Veteran left-hander Chris Capuano will return to the Big Apple in 2015 after signing a one-year deal worth $5 million with the New York Yankees, per Jack Curry of YES Network.
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Last season, which he split between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, the southpaw worked in an array of roles – as both a reliever and a starting pitcher, although all of his 12 outings with New York were starts. In those dozen starts, Capuano went 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA, pitching to a 3.85 FIP and 1.310 WHIP in 65 2/3 innings of work. Similar to last season, the lefty will be insurance for manager Joe Girardi should the team’s starting rotation battle injuries once again in 2015.
Last season, Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka both suffered injuries, which cut their seasons short, and questions over C.C. Sabathia‘s effectiveness moving forward is also a major concern. In 2014, Sabathia made just eight starts and he fared little better the season prior, pitching to the tune of a 4.78 ERA, while seeing his strikeout-to-walk ratio plummet from 4.48 to 2.69. The Yankees’ return to the thick of the American League East is highly contingent upon his return to form, but, as mentioned, Capuano will serve as a suitable fill-in option if the need arises.
Capuano’s best season came back in 2012, when he made 33 starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers, racking up a career-high 198 1/3 innings to go along with a respectable 3.72 earned run average. Since then, he has hovered around 100 innings of work each year, although thanks to high inning totals early in his time in the big leagues, his career average for innings pitched per season sits in the 180 to 190 mark.
Joining the aforementioned Sabathia, Pineda and Tanaka in the Yankees rotation is David Phelps, Andy Warren and Ivan Nova – and although nothing official has materialized, speculation over the top free agent arm, Max Scherzer, continues to swirl on a near-daily basis.
Last season, Yankees pitchers notched a 3.75 ERA, but lost out on right-hander Brandon McCarthy, who joined the club mid-season. The veteran recently agreed to terms on a deal with the Dodgers after pitching well in New York during the season’s second half.