Yankees Considering Bryan Mitchell for Open Rotation Spot

The New York Yankees still won’t commit for a starter to take Chad Green‘s vacated spot in the rotation, but there are signs it may ultimately go to Bryan Mitchell.

Injured starting pitcher Chad Green’s turn in the rotation is Wednesday, but the New York Yankees still haven’t decided who will fill that void long term. At the moment, the plan is to mix and match a variety of relievers to cover the 7:05 pm ET matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays.

They have the depth to absorb a bullpen game because of expanded rosters in September, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best baseball decision given how poor the Yankees middle relief has been.

22-year-old Luis Severino was seen by many as the favorite to take the job despite his 8.58 ERA as a big league starter this year, but the crucial role he played out of the bullpen in Sunday’s 5-2 “must-win” victory over the Orioles may have changed some minds. 

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi left the door open to calling up Triple-A Bryan Mitchell to make Wednesday’s start, although the team would reportedly like him to get one more minor league tune-up before a promotion. Girardi told reporters before Monday afternoon’s game (via Chad Jennings of the Journal News):

"It could be Mitchell. That has not been our plan. There’s just things we have to talk about and see where we are after Tuesday."

Mitchell made the team out of spring training this year and was expected to serve as their primary spot starter and long-reliever, but a fractured toe in March has kept him on the shelf until now.

The 25-year-old righty has made two starts for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre since being activated off the 60-day disabled list, allowing just one earned run over nine innings of work, striking out 14 and walking two. He certainly doesn’t have as much rust as you would expect after five months on the sidelines.

Still, Girardi didn’t sound completely convinced, telling Jennings:

"We want to see consistency in his stuff. He hasn’t had a lot of innings since he’s come back, and it’s more that we’re looking for the consistency of his stuff. We thought his last start was better, though."

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Mitchell is an unproven commodity in the big leagues, but showed a lot of promise this spring. An audition down the stretch could put him in the conversation for the 2017 rotation, with the Yankees badly in need of dependable arms.