New York Yankees need to move Sabathia to bullpen
For years, it has been suggested that the American League East is the toughest division in all of baseball. Most fans know that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are two of baseball’s financially strong teams. The Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays are in constant battle trying to dethrone the big bad Yankees and Red Sox.
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The 2015 New York Yankees are playing much better than anyone expected this year. They are 8 games over .500 and proving the detractors wrong. They are showing that the organization has the strength to keep up with the other young rosters of the American League East.
Troubled star Alex Rodriguez has returned to the team and produced successfully. He appears not to have missed a step and there are no immediate indications that the lost 2014 season has slowed down his game. He has 18 home runs and 51 RBI heading into a weekend series against the Seattle Mariners.
Mark Teixeira has been known to be injury prone and he is playing remarkably well manning first base. Teixeira has 22 home runs and 62 RBIs and is hitting up a storm.
The issue for concern for the Bronx Bombers has to be what to do with their star number-one pitcher, C.C. Sabathia. He has pitched 100.1 innings and has 4 wins to his record. He has lost 8 games and has a 5.47 ERA. That is not good for an ace starting pitcher in New York. There’s a lot of pressure to win each and every season and, say what you will, the division appears to be easier to win than ever before. All five teams have positives about their team but they all have signs of significant weaknesses as well.
The Yankees have 74 games left to play in the 2015 campaign. C.C. Sabathia is a proven winner and has had a fantastic career. It has taken him to play with the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers before landing in New York in 2009.
The starting rotation has consisted of Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova, Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda. The Yankees’ ‘forgotten child’ Adam Warren has proven to be a valuable pitcher. He has pitched in 20 games, with 14 of those in the starting rotation. The depth and health of the rotation has allowed the team to move him out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. Warren has shown signs of displeasure with the move. He has kept relatively quiet about his dislike about the change and has been the quality professional. Pineda and Eovaldi have been the co-aces of the rotation with Sabathia being the experienced, overpriced ‘project’.
There are many starting pitchers available for sale before the July 31 trade deadline. Pitchers Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels and Scott Kazmir are available as top commodities on the market. The Yankees have never been gun-shy at making trades and adding the missing piece.
It may not be a long shot to anticipate the Yankees to add a starting pitcher. Sure, they could add one of these guys listed above. If they were to add one of them, the questions will begin to surface about what exactly to do with Sabathia.
There is blinding loyalty that if you are a starting pitcher with years of service, it is forbidden to move the superstar to the bullpen. Sabathia has won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009. Fans of the Yankees and the team management need to look at the facts, and this year Sabathia has simply not cut the mustard. He currently leads the team in losses and while C.C. Sabathia is owed a considerable salary next year, as long as he keeps his left shoulder healthy, it is probably a safe assumption that C.C. will remain in the rotation.
It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi manages the rest of the season. The clear and obvious answer is that Warren deserves to be in the rotation ahead of Sabathia. The thing to watch for the second half of the season is where Sabathia fits in relation to the rotation. Does Girardi continue to keep his floundering heavyweight starter in the rotation and risk losing a playoff date? Does he do the proper thing and move Sabathia to the bullpen?
As always, the New York Yankees will leave you talking and will either leave you elated or pulling the hair out of your head in frustration over a questionable move.