So it looks like Joba Chamberlain will likely have to undergo Tommy John Surgery and as a result will be out for about a year. With Rafael Soriano, Damaso Marte and Pedro Feliciano all currently on the DL the Yankees bullpen is running out of arms. The Yankees bullpen has been very good so far this year and they have been able to live with the injuries, because Soriano was easily replaced with Joba and We already had a lefty in the bullpen and out bullpen is good at getting out Lefty's anyway. With Joba's injury Robertson is moved in to the set up role and the Yankees bullpen now feels off due to Robertson's previous role as the fireman. Cashman has recently stated that he does not expect Feliciano or Sorianol back soon and so in my mind the Yankees are likely looking for an a high level RHP and a LOOGY because as much as I like Boone Logan he is not doing a good job as the LOOGY this year. The Yankees may look internally for bullpen help or look to trade for relief help. The Yankees called up Kevin Whelan who had been doing a great job of closing in AAA Scranton and after a bad first appearance, he bounced back with an outing of 1 K and 1 BB in 1 IP after walking 4 batters in .2 innings of work. The Yankees also called up Jeff Marquez who will likely be used as the long man and they have indicated that they could use Hector Noesi in the bullpen as more than just a long reliever, which likely means that Lance Pendelton will be sent down for Brian Gordon who the Yankees will officially sign 6/15 at 6pm unless he is called up by the Phillies. Four other Internal options that may be used are LHP's Randy Flores and Greg Smith as well as RHP's Corey Wade and possible Tim Norton although he is currently on the DL right now. Wade is the most likely to be called up as he sports very good numbers in AAA with a 1.23 ERA and an 8.3 k/9 rate and his numbers in the majors aren't bad.
If the Yankees do choose to look outside the organization for bullpen help then they will likely look to a number of teams that have or will soon become sellers. Several names that frequently come up are K-Rod, Kerry Wood, The entire bullpen of the Twins ans A's and Joakim Soria. Soria and Wood are very unlikely especially Soria who has regained his closer role with the Royals who along with the Indians and the Nationals are very close to contending in the next few years and Wood's price is to low for the Cubs to want to trade away. K-Rod is a definite possibility, but the Mets arent eager to trade with the Yankees I think that the Rangers will end up with him as they need really need bullpen help, but if the Rangers make other moves to shore up their bullpen then K-Rod does become more likely because I doubt he will be used as the closer for any team after his trade. Even then though the Mets will likely want bullpen help in exchange and the Red Sox and the Tigers may be able to give more for K-Rod than the Yankees will offer. Bullpen help sells high every year and teams like San Diego with a MLB leading 2.35 Bullpen ERA will be able to get a lot of return for that, remember top prospect Wilson Ramos was traded by the Twins for Matt Capps and the Twins are still sporting the worst Bullpen ERA in the majors. The Twins bullpen is in shambles and their bullpen may not help anyone, but if San Diego, Florida or Oakland decide to sell then they could get some good players back especially since all 3 AL division leaders are ranked in the bottom 10 in worst Bullpen ERA, (ironically all 3 NL division leaders are in the top 3).
The Yankees are actually fairly well off, but ideally they would like 1 more solid RHP and a LOOGY and they will likely try and solve the problems internally, but this bullpen has not been tested yet in a tight game and they may bite the bullet and overpay for an 8th inning rental guy. We all do need to thank Luis Ayala for being spectacular especially considering that he was a spring training invitee and right now he is our only solid MR arm.
Showing posts with label Bullpen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bullpen. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Former Yankees: The Pitchers
The Yankees had 10 different pitchers who were with the team in 2010 and are now elsewhere. The Reason I did Chan Ho Park separate was because he is actually the only one who was released during the season. 9 other pitchers spent time in the rotation, bullpen or both.
The man with the name Jonathan Albaladejo, he was the closer in AAA Scranton last year and his numbers were phenomenal with a 1.42 ERA and 43 saves. However with the Yankees Albaladejo was unimpressive sporting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, which is especially annoying considering that we traded Tyler Clippard for this guy and he has been good with the Nationals since being moved to the bullpen. Granted Albaladejo had been good with the Nats before coming to the Yankees and the AL east is a different beast. Albaladejo asked to be released after the season so that he could sign with the Yomiuri Giants, The Yankees received some type of compensation for Albaladejo and he just got his first win in Japan after failing to earn the closers job for the Giants. I expect that he could be back in the majors next year and i was a little surprised he had no trade interest as some bullpens could really use him and hope to catch his AAA magic in an easier division.
Another former Pitcher who likely wont have much of an impact this year is LHP Royce Ring. He only pitched 2.1 innings with the bombers and was awful giving up 4 runs. The former first round pick has had a disappointing MLB career spending only 1 full year in the majors where he was beyond bad with a 8.46 ERA in 42 appearances. His only positive is a good HR/9 rate, but its amazing what being a lefty will do for you. He's not on the Seattle 40 man, but his good AAA numbers means the 30 year old could earn another cup of coffee with a MLB team.
Javier Vazquez: There is a lot to say about Vazquez and I don't want to say it all. We traded two top pitching prospects in Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, as well as fan favorite OF Melky Cabrera for Vazquez. Vazquez had a sub 3 ERA in 2009, but the Yankees only needed him to repeat his numbes with the White Sox which was of a mid rotation innings eater with a lot of strike outs. The Yankees hoped that Vazquez could serve the team until some of their pitching prospects developed in the next few years, that didn't happen and the Yankees lost some real good pieces in that trade. Vazquez signed a 1 year $7 million deal with the Marlins who thought he would bounce back with a return to the NL. That proved to be untrue so far until his most recent start where he 3 hit the Rays through 7 innings. His fast ball has remained bad and will have to wait and see how this year turns out for him.
Mark Melancon was a prospect who was viewed highly and as a future key man out of the Bullpen perhaps even the successor to Mariano. He only pitched 20.1 innings with the Bombers before he was traded to the Astros for Lance Berkman. Many people have decried this trade especially since he was good with the Astros last year and this year he has really been the only good one in their bullpen and is now closing for Houston. Again hard to know if he would ever have been sucessful as a Bomber, but we wont have to face him very often to find out if we regret this trade.Best of luck to you in Houston Mark.
Chad Gaudin was a Yankee who was brought in as a Starter in 2009, where we won every game he pitched. He competed for the 5th starter job in 2010 spring training, didnt make it and was cut and signed by the A's. When he was cut by the A's we brought him in as our Lets just get this over with guy. He boasted a 4.5 ERA through 48 innings and his biggest contribution was a very attractive girlfriend and now wife by the name of Syndal Gordan. My girlfriend informed me that their wedding and dress picking out was on TLC. After the season he was cut and signed with the Nationals where he was mediocre before going on the DL with Shoulder trouble and he could be out for awhile.
Segio Mitre, the experience if you will, was traded in spring training for Chris Dickerson. The Brewers needed another bullpen arm espchily a long reliver/spot starter as Greinke was on the DL and Chris Dickerson has the potential to be a decent all around backup and is a better backup lefty bat option than Colin Curtis, i wrote about this trade here. The Yankees didn't need Mitre and getting Dickerson was a steal because they probably would have just released him if not for the trade. Mitre posted a career year in 2010 with a decent 3.33 ERA, but no wins and fans did not like "the experience" despite a good job as the long man in 2010. Mitre has been very good with the Brewers posting a sub 2 ERA in 21 inning of work so far and while that is likely not where he will finish the year he will likely be more appreciated in Milwaukee than he was in New York.
Kerry Wood has had a very interesting career formerly being one of the top starters in baseball before burning out his arm. He then moved to the bullpen where he was very effective and signed a two year deal with the Indians before the 2009 season. He struggle in Cleveland and was traded to New York where he posted an unreal 0.69 ERA in 26 innings. The Yankees declined his $11 Million option for 2011 but were reportedly still considering him before he turned down more money to sign a 1 year $1.5 Million deal to return to the Cubs. He has been pretty good with the Cubs so far posting a 2.41 ERA. Wood apparently really wanted to resign with the Cubs, but in retrospect picking up his option may have been a good idea as Carl Pavano 2.0 aka Rafiel Soriano is being paid $35 million over 3 year and may need season ending elbow surgery. The Yankees will definitely miss Wood this season and all genitalia related jokes that now cannot be said while watching the Yankees (however we do have Dickerson).
Dustin Mosely began the season with AAA Scranton after spending parts of each of the last 4 years with the Angels. He took Pettitte's spot in the rotation after looking better than Mitre and was overall mediocre in the rotation and poor in the bullpen. He was non tendered after the season and signed with the Padres. He became something of note for going winless in his first 5 starts despite a sub 2 ERA. however his most recent starts have been mediocre to bad, but his most recent on May 23rd was again good but no run support. Some may show this as the Yankees missing out but we saw what he did in the AL East and I don't miss him.
The Reason we don't still have Alfredo Aceves is a mystery to me. I know he missed almost the entire 2010 season because of his back and that he got into a motor cycle accident during the off-season, but the guy still had minor league options, was versatile as he could start or relive very well. On top of that he is only 28 and if we got something for Mitre we definitely could have got a return on Aceves. The worst part is that Aceves signed a deal with the Red Sox and has been good for them this year. I talked about it before he signed here and I am still upset about this as I would really really like to have Ace back right now. Of all the people that we lost/dealt Ace is the only one I just do not understand, Brain Cashman said that the Yankees Doctors thought his back would continue to be an issue, but seriously why non tender a guy with a 14-1 record and minor league options.
The man with the name Jonathan Albaladejo, he was the closer in AAA Scranton last year and his numbers were phenomenal with a 1.42 ERA and 43 saves. However with the Yankees Albaladejo was unimpressive sporting a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings, which is especially annoying considering that we traded Tyler Clippard for this guy and he has been good with the Nationals since being moved to the bullpen. Granted Albaladejo had been good with the Nats before coming to the Yankees and the AL east is a different beast. Albaladejo asked to be released after the season so that he could sign with the Yomiuri Giants, The Yankees received some type of compensation for Albaladejo and he just got his first win in Japan after failing to earn the closers job for the Giants. I expect that he could be back in the majors next year and i was a little surprised he had no trade interest as some bullpens could really use him and hope to catch his AAA magic in an easier division.
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| The man with the Name |
Javier Vazquez: There is a lot to say about Vazquez and I don't want to say it all. We traded two top pitching prospects in Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, as well as fan favorite OF Melky Cabrera for Vazquez. Vazquez had a sub 3 ERA in 2009, but the Yankees only needed him to repeat his numbes with the White Sox which was of a mid rotation innings eater with a lot of strike outs. The Yankees hoped that Vazquez could serve the team until some of their pitching prospects developed in the next few years, that didn't happen and the Yankees lost some real good pieces in that trade. Vazquez signed a 1 year $7 million deal with the Marlins who thought he would bounce back with a return to the NL. That proved to be untrue so far until his most recent start where he 3 hit the Rays through 7 innings. His fast ball has remained bad and will have to wait and see how this year turns out for him.
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| We saw the Javy sad face a lot |
Chad Gaudin was a Yankee who was brought in as a Starter in 2009, where we won every game he pitched. He competed for the 5th starter job in 2010 spring training, didnt make it and was cut and signed by the A's. When he was cut by the A's we brought him in as our Lets just get this over with guy. He boasted a 4.5 ERA through 48 innings and his biggest contribution was a very attractive girlfriend and now wife by the name of Syndal Gordan. My girlfriend informed me that their wedding and dress picking out was on TLC. After the season he was cut and signed with the Nationals where he was mediocre before going on the DL with Shoulder trouble and he could be out for awhile.
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| His wife is literally the first thing that comes up when you google him |
Kerry Wood has had a very interesting career formerly being one of the top starters in baseball before burning out his arm. He then moved to the bullpen where he was very effective and signed a two year deal with the Indians before the 2009 season. He struggle in Cleveland and was traded to New York where he posted an unreal 0.69 ERA in 26 innings. The Yankees declined his $11 Million option for 2011 but were reportedly still considering him before he turned down more money to sign a 1 year $1.5 Million deal to return to the Cubs. He has been pretty good with the Cubs so far posting a 2.41 ERA. Wood apparently really wanted to resign with the Cubs, but in retrospect picking up his option may have been a good idea as Carl Pavano 2.0 aka Rafiel Soriano is being paid $35 million over 3 year and may need season ending elbow surgery. The Yankees will definitely miss Wood this season and all genitalia related jokes that now cannot be said while watching the Yankees (however we do have Dickerson).
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| Wood is missed |
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| Do you have to grow a beard when you stop being a Yankee? |
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| Apparently it is a rule. You are missed Ace |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Good and Bad News 3/30/11
Today is the last day before Opening day and the Yankees have announced some good news and some bad news.
Good news:
For one baseball will start tomorrow at 1:05 pm at Yankee stadium and that is great news. Curtis Granderson is not only ok but he will be starting tomorrow, this is great news and I’m sure that he is fully healthy as I doubt the Yankees would start him tomorrow if he was not. Also the Yankees have been able to add Luis Ayala, Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to the 40-man roster without releasing anyone which leads to the bad news.
Bad news:
Colin Curtis, Reggie Corona and Damaso Marte are all starting the season on the 60 day disabled list and Francisco Cervelli and Pedro Feliciano will start the season on the 15 day disabled list. Cervelli is recovering from his broken foot so that was expected. Feliciano on the other hand went from a sore tricep to being diagnosed with a rotator cuff strain. That’s very unfortunate especially since Feliciano was signed due to his ability to be a workhorse and he has never been on the disabled list before. Hopefully Feliciano recovers soon he has been shut down for at least 10 days.
Other news:
The Yankees made it official and Gustavo Molina will start the year as the backup catcher for the Yankees until Cervelli comes back. Also if you haven’t heard Brett Gardner will bat leadoff tomorrow with Jeter in the 2 hole and I guarantee you that Michael Kay will talk about Jeter in the 2nd spot for the entire game tomorrow.
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