But to say, ‘How can I fit in?’ It’s easy; give him the ball and space out. I get back to doing what I know how to do best. So we’ll see.”

The return of Stoudemire and Anthony should benefit Lin, I see Lin’s point production dropping but his assists per game should be double-digits.

After the trade for Pineda and some strong arms in the farm system, the Yankees have a surplus of pitching heading into spring training. Rather than have deep pitching, GM Brian Cashman is looking unload one of its pricier underachieving pitcher. Owed  $33 million AJ Burnett fits the mold.

Burnett, 34, went 11-11 last season with a 5.14 ERA in 32 starts for the Yankees. It marked the second consecutive season that the right-hander posted an ERA above 5.00, and the fourth year the hurler failed to post a sub 4.00 ERA. The former 18-game-winner, however, has been able to pitch 185 innings-or-more in each of the past four years.

According to CBS Jon Heyman, the Yankees at least initially asked the Pirates to pay well more than one-third of the $33 million, something closer to a 50-50 split of the financial obligation to Burnett.

The move would allow the Yankees to clear some salary  to sign position players, namely Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon as possible DH candidates and Eric Chavez as a reserve.

Playing in his second Super Bowl, Giants’ Justin Tuck looks to keep his lunch down this time around.

Justin Tuck joined WFAN in New York with Mike Francesa to talk about whether there are any concerns about being in downtown Indy surrounded by lots of fans that are partying all week before the game, how the feeling is about the team this week compared to Super Bowl XLII, what it means to him to once again play in the Super Bowl, if the defense is invincible, and what he thinks he learned from playing in the big game once already.

The Yankees to looking to solidify their bench are in serious talks with Bill Hall.

According to Ken Rosenthal via Twitter, the Yankees are in serious talks with utility man Bill Hall. Rosenthal thinks Hall could reprise a 2010 Red Sox-type role, and notes that the 32-year-old works out in the offseason with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long.

Looking to fill their DH spot, the Yankees have shifted their sites on Raul Ibanez.

According to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, the Yankees have interest in Raul Ibanez. Ibanez has drawn interest — in recent weeks — from a number of clubs, including the Mets and Tigers.

Ibanez posted a .245/.289/.419 line with 20 home runs in 575 plate appearances as the Phillies’ everyday left fielder last year. The 39-year-old could provide the Yankees with an option at designated hitter or in the corner outfield positions. He owns a .286/.351/.488 line against right-handed pitching in 16 MLB seasons.

During a conference call to discuss the Michael Pineda trade, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke briefly about the opening at designated hitter and  the possibility of trading AJ Burnett. Cashman said the free agent market for a DH would be his ‘secondary’ focus in trying to fill the vacancy. Rather, he will “first and foremost” look at the trade market to fill the vancancy.

“Maybe I use our excess pitching to find a bat,” Cashman said. “That’s a possibility.”

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears the Burnett trade market is non-existent, even to the point of using a “pie in the sky” hashtag to describe the Yankees’ chances of moving the veteran right-hander.

The excess would be AJ Burnett, however, he has no trade value at the moment.