Michael Pineda Could Solidify Spot in New York Yankee Rotation Tonight

Published: 30th Mar 12 11:29 am
Tweet
by Tom Froemming
MLB blogger
Michael Pineda Could Solidify Spot in New York Yankee Rotation Tonight
Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Yankees front office did a great job of improving their rotation this offseason. Maybe too good of a job.

Their biggest move of the winter in terms of risk/reward was acquiring hard-throwing right-hander Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners. Immediately considered a lock to make the rotation, Pineda is now forced to compete for a spot because of the impressive pitching depth the team has assembled.

Pineda will get the ball tonight when the Yankees face the Philadelphia Phillies at 7 p.m. ET. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees could set their rotation based on how Pineda pitches.

Here’s what Yankee manager Joe Girardi told King:

“These starts at the end are a lot more important than those before. I am not going to evaluate anything previous to his next start. I have looked at his starts and they have been pretty decent but I will evaluate it after the next start.’’

Pineda has been under the microscope all spring, but this could be his most pressure-packed performance since becoming a Yankee. The 23-year-old’s stock has been dropping after he reported to Spring Training overweight and was missing a few miles per hour from his fastball in early outings.

If you look at the numbers, it would appear as though Pineda has pitched well enough to ear a rotation spot. Over five starts, he has a 3.31 ERA and has 16 strikeouts over 16.1 innings pitched. The big Dominican was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and 173 strikeouts for the Mariners last season, and cost the Yankees top prospect Jesus Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi to acquire from Seattle.

It would seem sending Pineda to Triple-A would be an admission that the trade was a mistake at this point, since Montero figured to be the Yankees everyday designated hitter before he was sent away.

In his article, King suggested the Yankee rotation could go CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia and either Pineda or Ivan Nova.

Nova has had a rough spring, posting a 6.86 ERA over 19.2 innings pitched. He was 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA for the Yankees last season.

Also from Tom Froemming:

Connect with Rant Sports
Get more Traffic