The New York Yankees probably know what role they want Adam Warren to play this year. Warren seems to understand it, too, and that might be the best thing for him.
The New York Yankees pitching staff will ultimately decide the team’s fate. Throughout the season, starters will rise and fall, conquer and fail.
But rarely will they throw any complete games. And often they will leave with multiple innings still to cover.
That is likely where Adam Warren will come in. While no one has said any decisions have been made, this is not Warren’s first go-round. Anticipating both his and fellow righty Chad Green’s destination, he said:
"“We both have a feeling where we’re going to end up.”"
Translation: The bullpen. While that might not be the preference of either pitcher, it will probably end up the best thing for the Yankees. And the two players.
A Benefits Package
The benefit to the Yankees is obvious. It might take seven to ten starters to complete the 2018 campaign. However, it is likely to take at least twice that many relievers. And the more versatile these relievers are, the stronger the team is as a whole.
Warren knows that. He’ll initially be stretched out as a starter, a role he is unlikely to play much if at all this season. If 2018 is anything like 2017, Adam will get precisely zero starts.
But that isn’t the point for him. No, it is that he will be prepared once again to handle any assignment from multiple innings to a single batter.
If the Yankees do indeed follow their same blueprint from last year, they sure hope Warren has the same results. He appeared in 46 games last season, closing out seven of them. His ERA was excellent–2.35–but his WHIP was even better: 0.872.
But that is what happens when you give up only 15 walks in 57.1 innings.
In today’s game, it can be easy to gauge a reliever by strikeouts per inning. And while Warren acquitted himself well in this department, blowing away 51 batters, he would not be considered dominant in this regard.
In Control
He can accurately be described as controlling the game, though. That is what pitching is all about. And so his ultimate value for the Yankees came from being able to control the game whether he was in for one batter or ten.
Clearly the more multitaskers in the pen, the better the pitching staff overall. That would allow manager Aaron Boone the ability to rest almost any relief pitcher on virtually any day.
Of course, the ancillary benefit hopefully will be that key players will be fresh in September and beyond. This is an ideal scenario Warren himself pointed out.
"“My biggest hope is that we can interchange guys and be able to be ready for that run when it comes to October.”"
You can almost feel Yankees fans smiling after reading that quote.
He Can Feel It
While Warren already feels confident that Chad Green is ready to be a significant and malleable pitcher, he is also aware that he is now being counted on to help the less experienced but equally talented pitchers. That is more than okay with Adam; even it makes him feel a bit old.
"“It’s been fun to try to help some of the guys and I’m trying to embrace it as much as I can.”"
Arms, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Of course, the primary concern for pitchers is health. While that is something new for Warren, it is now a fact of his life.
For the first time in his career, Adam missed significant days during the season. First was a three-week stint in June/July with inflammation in his right shoulder, followed by back spasms in September. That necessitated another three-week trip to the DL.
When asked about it, Warren was his normal sanguine.
"“I feel good I feel strong…I felt healthy all offseason.”"
And this from a bit later where he comprehensively commented on his ten-year career:
"“I had one bad year as far as staying healthy, so hopefully, you know, nine out of ten’s pretty good.”"
Adam characterized his injuries as “freak” occurrences. The success of the Yankees pitching staff as a whole, however, will be no such thing. It will take all the players pitching in. And hungrily consuming any assignment, from the first inning to the last.
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Both Warren and Green seem to have long ago embraced this philosophy. While that might not be their dream pitching roles, they are likely to awake from this season ready for a new dream to come true.
That’s because the next off-season will likely be the same as 2017 in one very relevant way: High-quality relievers will be the first to get paid.
Adam Warren knows that, too.
That might be one of the reasons he finished by saying, “It’s gonna be a fun year.” My guess is he was thinking of parades and paydays. Now that’s a role he would gladly play.