Yankees Fans: Are These Pitchers Best Suited for the Rotation or the Pen?

The New York Yankees have a number of pitchers who could either slot into the rotation or the bullpen going into the 2017 campaign.

Unless the New York Yankees make an unexpected trade or signing before spring training, the club will likely fill their two open rotation spots with a spring competition between the stable of interesting but unproven arms who bounced between the upper minors and the big leagues last year.

Interestingly, many of the guys under consideration have significant experience working both as starters and in relief, giving the Yankees a ton of flexibility with how they set up their pitching staff in 2017. Even the guys who don’t earn a starting job could end up breaking camp on the MLB active roster in a short or long relief role.

Beyond the established front three of Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda, he primary names under consideration for a rotation spot next year are Adam Warren, Luis Cessa, Bryan Mitchell, Chad Green, and Luis Severino.

Those five guys have a leg up on promising Double-A and Triple-A starters like Chance Adams and Jordan Montgomery because of their 40-man roster spots. It’s worth noting that Dietrich Enns was added to the 40-man this winter, but is likely lower on the depth chart than the guys with MLB experience.

Let’s take a look at the primary five candidates for the two open rotation spots and consider whether they are better suited to start, work as relievers, or head back to Triple-A for a little more polishing.