The biggest strength of the New York Yankees since manager
Joe Girardi has taken over has been the bullpen. Girardi has been able to
adjust on the fly and mix and match well enough to keep the Yankees bullpen at
the top of the league in terms of effectiveness. Girardi got away from this
philosophy a little much this season when he relied heavily on the strikeout
factory of Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, and David Robertson and also used
Shawn Kelley a little too much but overall it was another successful season for
the bullpen. Now with the impending free agency of Robertson and his 39 saves
the bullpen may be a weakness for the first time in ages.
First and foremost Robertson is getting a qualifying offer
for one year and $15.3 million. If Robertson wants the stability of a long term
contract over the huge payday and almost a tripled salary then I almost have to
hand him a contract and tell him to fill it out, sign it, and get back to me.
Many around the blogosphere are ready to hand the reigns over to Betances but I
am not ready just yet. That is not meant to be a knock on Betances whatsoever
it just goes to show you how valuable Robertson has been. Sure Robertson is
replaced by Betances as the 9th inning guy but do we really want to
rely on Adam Warren in the 8th inning? Kelly in the 8th?
Robertson gets replaced but who replaces Betances? There is no Betances on the
free agent market and there is no Betances in the farm system unless Jacob
Lindgren lights up the place.
Speaking of Lindgren after I secure Robertson for the 9th,
slide Betances back to the 8th, and hope that Warren and Kelley can
hold down the 7th I call up the young lefty as a LOOGY and multiple
inning reliever. I would also give Jose Ramirez an extended look in spring
training along with Bryan Mitchell to see if either are ready to take the next
step.
The final bullpen slots will likely be filled by the players
who miss out on the starting rotation, namely David Phelps and Shane Greene. I
would love to have both of them starting but realistically, unless the Yankees
uncharacteristically go against the grain and go to a six man rotation, one of
them seems destined for the bullpen without even signing a single free agent.
If a James Shields or Jon Lester was signed it is extremely likely that both
would head to bullpen.
That’s it, I stick to the plan and I keep the homegrown
talent in the bullpen. Between Robertson, Betances, Kelley, Warren, and
Lindgren there may not be enough strikeouts to go around and that makes for an
exciting and effective bullpen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)