The saying goes, “you can never have too much pitching.”

As far starting pitchers go on the market, the two big names left are Carl Pavano and Andy Pettitte. Pavano is definitely playing in 2011, but Pettitte is on the edge of retirement.  So which of these two will sign next?.

Earlier today Rob Biertempfel of MLB.com said that the Pittsburgh Pirates would be interested in Pavano if his money and years demands are right.

Many have predicted that Pavano will return to the Minnesota Twins, including Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports. It’s not a for sure thing. The Washington Nationals will likely battle the Twins to get the right-hander. It was confirmed by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the Nationals were in on Zack Greinke before he went to the Milwaukee Brewers, so you can easily predict that they’ll go hard after Pavano. Pavano could fetch a deal similar to the three-year, $33 million deal that Ted Lilly signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in October.

Two factors will affect Pettitte’s decision to pitch in 2011: his desire to be closer to his family in their Houston, Texas home and the amount of money the New York Yankees want to offer. It’s been reported that Pettitte will return to New York if they offer him a contract that “isn’t insulting.” It’s believed that Pettitte may be unhappy with his previous pay structure – he’s the team’s number 2 pitcher, but he’s being paid like a number 4 starter. So far, no other teams have been known to have aggressively pursued Pettitte.