Yankees: Making The Case For Both Montgomery And Mitchell

The Yankees are about to embark on the 2017 season without a stable rotation and probably without even the names filled in. I got it, let me do it.

The Yankees unstable starting rotation is not a newsworthy story as it’s been discussed for months now. What is newsworthy, though, is that the team is about to begin the season appearing to be stuck in neutral in deciding on their fourth and fifth starters.

The top of the rotation is set, albeit with some uneasiness, with CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda following Mashiro Tanaka. Sabathia is a cause of concern due to his age and durability questions resulting from having pitched more than 3,300 innings over his 16-year career.

And on some days, as in the case this past weekend, Pineda even struggles to get minor league Double-A hitters out. A free agent to be next season, the Yankees will use him up and hang him out to dry to get 200 innings from him this season.

Are The Yankees Ready To Take The Plunge

The team made a bold move last week by sending Luis Cessa to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre thereby opening up one spot in the rotation. An equally bold move can also be made by optioning Luis Severino to Triple-A as well, opening up the second spot and making way for Jordan Montgomery and Bryan Mitchell as the fourth and fifth starters.

It’s odd but true that in this league pitchers can be consistently bad and still hold a starting job. But the one thing you can’t be is inconsistent

The move carries virtually no risk at all for the Yankees and at it’s worst would simply be a wash for what the Yankees would have gotten from Cessa and Severino. The upside, however, is enormous, especially in the case of Montgomery who has shown flashes of brilliance twice in spring outings.

Serverino shows all the signs of being another Pineda with flashes of brilliance but overall inconsistency and an unwillingness to take advice from the coaching staff as to how to better himself. A good long stretch in the minor will make him or break him.

It’s odd but true that in this league pitchers can be consistently bad and still hold a starting job. James Shields and Chris Archer both lost 19 games last season, but each is a part of their team’s rotation again this year. But the one thing you can’t be is inconsistent.

A manager has to know what he can (typically) expect when he sends a starter out there. 3 1/3 inning one start allowing five runs in one start following by 6 1/3 inning of one-run ball doesn’t cut it in this league. Not with the way bullpens are used today.

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Equally as true, though, is the fact that Joe Girardi would be faced with the same problem if Montgomery and Mitchell were to join the staff. Neither has logged enough innings for Girardi to be confident in their abilities to get the job done. Five or six starts can establish a pattern, though, and what do the Yankees have to lose?

A glance at the schedule shows that the team won’t need a fifth starter until mid-April, or possibly even later,  due the number of off-days. So conceivably, Girardi could opt to give one or two starts to both Montgomery and Mitchell, splitting the fourth starter role between them.

Roster And Business Decisions On The Way

A problem does arise for Brian Cashman, though, since Montgomery is not on the 40-man roster. And when he’s added, another player would have to be dropped. The all-important arbitration and free agency clock would also start ticking on Montgomery sooner than the Yankees would like, but does the team want to win this season, or what?

Beyond the rotation, the Yankees also face having to round out the pitching staff that remains bulky heading into the final days of spring. Pitchers on the bubble are Chasen Shreve, Jonathan Holder, Ben Heller and Chad Green. All have options remaining, and only two are expected to make the team in the bullpen.

Almost sure to be cut and reassigned are Ernesto Frieri, who was signed as a lark based on his brief WBC performance, and J.R. Graham.

What Is 2017 To The Yankees?

A lot of these decisions and choices boil down how the Yankees (internally!) view the 2017 season. Jordan Montgomery, it could be argued, needs a fully year of seasoning at Triple-A before he is ready to take the reins as the premier lefty on the Yankees staff…….if the team is looking more towards next season. To a lesser extent that could also be true of Mitchell.

Yankees: Four Reasons Why They’ll Make The Playoffs In 2017

The Yankees are showing their fans a lot during this Preseason. But there's more to come and the opportunity to play baseball is a real possibility.

But is the organization has any inkling that they want to contend for a spot in the Playoffs this season, then they have to put the best they have out there.

And if they’re going for it in 2017, Montgomery and Mitchell are the best bets to get them there.