The Yankees suffered an ugly loss on Wednesday afternoon. It was a game they were losing and looked flat but came back late, as this team has shown they’re capable of doing. Everything then went off the rails and they eventually lost in extras. During the game we were all wondering why Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller were unavailable. After the game it came out that Betances was being rested because they’re monitoring his work. No big deal, although it can be argued that Girardi has used him in unnecessary situations which has caused his innings to pile up. The more serious news however is that Andrew Miller was unavailable because he’s being placed on the disabled list with a forearm injury.
Quick side note: can the Yankees pitchers PLEASE stop hiding injuries from the training staff?!? First Whitley and now Miller. Apparently Miller had been dealing with pain in his forearm for a few days. I’m sure Girardi having to rush him into a FIVE RUN game last night for one out did not help matters, but perhaps if Miller had mentioned something he could have rested and it would have resolved itself. I’m all for guys manning up playing through pain, but save it for October and just get through June healthy.
Ok, back to the matter at hand. The Yankees have a serious problem in their bullpen. With Miller out for the next month or so, Betances will be the only reliable reliever in the pen. Girardi has already had to rely heavily on Miller and Betances all season. They have been excellent; its one of the biggest reasons this team is in first place. But other than those two guys it has been a crap-shoot. Esmil Rogers and Chris Capuano are long relievers and should not pitch unless its garbage time. The rest of the guys are better, but still unproven. Justin Wilson and Chasen Shreve have been solid but I would not trust them in the 8th with a lead each night. Lindgren, who gave up the lead today in the 8th, has just been ok. Yes I know he’s a rookie and we hope he’ll have a lot of success for this team but so far we have not seen it. We all hope Chris Martin will come back pitching like he was before he got injured, but that is another question mark. They also just signed Sergio Santos to a minor league deal, but I have a feeling he’s going to make us long for the days of David Carpenter. So what do the Yankees do?
Adam Warren needs to go back to the pen. Before today I would have never said that, but with Miller out I just do not see any other option. Warren has been a million times better than any of us thought he would be in the rotation. He’s had 5 starts in a row of 6 innings or more and 3 runs or less. 99.9% of the time you would NEVER take that guy out of the rotation because its easier to find a short reliever than it is a starter. But I think this is the exception to that rule. Warren was great in the pen last season; in 78.2 innings he had a 2.97 ERA. His stuff, which has been great lately in the rotation, is even better in the pen. He is a legit setup man and right handed. Their pen is loaded with lefties and right now and adding a righty like Warren would be just what they need.
So if I were calling the shots I would move Warren back to the pen after his next start. Ivan Nova has one more rehab start before he returns, so he will take Warren’s spot in the rotation. It also wont be easy telling Warren he’s being moved to the bullpen when his numbers in the rotation are better than Eovaldi and CC’s, but he needs to take one for the team. Its not an ideal situation to rely on a 5th starter coming off TJS but they just need to make it until Miller comes back. By that time someone else will be injured or under-performing and we’ll be back to square one.
Baseball is so funny. Yesterday we were discussing a potential 6 man rotation because we “have too much pitching.” These things always work out. The baseball season is a marathon and the team on top at the end is the team with the least amount of bodies on the ground. The Yanks just need to survive these injuries, like they have Ellsbury’s, and get to the stretch run healthy.
Jesus, you really can never have too much pitching… Thanks John Sterling!
