Yankees Rumors: New York Not Targeting Relievers
The New York Yankees are not “aggressively” pursuing relievers in the wake of Mariano Rivera’s season-ending injury, reports CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman. According to Heyman, the Yankees are confident that in-house options Rafael Soriano and David Robertson can handle 8th and 9th inning duties. Some relief arms that are expected to hit the market this summer are Huston Street (Padres), Grant Balfour (A’s) and Brett Myers (Astros).
Before Rivera went down with a torn ACL, the Yankees had arguably the league’s best bullpen. Even without Rivera, New York’s crop of relievers still features several viable late-inning options.
David Robertson has been one of the best relievers in the game of baseball for the last year-plus. Some question how the right-hander will take to the role of closer, but the numbers he’s posted over the past two seasons would indicate that he’s a prime candidate to handle the 9th.
If for whatever reason Robertson should falter as the Yankees finisher, veteran right-hander Rafael Soriano also brings closing experience to the table. While Robertson has only tallied three saves over his entire five-year MLB career, Soriano compiled 45 saves for the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2010 season.
The other reason a trade for a late-inning arm seems improbable for the Yankees is the current list of available relievers. None of Huston Street, Grant Balfour or Brett Myers are that much if any better than the Yankees current duo of Robertson and Soriano. For this reason New York is not going to feel inclined to dish over the prospects or eat the salary the Padres, A’s and Astros will require to part with their pitchers.
For more on the Yankees be sure to check out Yanks Go Yard.
You can follow Call to the Pen on Twitter at @FSCalltothePen or like us here on Facebook.