Based on a series of text messages between Andy Pettitte and Mark Teixeira, the first baseman believes the left-hadned pitcher is “leaning toward retirement.” However, Teixeira hopes that his teammate will return to New York’s rotation for at least one more season, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley.

“I think, like everyone else [thinks], if he’s leaning one way, he’s probably leaning towards retiring,” Teixeira said on Tuesday. “I think that’s what he’s publicly said. It’s no secret right now. That’s probably where he’s leaning. But in a month and a half, a lot can happen.”

“Selfishly of course, I love Andy Pettitte like a brother. He’s such a great player. He’s such a great teammate. I would hate to not play with him this year,” Teixeira added.“But his family is obviously No. 1 to him and if [returning to the Yankees] is not going to be in his plans then we’re going to wish him the best of luck and when he comes back on Legends Day we’ll give him a big hug and tell him we miss him.”

Last week, GM Brian Cashman sounded like he was moving forward as if Pettitte is not going to return for 2011.

“We’re obviously focused on the available markets to us and those players on the free-agent market and trade market that will be available. Andy currently is not one of those guys. If he chooses to be, obviously he knows we’d love to talk to him.”

While there’s an obvious competitive desire for Pettitte to continue his career, there are two factors that will ultimately affect Pettitte’s decision: 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 previously 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 be aggressively pursuing Pettitte.