Yankees Rumors: Andy Pettitte Not Close to Being Ready

Andy Pettitte “does not look close to ready”, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Having signed out of retirement with the New York Yankees, Pettitte is coming off his worst minor league rehab performance of the season, as he allowed five runs over five innings Sunday.  Rosenthal spoke with a rival scout who said that Pettitte “will need several more starts at Triple-A before he is ready to pitch in the majors”.

Following Pettitte’s last start, it was expected that the veteran left-hander would require an additional appearance in the minors before joining the Yankees.  However, according to the unnamed scout Rosenthal spoke with, Pettitte’s pitches “lacked crispness” even though they were hitting 86 to 88 mph regularly.

Pettitte did manage to push his pitch count into the 90’s Sunday, and he sports an ERA and WHIP of 3.71 and 1.294 over his four starts.  Still, Pettitte may have to post more promising totals than eight hits, two walks and five runs over five innings at the Triple-A level before the Yankees agree to hand him the ball.

Rosenthal did note that right-hander Phil Hughes may have provided the Yankees with some additional time by logging his first quality start of the season Sunday.  Hughes picked up his second win of the year by holding the Kansas City Royals to three runs on six hits and seven strikeouts over his 6 2/3 innings of work.

The Yankees starting rotation has struggled in a big way and the depth they had entering the season is fading fast.  While Hughes latest start may give Yankees fans hope, New York has already moved Freddy Garcia to the bullpen and their starter’s ERA is an ugly 5.54.

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