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New York Yankees Editorial: The Bronx is Boiling — bullpen woes

By Wayne Cavadi

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New York Yankees baseball has not been quite the same over the past few seasons. There have been some weird fits come and go, big injuries, and a major suspension that made some news a few months back. The Yankees also saw two of the most enamored figures in sports retire and leave a gapping hole in the Yankees roster.

The one thing that has remained pretty consistent has been the bullpen. Until now. The Yankees bullpen — with Andrew Miller on the DL — is in complete disarray. The Bronx is boiling and I need to blow some steam.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE BULLPEN

First thing’s first. Let’s not start crying about letting David Robertson walk right now. I still get called an idiot for writing editorials about how letting Robinson Cano walk was a huge mistake (about 4 or 5 of them) and I still get called an idiot for saying letting D-Rob go was the right choice. And I still stand by both. 

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Robertson’s role was never the issue. Miller stepped in and performed better than D-Rob ever did as a closer, and Betances remained the best set-up man in baseball. The problem was the rest of the bullpen, and the complete failures of the veterans they put their faith into to fill the holes.

David Carpenter? That guy was one of the premier set-up men in baseball. He was traded for spare parts a week ago. Esmil Rogers? That guy has been terrible for several years, not sure how he lasted as long as he did. Chris Martin? Not so sure the thin air of Colorado was the root of his struggles after all.

Last year, the only team that had a better 1-2-3 punch for the 7th, 8th and 9th inning at the back end of their bullpen was the Kansas City Royals. HDH (Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland) were superior to Adam Warren-Betances-D-Rob but not by that much. The real problem is that they Yankees can’t find that transition guy to get to Betances and Miller this year, mainly because he is in the starting rotation.

The question is what to do about it? Well, I certainly don’t think recently signed Sergio Santos is the answer. I do like the promotion of Jose Ramirez, who seems to have gotten it in the Minors after a very rocky 2014 MLB debut. The easiest thing to do is reshape the bullpen altogether.

Chris Capuano and Santos can go. Bring up Bryan Mitchell who can become the next David Phelps this team needs. Need a start? Oh, there’s Bryan. Need a few innings of relief. Oh, hey, there’s Bryan again.

Mitchell looked just fine in his 2014 MLB debut (0-1,2.45 ERA over three appearances with one start). He has looked just fine at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season as well (4-4, 2.82 ERA). And he is definitely no worse than the current options on the team.

The big question is what happens when Ivan Nova — who looked sensational in his last rehab start — returns to the rotation? Most Yankees fans won’t like my answer, but hey, I’m used to that.

Who provides the most value at the backend of the bullpen? The answer is simple. Adam Warren.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t think Warren has earned his spot in the starting rotation. He certainly has. But here are the facts. Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda are locks. No matter how terribly CC Sabathia continues to perform, the Yankees won’t demote him to the bullpen, nor would he likely go pleasantly. That leaves a decision between Nathan Eovaldi and Adam Warren.

A week ago I wrote an article discussing the evolution of Eovaldi. I questioned how a team has never thought about using him before as a closer, since Eovaldi’s biggest problem over his career is lack of a pitch arsenal. The article discusses the development of his newest pitch — the splitter — and how he is suddenly succeeding more with it. Eovaldi’s last two starts since that piece have looked good, and having not pitched out of the bullpen aside from four games in his rookie season back in 2011, the Yankees have to stay focused on making him a consistent starter.

That leaves Adam Warren. Again, this isn’t a move based on performance this year. It’s a move based on performance last year. Warren not only has bullpen experience, he excelled there. Let’s compare Warren to the aforementioned Kelvin Herrera, the 7th inning fixture of the Royals coveted 2014 bullpen.

  • Kelvin Herrera: 4-3, 1.41 ERA, 0-for-1 in save opportunites, 59 strikeouts in 70 innings, 1.14 WHIP
  • Adam Warren: 3-6, 2.97 WHIP, 3-for-6 in saves opportunities, 76 strikeouts in 78.2 innings, 1.11 WHIP

Not much of a difference. My point is that Warren isn’t just a piece of a solid bullpen, he’s arguably one of the best 7th inning guys in baseball. That’s value. That’s season changing. That’s what Adam Warren brings to a bullpen that was coined the Super Bullpen not too long ago.

Who knows if I’m right, but I do know that Warren is outstanding in the bullpen and has been only a decent option at the back of the rotation thus far. You tell me what role would be more important to a contender.

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