Yankees Lose Huff, Miss Arruebarrena

The New York Yankees let left handed reliever David Huff go this offseason as Brian Cashman continued to stockpile bullpen arms, especially those who throw from the left side, and Huff has found a new home. That home is with the Los Angeles Dodgers who signed the lefty to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Huff threw 59 innings last season between the Giants and New York and while his numbers were less than impressive with San Francisco but he really turned things around with New York. 

With the Yankees Huff pitched to a 1.89 ERA in 39 IP and quickly became part of Joe Girardi's "Circle of Trust." Huff will now try and latch on with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same Dodgers team that recently designated Erisbel Arruebarrena for assignment. Arruebarrena would have been a great fit for the Yankees but apparently he cleared waivers and was assigned to minor league camp as he is also listed on the Dodgers invite to spring training list. 

Two guys the Yankees really could have used are now potentially on the Dodgers.

Expect Heathcott and Campos Back, Maybe Huff

I was shocked a bit when I heard the news that the Yankees had non-tendered outfielder Slade Heathcott and pitchers Jose Campos and David Huff but history got me thinking that we may see Heathcott and Campos back in Yankees camp soon. In recent years the Yankees have done the same to third baseman David Adams and to some extent Nik Turley, Francisco Rondon and Corban Joseph to get them off the 40 man roster but still with the organization.

New York quickly brought these players back on minor league deals without the 40 man roster obligation presumably on some kind of verbal agreement. I can only speculate here that a similar issue is going on with Heathcott and Campos this season. Both players have often been injured and run very little risk of being claimed on waivers by other teams or picked up by other teams. Huff on the other hand could be doing the same but after a strong second half with the Yankees may be looking to latch on elsewhere.

Don’t panic Yankees fans all this means is the team has three more open 40 man roster spots and could have all three back in Spring Training or back with the team in some capacity in 2015. 

David Huff May Be On His Way Out of New York

While the fans of the Yankees are scrambling around trying to find all the information they can about lefties Jose De Paula and Justin Wilson one lefty in the Yankees organization is packing his bags waiting on a phone call. That man is David Huff. Huff was a non-tender candidate when the season ended after posting a sub 2.00 ERA in the Yankees bullpen last season after finding a cutter. With the additions of Wilson, De Paula, and Jacob Lindgren and Tyler Webb knocking on the door I think Huff may be on his way out of New York.

Of course both De Paula and Wilson have minor league options remaining and plenty of team control while Huff heads into his final year of arbitration so the team could always stash these guys in Triple-A at the beginning of the season but I find that unlikely. New York has this uncanny ability to spend an amazing amount of free agent dollars early only to skimp and save towards the end of free agency. Huff is expected to make right at $1 million in arbitration this season and the Yankees may look to fill that $1 million with two players and let Huff go.

This is all speculation and it's way too early to tell but remember where you heard it first, Huff's days as a Yankee are numbered, again.

MLB Trade Rumors Predicts Arbitration Salaries

MLB Trade Rumors is at it again predicting all the arbitration salaries for the 2015 season. CLICK HERE to view the whole post and give those guys a view or two and see below as I plucked the Yankees related material as an excerpt. Enjoy.

Yankees (7)

• Shawn Kelley (5.128) – $2.5MM
• Francisco Cervelli (4.146) – $1.1MM
• Esmil Rogers (4.088) – $1.9MM
• Ivan Nova (4.024) – $3.3MM
• Michael Pineda (3.099) – $2.1MM
• David Huff (3.062) – $700K
• David Phelps (2.156) – $1.3MM

2015 Yankees Arbitration Salary Predictions

Ivan Nova

2014 Salary - $3.3 million

MLBTR Prediction - $3.3 million

My Prediction - $3.5 million (I like to be different)

Shawn Kelley

2014 Salary - $1.765 million

MLBTR Prediction - $2.5 million

My Prediction - $2.25 million

Michael Pineda

2014 Salary - $500K

MLBTR Prediction - $2.1 million

My Prediction - $3 million

Esmil Rogers

2014 Salary - $1.85 million

MLBTR Prediction - $1.9 million

My Prediction - $2 million

David Phelps

2014 Salary - $500K

MLBTR Prediction - $1.3 million

My Prediction - $1.75 million

Francisco Cervelli

2014 Salary - $700K

MLBTR Prediction - $1.1 million

My Prediction - $1 million

David Huff

2014 Salary - $500K

MLBTR Prediction - $700K

My Prediction - $750 K

2014 salary numbers. 

MLBTR predictions. 

2014 Yankees Arbitration Eligible Players

Here is a quick list of the arbitration eligible players for the New York Yankees this winter:

Ivan Nova

Dellin Betances

Michael Pineda

David Phelps

Adam Warren

Shawn Kelley

Esmil Rogers

David Huff

Pineda Great Again, But Bullpen Can't Back Him Up in Another Tough Loss to Astros

Michael Pineda gave up just 2 earned runs in 6+ innings and Stephen Drew hit his first home run with the team, but since the unreliable bullpen duo of David Huff and Esmil Rogers forgot how to pitch in the top of the seventh the Yankees lost to the very-beatable Astros tonight, 5-2, in another unbearable game in the Bronx.

For most of this one, as is usual, the Yanks competed comfortably, holding a 2-1 lead after six frames thanks to that home run by Drew and a bunt RBI Single from Jacoby Ellsbury. 

Nonetheless, once Pineda walked the lead-off hitter in Houston's half of the seventh the sky fell for the second day in a row, with Huff coming on and allowing a hit to bring in Rogers, who'd surrender four more before getting an out to make it 5-2 and eventually give Scott Feldman (6 2/3 IP, 2 ER) the W.

In other words, for some odd reason the Yanks' bullpen remained infective this evening, a happening that, while frustrating, is still mainly the offense's fault.

No, I don't expect the bats to score five times every contest, but I do think three is a reasonable number, one that this club doesn't seem to know how to reach whenever their starter throws well.

Remember When Joe Girardi Was Good At Bullpen Management?

Any Yankee fan can remember how hard it was to watch this team during Joe Torre's later years as the manager of the Yankees. He consistently used the same group of veteran arms out of the bullpen seemingly every single day and never found a rookie he would even consider trusting unless it was a blowout. Enter Joe Girardi for the 2008 season instilling hope and faith in all Yankees fans that the future was bright, even when the team missed the playoffs.

Girardi relied heavily on young arms that season and in 2009 when the team won the World Series and while he relied on his bullpen heavily he never overused one or two guys. Girardi had Mariano Rivera in his bullpen and brought us David Robertson and still managed to never seemingly have a pitcher in the top 20 or so in innings pitched out of the bullpen. That has all changed in 2014.

Girardi seems to be sipping on the Torre milkshake and has overused some of his relief pitchers this season, namely Dellin Betances. Heading into play last night Dellin had thrown the most innings of any relief pitcher in Major League Baseball this season with 68.2 innings pitched. Adam Warren has thrown the 11th most innings in MLB as a relief pitcher with 58.2 innings pitched in 2014 and David Huff has the third most innings pitched out of the Yankees pen and has thrown the 69th most innings this year with 47.1 innings pitched. David Robertson does not make an appearance on the list until #86 with 44.2 innings pitched.

It's not just his overuse of pitchers that has me scratching my head it's his blatant disregard for using rookie pitchers as well. Mark Melancon was donned as the eventual replacement for Mariano Rivera and was ultimately shipped off in a trade after falling out of favor in New York. He pitched once every two weeks and came into games with obvious rust and command and control issues. This sounds eerily similar to the way Jose Ramirez was handled while in the Yankees bullpen. Ramirez does not have much to complain about though because Girardi flat out refused to use Bryan Mitchell or Shane Greene until it was absolutely necessary.

Greene was brought into the rotation when the Yankees were essentially out of depth and at their wit's end with the rotation and the righty excelled. Mitchell was up for his third time this season and was finally allowed to pitch in a game, a blow out, and pitched two scoreless innings. How was Mitchell rewarded? He was sent down the next day for a "fresh" arm (fresh meaning veteran in this context) the next day.

Girardi use to manage a bullpen and do it well but lately it seems like the pressure to win and make the playoffs is hurting him much like it did Mr. Torre. At least Torre had a reason to worry, he was working for George Steinbrenner, Girardi doesn't. So if anyone in the Yankees organization is reading this please pass this along to Joe because it doesn't take an arm chair quarterback to see that you're doing it wrong.

Yankees' Bats Stay Silent in Second Straight Loss to Indians

Hiroki Kuroda limped through 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball and New York's bats didn't get a hit from frames 3-6 today as the Indians easily beat the Yankees, 4-1, in the rubber game of this weekend series. 

Overall in this afternoon's contest, as expected, Kuroda was actually hanging in there, only surrendering a pair through Cleveland's first four at-bats when Michael Brantley grounded one down the left field line and flew out to deep right.

Nonetheless, in the top of the fifth #18 absolutely collapsed, allowing two singles and two walks to make it 3-0, essentially killing the Yanks' last remaining hope.

Yes, after Kuroda exited the bullpen, led by the trio of David Huff, Shawn Kelley, and youngster Bryan Mitchell (who threw 2 scoreless innings in his MLB debut) did alright, giving up just one more trip around the bases while recording the last thirteen outs.

Still, since Indians' starter Carlos Carrasco tossed five shutout frames in which the Yankees never reached third and the offense only collected five hits on the day New York did eventually fall, with Jacoby Ellsbury supplying them with their only run on a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth.

The Daily Dozen - July 27, 2014

THE DAILY  DOZEN
(Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game - July 27th, 2014)

1. Toronto jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Shane Greene.  Mr. Greene responded well though holding Cabrera at 3rd base with only 1 out.  Impressive, most impressive.

2. Chase Headley came into the game batting .368 as a Yankee.  He went on to put the first Yankee run on the board with a solo blast in the 5th inning and is now batting .348...wow, what a slacker.  Let's hope he can continue producing and play a good hot corner.

3. I "watched" the game on Yahoo.com today.  It is amazing the different ways that an out can be made and the descriptive words that shape what you and I see in our mind as playing out.  For instance, Derek Jeter lines out to right field sounds much more impressive than Jeter pops up to second base.  Isn't technology great?

4. Congratulations to Mr. Joe Torre.  One of the all-time great Yankees Managers up there with Casey Stengel, John McGraw, Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy, and dare I say Billy Martin.  Joe Torre entered the Hall of Fame with the 2014 Class along with other managers Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox.  I saw an interesting stat today as well--the 2001 Diamondbacks team defeated LaRussa's Cardinals in the NLDS, Bobby Cox's Braves in the NLCS and Joe Torre's Yankees in the World Series...how cool is that?  Does that mean Bob Brenly is destined for the Hall?  To be the BEST, you have to BEAT the best.  The Hall of Fame also announced changes in their voting today only allowing for players to be on the ballot for 10 years if they get 5% of the vote each year.  Don Mattingly and 2 others are grandfathered in and Donnie Baseball will have his 15th season on the ballot next year.  I will write in depth about that in the offseason I'm sure.

Welcome to the Hall Mr. Torre! (Source: MLB Twitter)

What a Hall of Fame Class! (Source: NY Post)

5. The Yankees and Wheeler's base running mistake made J.A. Happ look like Cy Young through 4 innings. What does J.A. stand for anyways?  James Anthony...there you go...I wonder if he and J.R. Murphy...errr...John Murphy ever hang out.

6. Zelous Wheeler made up for his mistake in the bottom of the inning.  Playing right field can't be that hard, can it?  I mean Mr. Wheeler gunned down perennial Yankee Killer Dan Johnson at the plate to end another Blue Jays threat.

7. Mr. TULOWIZKI Troy Tulowitzki was seen at Yankee Stadium today.  The funny thing is that the Rockies aren't in New York playing the Mets...in fact they were at home playing Pittsburgh.  Interesting...interesting indeed.

"Please trade for me...pretty please!!!!!  Man...
I kind of look like Money Manziel in this picture..."

8. There were some unlikely Bombers in the 5th inning.  Back-to-back, belly-to-belly, we got home runs from Headley and Cervelli! I'm a poet and didn't even know it.

9. David Huff = White Flag.  I would be interested to know how many games the Yankees win when Mr. Huff makes an appearance.  I'll get the TGP Research Dept right on figuring out that stat.  May have to make a new dictionary entry for the Huffster.

10. Scoring on Betances is hard work.  Today it was easy for the Blue Jays as he did all of the work for them.  A walk, followed by a throwing error allowing the baserunner to get to third, and a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning.  The pesky Blue Jays just wouldn't go away today.

11. The Yankees have battling back lately.  Not only that but they have been actually scoring late in games.  They are starting to remind me of the 2009 Yankees team...I know I've said it before, but these guys really have fought hard.  Everytime the Jays scored, the Yanks came right back at them...except for in the 9th...but this type of effort bodes well for the team.  They have lost 2 in a row but both losses had comebacks.

Well...sans this guy...

12. The Blue Jays had not won a game in 17 going back to August of 2012.  They erased that streak yesterday.  They had not won a series at Yankee Stadium since the same time in 2012.  They erased that mark today and are now a game ahead of the Yankees in the 2nd Wild Card position.  That's okay, the Yankees see the Jays 7 more times this season to get them back.

Kuroda-Led Yankees Out-Slug Blue Jays in Opener

Going into tonight's opener against the Blue Jays, it was common knowledge that Yankees RF Ichiro Suzuki had a significant advantage. 

The 40-year-old veteran, who's struggled to produce this season, was hitting .451 in his career against Jays' Starter Mark Buehrle, giving Yanks fans a rare expectation that he'd contribute to the win.

And, well, he did, lining a go-ahead three-run home run off Buehrle (3 IP, 6 ER) in the bottom of the third as the Bombers rallied for a thrilling 6-4 victory over their rival.

Now for most of this one's early going, the Pinstripes did surprisingly trail, making the spectators at Yankee Stadium nervous the home winning streak against Toronto would end.

Still, thanks to big offensive performances in the second and third the Yanks did find a way to come out on top, the fourth straight day they've done so.

To begin the onslaught that included six crossings of home in two frames, the first four batters of the bottom of the second reached, with a bases-loaded infield single by Brian Roberts driving in the Bombers' first run.

Later in the at-bat, the Pinstripes would score again on a sac fly to deep center from Brett Gardner, cutting what appeared to be a comfortable 3-0 Toronto lead to 3-2.

Then in the next inning, in a sudden turn of events, New York circled the bases four more times, as Carlos Beltran skied one over the left field wall and Ichiro knocked the aforementioned three-run shot to right, causing Jose Bautista's two homers to become worthless and eventually helping Hiroki Kuroda get the W.

Don't get me wrong, Kuroda's 5 2/3 frames of four-run ball weren't amazing, but since the relieving endeavors of David Huff, Shawn Kelley, Dellin Betances, and David Robertson did close things out #18 was rewarded for besting his counterpart, the seventh time that's happened this year. 

Whitley's Six Scoreless Innings, Headley's Walk-Off Single Lift Yankees to 14-Frame Win Over Rangers

To many fans, myself included, a player doesn't officially become a Yankee until he wins a game with a big hit.

No, that thought process isn't completely fair, although it is fun to use, as it somewhat accurately measures how exciting someone is.

For example, in tonight's contest against the Rangers, the newest guy on the team helped put together a much-needed 2-1 W, one that didn't get entertaining for a while.  

After nobody scored in frames 1-12, both sides finally crossed home in the thirteenth, as J.P. Arencibia took David Huff deep to left center and Jacoby Ellsbury singled home Brett Gardner, costing Texas' Joakim Soria a save. 

Following those long-awaited thrillings, Jeff Francis, making his Bomber debut, tossed the bullpen's seventh scoreless inning, setting up what would be a very memorable bottom half.

To start off the significant at-bat, Ichiro grounded out, Brian Roberts doubled, and Francisco Cervelli moved him to third with another knock, bringing the recently-acquired Chase Headley to the plate.

Having replaced Zelous Wheeler in the bottom of the eighth, Headley quickly worked the count to 1-1 against the Rangers' Nick Tepesch, before suddenly lining one into shallow left field.

Originally, the ball looked like it might get caught, something that fortunetaly didn't end up happening, with it eventually short-hopping into Jim Adduci's glove to bring home Roberts. 

The hit, Headley's only on the night in four at-bats, brought more meaning to Chase Whitley's six shutout frames, and ended what was a marathon of a contest.

What is necessarily pretty? No (the Yankees blew a lot of chances throughout), but since it did end up finishing positively you can't help but like what happened, as it brought the Pinstripes' record to 51-48 and their number of games back in the wild card standings to 1.5, a respectable amount. 

Whitley's Struggles Backed Up By Offense in 6-5 Win Over Twins

For the last couple of weeks, it's no secret that the Yankees' offense has been pretty terrible. 

The expensive bats, who scored 5+ runs just once this week prior to last night, have four big names hitting in the .220 range, a stat that simply shouldn't be there.

Fortunetaly, so far in Minnesota those guys and others are beginning to pick things up, crossing home six times in the first two innings today as the Yanks beat the Twins 6-5.

In the top of the first, after Brett Gardner led off with a triple, the Bombers took an early lead off opposing starter Kyle Gibson (2 IP, 6 ER), crossing home three times thanks to a pair of RBI Doubles from Brian Roberts and Mark Teixeira as well as a Sac Fly from Carlos Beltran.

In the very next frame, three more runs would also come in for the suddenly-hot Pinstripes on another Sac Fly from Brendan Ryan and a two-run single from Jacoby Ellsbury, making it 6-1 and appearing to hand Chase Whitley a free W.

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case, as the rookie would allow three guys to score in the next two frames to end his day after just nine outs.

At that point, what looked like a laugher was suddenly close, although it wasn't exactly stressful, as David Huff would retire each of the nine guys he faced in innings 4-6 to keep the Yanks ahead.

Later on in the bottom of the eighth, as expected, somebody (this time Dellin Betances) did have some issues, putting the tying runs in scoring position with just one out.

Still, that somebody did eventually escape the jam, inducing a duo of groundouts (one of them did bring a run in) that kept the Yanks ahead and allowed David Robertson to collect a save in the ninth.

No, Robertson's performance wasn't perfect, but in the end, it was good enough to maintain the lead, the 20th time this season that has been the case.

Big Ninth Inning Backs Up Offensive Struggles in Yankees First Walk-Off Win of Season

In his last three starts, Hiroki Kuroda has frustratingly gotten just two earned runs of support.

The Yankees' number two pitcher, going into tonight's outing against the Orioles, had surrendered no more than two trips around the bases in two of his last three appearances, all New York losses.

Unfortunately, that trend continued for most of this contest, before a bottom-of-the-ninth rally headed by Carlos Beltran bailed the Yanks out in a 5-3 win.

In the contest, Kuroda, whose ERA is now 4.23, didn't give up a hit until the top of the sixth, when Baltimore broke out for four total knocks, a double from Steve Pearce and a single from Adam Jones driving men home.

At that point, Kuroda and the Bombers trailed 2-1, blowing an advantage Mark Teixeira gave them in the bottom of the first, when #25 scored Jacoby Ellsbury with a base hit to right after the latter singled and stole second.

From then until the bottom of the ninth, the Pinstripes got plenty of scoring opportunities, stranding the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh.

Overall, New York left 11 runners in this one, making their final AB appear pretty worthless.

Good thing that wasn't true.

After watching David Huff allow another unearned run in the top half of the frame, the Yanks rallied with a man on first and two out in their last chance, putting the tying run on base after a Teixeira walk.

Following that, the suddenly-hot Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran stepped up to the plate, with McCann singling home a run to keep the game alive and Beltran driving one into the left field seats, giving Zach Britton (0.2 IP, 4 ER) the loss and the Bombers their first walk-off victory of the season.

Beltran's seventh homer of the year also spoiled a nice start from the O's Ubaldo Jimenez, who gave up just one earned run in 5.2 frames.

Wade LeBlanc Outrighted To Triple-A

UPDATE:

LeBlanc elected free agency

Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment to make room for David Huff and has since cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton with the RailRiders. LeBlanc pitched just one inning for the Yankees and allowed two runs. LeBlanc can now decide whether he wants to accept the outright or elect free agency and try and latch on with a third team this season.

Winning Streak Ends With 5-1 Loss to A's

While winning streaks are undoubtedly fun to have, they do come with a negative.

That is, enduring the eventual loss.

That depressing defeat came early in tonight's game, as Yankees Starter Hiroki Kuroda surrendered a pair of second inning runs in a 5-1 A's victory, snapping the Yanks four-game run. 

In that frame, Kuroda actually retired two of the first three men he faced, before suddenly losing control.

With a runner on first and two outs, the veteran right-hander allowed the next two hitters to reach, setting up a big, two-RBI single from Eric Sogard.

That clutch knock unknowingly ended the game for the Bombers, who managed just one unearned run in six innings against Oakland's Scott Kazmir.

That trip around the bases came in the Yanks' half of the third, when Derek Jeter reached on a throwing error with men on the corners.

At that point, the Pinstripes were technically still in it, down just 2-1, but after a 38-minute power outage in the middle of the fourth and another pair of A's runs in the fifth it was clear it wasn't their night.

Overall, Kuroda (4-5) wasn't terrible in the outing, recording two 1-2-3 innings, but since he did surrender 4 earned runs in just 4.2 frames he was handed the loss, his second consecutive. 

On the bright side of things, the bullpen was okay after #18 left, as Shawn Kelley struck out the only hitter he faced to end the fifth and David Huff tossed three innings of one-run ball in his team debut.

Unfortunately, the cons still outweighed the pros for the Bombers this evening, with the ending of Jacoby Ellsbury's 17-game hitting streak and a botched scoring opportunity in the fifth being the most notable.

That failure to hit with RISP, something that's been happening a lot lately, came with a man on third and one out, when Jeter (0-for-4) hit into fielder's choice and Ellsbury (0-for-3, Walk) fouled out to third.

Basically, the same problems that we saw last week came back to haunt the Pinstripes tonight, as their 2014 record fell to 35-32.

Yankees Acquire David Huff, Designate Wade LeBlanc

The New York Yankees have acquired left handed pitcher David Huff off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. To make room for Huff on the 40 man and 25 man rosters the Yankees have designated Wade LeBlanc for assignment. The revolving door keeps on moving...

The Yankees traded Huff to the Giants this offseason after clearing a spot for Masahiro Tanaka and now have Huff back in uniform for tonight's game.

Yankees Trade David Huff To Giants For Cash

The New York Yankees have traded recently designated left handed pitcher David Huff to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. Huff did a great job for us last season out of the bullpen as a fifth starter piggy back with Phil Hughes and will bring another left handed option to the Giants team. Huff was DFA'd to make room for the recently signed Masahiro Tanaka. I am not going to lie I was secretly hoping that Huff would clear waivers and come back but that's not going to happen, time to move on.

Yankees Announce Tanaka Signing, DFA David Huff

Well that didn't take long, the New York Yankees have announced the signing of Masahiro Tanaka and have added him to the 40 man roster. David Huff has been designated for assignment to make room for Tanaka on the roster. Tanaka is signed with the Yankees through the 2020 season for $155 million, an AAV of 22.15 million, and has an opt out clause after the 2017 season. The only question left to answer is what number will Tanaka wear in 2014?

The Pitching Predicament: What Happened?

It’s incomprehensible to most long-time observers and fans how the Yankees pitching rotation has been reduced to a big question mark. Let’s look back. During the latter stages of the 2012 offseason, the Yankees dealt A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates because they had an influx of pitchers and Burnett seemed expendable. The Yanks acquired Hiroki Kuroda in that off-season and made the much maligned trade for Michael Pineda. Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos were also being plugged as the “next big thing,” yet neither of them have entrenched themselves into the starting rotation yet.

As the 2013-2014 off-season progresses, the Yankees find themselves with a pitching predicament. Outside of C.C. Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ivan Nova, the rest of the starting rotation are question marks. It is expected that David Huff, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and Vidal Nuno will compete for the final two spots in the rotation. Despite missing two full seasons, Pineda might compete for a rotation spot, but it is doubtful that he will get it since no one knows what to expect out of him. The rest of the competitors are not sure things either and neither are the known members of the starting rotation. C.C. Sabathia is coming off a career-worst season. Hiroki Kuroda is coming off a late season fade and Ivan Nova has been up-and-down the past couple of seasons.

Poor drafting continues to plague the Yankees development as they struggle to find stable successors to some of the great pitchers of the 2000s. Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Andrew Brackman were once mentioned as the future stars of the pitching staff. Instead of being the next Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite (or even Roger Clemens), all of the above-mentioned pitchers are either in Yankees minor league system or no longer with the team. Hughes and Chamberlain signed with Twins and Tigers this off-season. Kennedy was a part of the three-team trade for Curtis Granderson in 2009. (Granderson recently signed with the New York Mets.) 

The last time the Yankees produced an everyday player was in 2005. This off-season the Yankees have made numerous front office changes. Let’s hope this will help the Yankees position themselves for success in the long run.

In the meantime, the Yankees have some serious pitching issues to work through before they can be considered legitimate playoff contenders again. Signing Masahiro Tanaka is a must. Even though it has been reported that the Yankees are not enamored with Ervin Santana, Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jiminez, or any of the pitchers on the market, the team should consider signing at least one of them to bolster the rotation. When he was available, the Yankees should have gambled on Mark Mulder as a low-risk/high-reward option. Johan Santana now falls into that category for the Yankees.

The Yankees have to focus on developing young starting pitchers and they need to draft better and/or scout better rather than rely on pitchers such as Sidney Ponson, Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon as they have done in the past. While that strategy might be effective, it is not worth taking a gamble on when the Yankees have enough resources to sign a top tier pitcher in free agency or trade for another middle of the line starter. Even though some acquisitions – such as Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Javier Vázquez (twice), or Jeff Weaver did not work out – they still provided the team with flare. We’ll have to wait and see if the front office maneuvering can bring back the once feared pitching staff that the great Yankees teams were known for in the 1990s and 2000s.