Yankees Should Roll the Dice on One of These Risky Starting Pitchers

Andrew Cashner

The Yankees love their big, hard-throwing right-handers. Cashner is listed at 6’6 235 lbs. and averaged 93.5 mph with his heater last season according to FanGraphs, which is the highest of any free agent starter. He was undeniably terrible this year, with a 5.25 ERA and 4.84 FIP in 132 innings split between the Padres and Marlins, but at just 30 years old, there’s a chance Cash has something left.

Cashner has had six trips to the disabled list in his career, so it’s possible that injuries could have played a role in his poor performance last season. He missed time with a hamstring strain in May, and hit the DL again the next month with a strained muscle in his neck. The righty has also dealt with serious elbow and shoulder issues as recently as 2014.

The 30-year-old looked like a front-of-the-rotation arm as recently as 2014, when he pitched to a 2.55 ERA and 3.09 FIP in 123.1 IP (19 GS). The previous year he was also excellent, with a 3.09 ERA and 3.35 FIP in 175 IP (26 GS).

MLB Trade Rumors expects Cashner to settle for a one-year $8 million deal this winter to attempt to rebuild value. Even if Cashner is more like the back-of-the-rotation innings eater he was in 2015, that would be a huge bargain. Mike Petriello of MLB.com also speculates he has the arsenal to be dominant as a reliever, so that’s a nice backup plan if he’s not one of the team’s five best starters.