Joba's Loss Is Not Massive

I haven't heard anybody say they're worried about David Robertson since he suffered a bone bruise on his right/push-off foot about 2 weeks ago. Not that they should have been. However, just in case, I wanted to pass along a report from ESPN.com that David Robertson threw 29 pitches in a simulated inning Friday morning. And he'll apparently throw in a Spring Training game sometime next week.

With the loss of Joba Chamberlain, possibly forever, I'll be keeping a close eye on David Robertson. Although I'm not really worried about the bullpen (read my post about the Joba news here), there is a small chance Rafael Soriano opts out of his contract after this season, Rivera retires, leaving Robertson as the top reliever.

I may not be a prospect hugger like our good friend, Burch, but I believe the minors offers somebody that could take over a key roll in the 'pen. Whether or not that's Dellin Betances, who some believe is a future reliever rather than a future starter, or somebody else, there's a lot of talent to choose from.

CC Sabathia is signed through 2016 (with an option for 2017), Michael Pineda is under team control through 2016, Ivan Nova is under team control through 2016, and Manny Banuelos looks like he could help the Yankee rotation right now (even if he started this season in New York, he'd be under team control through 2017). So there may only be one rotation spot for Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, David Phelps, DJ Mitchell, Jose Campos, etc. So the bullpen will have a number of options to fill in where needed.

Strange seeing me talk about prospects helping the big club in the future, huh? Just don't expect me to talk like that when it comes to starters or everyday hitters.