Yankees Playing Time Battles: Pitchers
We’ve started our annual Depth Chart Discussions, re-branded as Playing Time Battles for 2016. You can catch up on every team we’ve covered in the Playing Time Battles Summary post or following along using the Depth Chart Discussions tag.
Position battles? Not so much. Like with the cross town Mets, we’ll mostly talk about depth today. The rotation in particular looks brittle, and the options beyond the sixth guy are kind of terrifying.
Starting Pitchers
Barring a spring injury, the Yankees will break camp with Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi, and CC Sabathia in the rotation. Ivan Nova is the obvious sixth starter or long reliever. Notably, all of the top five may be restricted in some way.
After throwing about 160 innings last year, Severino will probably be capped at about 190 regular season innings. Maybe fewer if they want to lean on him in the postseason. With their stout bullpen, that’s still a full complement of starts, they’ll just be short starts.
Eovaldi had an elbow problem last year. Tanaka also had an elbow issue and had offseason surgery for a bone spur. He’s just started throwing off the mound, meaning any setbacks will result in a DL stint. Sabathia has a gimpy knee, and Pineda’s constantly hurt too. Even Nova is returning from injury.
This all adds up to a trainer’s nightmare. Adam Warren would have been a nice depth piece if they didn’t trade him for Starlin Castro. The club did pick up Luis Cessa from the Tigers. Cessa’s recent minor league performances include solid peripherals and ugly ERA’s. That’s often a sign of a hittable fastball.
If you’re looking for a surprise starter among the non-roster invitees, look elsewhere. Anthony Swarzak and Tyler Cloyd are the most recognizable names, and they’re quite bad. Bryan Mitchell, Caleb Smith, and Brady Lail may be able to soak up some innings, but they probably aren’t major league quality starters. It would make a lot of sense for the Yankees to sign Alfredo Simon.
Relievers
Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances – woof. Miller and Betances often throw more than one frame. This combination will lock down a lot of four inning saves in 2016.
The bullpen does thin out after Betances. Chasen Shreve is a solid LOOGY option, especially if he can recover his command. Mitchell, who may be needed for rotation depth, profiles best in relief. He’s a hard thrower without a lot of swing and miss to his game.
Fly ball pitcher Kirby Yates is an unusual fit in New York. Honestly, I don’t see him making the team. He’s a solid enough pitcher in the right environment – like PNC Park. Another fly ball guy, Branden Pinder has better stuff than Yates.
Former second round pick Jacob Lindgren could become a shutdown lefty specialist. Last season, he barely tipped 90 mph and threw piles of sliders. The velocity was disappointing. Vinnie Pestano is the most recognizable NRI in camp. He’s a ROOGY. Specialists are often a smart place to look for holds.
There are others, but they’ll all have a difficult time obtaining holds (let alone saves.)
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Miller threw more than 1 IP 8 times last year. That’s not often
Sorry, should have said “relatively” often.
:/
No value in James Pazos? Unfortunately for the Yankees, they’re going to need seven relievers, not four.
There are many aspects of Updike’s article and the book by Sexton that are related in many ways. They both mention that 57’ World Series, however, Updike goes into great detail about the event, while Sexton moves on to other facts relating to the history of baseball. Another part of Sexton’s book and the article by Updike that are related is the section when Sexton lists the ballplayers with their positions, teams, and MVP years on page 43, and the article by Updike mentioning this player as well. The player brought up in the list in the book that corresponds to the article is Mickey Mantle of the Yankees in the years 1956 and 1957.
My favorite guest that we had come to the English in Literature class is Mike Sielski and I was able to relate his story about baseball and his son Evan, to the son of Sexton, Jed. Sexton speaks about Jed when he discusses going to baseball games and rooting for the Yankees, but secretly rooting for the Dodgers. Sexton says his son “was eight years old and a fully engaged fan” (79). When Sielski brought up the love for baseball that he shares with Evan, I was moved and reminded of Sexton’s story. Sielski explained the joy that baseball, specifically the Philadelphia Phillies, brought to Evan. Evan was diagnosed with Autism and it moved Sielski a great deal. Sielski found that his son, no matter how awful the Phillies were playing, Evan always found comfort in the Phillies and baseball was a way for Sielski to connect with Evan. Sielski writes in his article, “Somehow, though, a Phillies game always reaches him. It is, for his daddy, the greatest irony of what promises to be a long, lousy baseball season here” (2014). Sexton connected with his son a great deal as well through the use of this great sport of baseball, just as Sielski does currently.
The article written by Updike relates to Mike Sielski’s talk in many ways. Sielski said during his speech that Evan was rooting for the Phillies, even though they were one of the worst teams in the league at that time, and in the article that Updike wrote, he states, “The Boston team was the worst in twenty-seven seasons” (1960). No matter how bad the Phillies were, his son still rooted for them and was a supporter of the team. In the Updike article, people still attended the games and were there to enjoy a game of baseball, even if the odds were against them.
Overall, I found that both the guests that joined us for the Baseball and Literature class to be very enlightening in their own ways. I found it interesting to hear about what it was like to be an umpire, Deacon Mike, for many different baseball teams of various ages. I enjoyed hearing Deacon Mike saying that everyone makes mistakes and it happens, even in professional sports, such as baseball. Mike Sielski, on the other hand, gave me a great bit of encouragement in a way. His son being diagnosed with autism really struck me, being that I am a mother. I found that the way he went about handling some of the difficulties with it through baseball to be inspiring.
Fer sure