Yankees: Will Masahiro Tanaka pitch out of the bullpen during the playoffs?

The Yankees ended the regular season on Sunday with a 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in a game that saw Masahiro Tanaka pitch three innings out of the bullpen. Was this a one-time occurrence or could this be a sign of things to come during the postseason?

The Yankees have yet to announce their starting rotation for the ALDS against the Twins starting on Friday but the expectation is that Tanaka, James Paxton, and Luis Severino will all be a part of it. There’s also a chance that the Yanks opt to start Chad Green as an opener in one of the games and have him followed in relief by one of their starters like Tanaka or J.A. Happ.

On Sunday they did just that and Tanaka pitched out of the pen for the first time in his career. He threw three innings of two-run ball (one earned) and allowed five hits. Tanaka wasn’t very sharp throughout his brief outing but manager Aaron Boone didn’t seem too worried about the right-hander after the game according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

"“I thought he was all right,” Boone said. “I thought the split was pretty good today. He wasn’t throwing as hard today with all his pitches — fastball, slider and split. I think he was pitching a little bit and working on some things, so I thought it was a good tuneup for him as he gets ready to head to the postseason.”"

We’ll have to wait and see if Tanaka will pitch in relief again this postseason because it’s unlikely the Yankees would use Severino or Paxton in that role. Paxton probably has the longest leash of any starter in the rotation and if he’s rolling he’ll be allowed to go through a lineup the third time around. Severino might as well, but that probably won’t happen considering he’s only made three starts since returning from the IL and isn’t as stretched out from a pitch count standpoint.

Based on how Boone and his staff have handled Tanaka throughout the season he won’t be able to face a lineup the third time through the order because the numbers show he gets hit much harder when he does. Opposing lineups have batted .306 and slugged .596 against him this season the third time around.

His struggles the third time through is part of the reason why the Yankees might be considering using an opener in front of him or someone like Happ. However, I think it’s much more likely they’d do it with Happ because Tanaka has been so good in the postseason as a starter. In 5 career postseason starts Tanaka has a 1.50 ERA in 30 IP with 25 K’s and a phenomenal WHIP of 0.80.

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During the regular season this year he was very inconsistent posting a 4.45 ERA in 32 games, but he struggled even more during the 2017 campaign with a 4.74 ERA during the regular season and he followed that up with an incredible postseason performance. In three starts Tanaka had a 0.90 ERA in 20 IP so it’s not out of the realm of possibility at all that he comes up huge in the postseason again this October.

After Sunday’s game, Tanaka said he was very confident he could succeed pitching out of the bullpen during the playoffs which is encouraging to hear. That being said, if the Yankees are going to make a run at another championship they have a better chance of doing so with Tanaka starting, not relieving. He’s been too good throughout his postseason career to not use him as a starter and I think it would be a big mistake to pitch him in relief, at least during the ALDS.

That doesn’t mean Tanaka needs to pitch deep into games because as long as he can give the team four to five quality innings and keep the game close the Yankees will be in good shape with their great bullpen backing him.

The Yankees ended the regular season on Sunday with a 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in a game that saw Masahiro Tanaka pitch three innings out of the bullpen. Was this a one-time occurrence or could this be a sign of things to come during the postseason?

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