2014 New York Yankees season thread Vol. (84-78) .. Essential's Offseason thread coming soon

Team Leaders:

BA - Solarte (.336)
Home Runs - Teixeira ( 8 )
RBI's - Solarte (23)
Stolen Bases - Ellsbury (11)
Walks - Ellsbury (18)
Hits - Ellsbury (41)
2B - Ellsbury (11)
3B - Roberts (3)
OBP - Solarte (.414)
SLG- Teixeira (.562)

Starters & Relievers
Wins - Tanaka (6)
ERA - Tanaka (2.17)
RP ERA - Warren (1.58)
Quality Starts - Tanaka ( 8 ) Every start has been 6 IP+ 3 or less runs :wow:
IP - Tanaka (58.0)
RP IP - Warren (22.2)
K - Tanaka (66)
RP K - Betances (33)
K / 9 - Betances (14.85)
WHIP - Tanaka (0.91)
RP WHIP - Robertson (0.78)
 
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Jacoby has been cold lately. Need him to wake the **** up.

Teix has been mashing again.

Solarte has been fun to watch.
 
There's some good youth in our Pitching Staff:

Tanaka - 25. Absolute ace.
Pineda - 25. He looked very good. Injury is a concern, but I truly believe this latest injury is one of those weird occurrences that everything has to be lined up to happen. No pine tar, doesn't get suspended, doesn't have a simulated start to keep fresh and hurt himself. If we treat him as a #4, we'll be fine, even with injury risk.
Nova - 27. Tommy John surgery could ruin his career, or could put him in a spot where he figures it out because he has to go back to basics, and build himself up. Although he won't be back until All Star Break next year, as a #5, he's better than most #5


Warren - 26. He will never be a starter again because like Betances he's so much better as a reliever.
Claiborne - 26. Pitching like he did in the first half of last season, if he can keep it up for an entire season, we have another good reliever.
Betances - 26. He's really like a relief Randy Johnson. Just a monster that is very intimidating.
Robertson - 29. He has been as good as any closer in the league right now.


I'm very optimistic about the long term outlook of our staff. C.C. is concerning, but just have to move him down the rotation, and chase after the premier Free Agent pitcher on the market.
 
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He looks great, but wouldn't he have a bigger impact as a starter? Probably can't do it this year, but if he's up for it, would love to see him in the rotation. Seems like he has the sutff to be a starter. Though that didn't work out well w/ Joba...
 
amishpimp27 said:
He looks great, but wouldn't he have a bigger impact as a starter? Probably can't do it this year, but if he's up for it, would love to see him in the rotation. Seems like he has the sutff to be a starter. Though that didn't work out well w/ Joba...
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He doesn't have the stuff to be a starter.

He just couldn't do it on a consistent basis, it's why he never got up here, and stayed for more than a week.

He's a 2 pitch guy.

His 2 pitches get very predictable in more than 2 innings. So he can do well first time around the order, but it will be the same approach the second and third time around the order.
 
KingFoamNYC said:
I'm still gawking at the idea of Cliff Lee in pinstripes
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I hate to break it to you man but the Phillies with their new TV deal have all the resources to eat every dime and ask for the world. IDK if there's enough for NYY to get him especially over Boston's farm.

Put it this way...Boston may have enough to get Lee and Stanton if he gets put on the market.

I love Betances but I think he should stay in the pen. He still doesn't have an out pitch for lefties two or three times through the lineup. The cutter isn't that pitch yet. The KC doesn't have the same affect on lefties breaking in.

Whatever they decide, for the love of God stick with it.
 
Well he is Arbitration until he turns 32 years old (6 more seasons).. So no need to worry. Just keep him where he's having success.

By the time he gets to 32, it'll be so engrained that he's a reliever, that it will be too late to make him a starter.
 
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I read that completely wrong, I had to go check his birth date to make sure I wasn't losing my mind :lol:

I would not be opposed to maybe stretching him out in ST next year and see if he brings back the slider and learns how to control it. Barring that, keep him as the 8th inning guy.

Another story of a guy that should have learned a change. It's beyond me that they push the slider and curve on kids when a good change up will put you miles ahead of the competition.
 
Proshares said:
I hate to break it to you man but the Phillies with their new TV deal have all the resources to eat every dime and ask for the world. IDK if there's enough for NYY to get him especially over Boston's farm.

Put it this way...Boston may have enough to get Lee and Stanton if he gets put on the market.

I love Betances but I think he should stay in the pen. He still doesn't have an out pitch for lefties two or three times through the lineup. The cutter isn't that pitch yet. The KC doesn't have the same affect on lefties breaking in.

Whatever they decide, for the love of God stick with it.
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You're right, Amaro is gonna want the world for Lee. He'd ask the Yankees for Sanchez, Mason Williams or Slade Heathcott, and Banuelos. Then he'd ask them to take on Ryan Howard and/or Jimmy Rollins since his option for next year is going to kick in most likely. Just last year at the deadline, reports said he wanted Xander Bogaerts and/or Jackie Bradley Jr and the Sox top pitching prospect for Lee.
 
erocz3 said:
we need to be done trading away talent for veterans..fr
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Ehhhh we don't have much talent in the minors.

Sanchez, Heathcott, Williams are really the only guys, not currently on the team who have potential to be in the majors in the next few years. Banuelos would at best become a reliever, but with Betances, Warren & Robertson being a good 7-8-9. Kelley being pretty good, and Claiborne pitching well again, we have that set for a few years.

It's at the point that the whole farm system needs to be re-adjusted.
 
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we need to be done trading away talent for veterans..fr
Essential1 said:
Ehhhh we don't have much talent in the minors.

Sanchez, Heathcott, Williams are really the only guys who have potential to be in the majors in the next few years.

It's at the point that the whole farm system needs to be re-adjusted.
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What happened to banuelos
 
erocz3 said:
What happened to banuelos
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Has struggled in the minors / Injuries / No spot for him.

He could get the September call up. But he's no better than anyone on our roster with the exception of Matt Thornton. He won't make the rotation next year. We'll just keep holding onto him year after year in the minors.
 
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A friend sent me his video of a couple of his starts when they moved him up to AA, he just doesn't have it anymore. TJ is part of it but his velo isn't even back yet.
 
Proshares said:
A friend sent me his video of a couple of his starts when they moved him up to AA, he just doesn't have it anymore. TJ is part of it but his velo isn't even back yet.
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Looked at Mason Williams stats... Good god he's having a horrible year.
 
Rapid Reaction: Yankees 1, Mets 0
By Kieran Darcy | ESPNNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Maybe the Mets should move to the Bronx, and the Yankees should shift to Queens?

The Yanks shut out their crosstown rivals for the second night in a row at Citi Field. The "Bronx Bombers" managed only one run themselves, but that was all they needed on this night.

The 2014 Subway Series ends in a draw. The Mets swept the two games at Yankee Stadium on Monday and Tuesday, and the Yankees took the two here on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Yanks (21-19) move into a virtual first-place tie with the Orioles in the AL East, while the Mets (19-21) remain in fourth place in the NL East.

Thrill of the Chase: Chase Whitley, called up from Triple-A to make the start in place of the injured CC Sabathia, did very well, pitching 4 2/3 shutout innings. Keep in mind, Whitley has spent most of his minor-league career as a reliever, with 136 of his 144 appearances before 2014 coming out of the bullpen.

Featuring a fastball in the low 90s, a slider and a changeup, Whitley -- who will turn 25 next month -- gave up only two hits, both singles.

After walking Ruben Tejada and Juan Centeno back-to-back with one out in the fifth inning, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom, Whitley was lifted by Yankees manager Joe Girardi. He had thrown only 74 pitches, but Whitley was also due to lead off in the top of the sixth. (Dellin Betances retired Eric Young Jr. to end the threat.)

Whitley didn't get a win, but he probably earned another start. He also collected his first big-league hit, in his very first at-bat, with a single to center field.

Dealin' Dellin: Speaking of Betances, he was spectacular Thursday. After getting E.Y. Jr. to finish off the fifth, Betances struck out the side in order in both the sixth and seventh innings, setting a new career-high in strikeouts in the process.

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Four of Betances' six K's were of the looking variety. His fastball topped out at 98 mph, and his knuckle curve was simply filthy. Betances got the win, improving to 2-0, with a 1.61 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in only 22 1/3 innings. The Yankees may have an emerging star in the pen.

One is enough: The Mets also had a starting pitcher making his major-league debut on Thursday in deGrom. And the soon-to-be 26-year-old, with a fastball in the mid-90s, was very impressive, giving up only one run and four hits in seven innings, with six strikeouts and two walks.

The Yankees were scoreless through six against deGrom, who retired 10 batters in a row from the third inning into the seventh. A one-out walk to Mark Teixeira started the "rally." Teixeira was retired at second base on a grounder by Brian McCann, but Mets first baseman Lucas Duda couldn't scoop a low throw by David Wright to complete a potential double play. That came back to haunt the Mets when Alfonso Soriano smacked an RBI double to left-center, scoring McCann all the way from first base.

End game: Adam Warren replaced Betances in the eighth but got in a jam, thanks to a one-out walk issued to pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu and a two-out single by Daniel Murphy, advancing pinch-runner Juan Lagares to third base.

With Wright due up next for the Mets, Girardi called upon closer David Robertson for a four-out save. Robertson got Wright to ground out to shortstop, and then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal his seventh save of the season.

What's next: The Yankees return to the Bronx, to open a three-game series against the Pirates on Friday. The Mets head to our nation's capital for a weekend series against the Nationals.

Yanks' Carlos Beltran faces surgery
May, 15, 2014
By Andrew Marchand | ESPNNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran is the latest Yankee to land on the disabled list, and it is unclear when he will return.

Beltran's bone spur in his right elbow has forced the right fielder to the disabled list as he waits for a cortisone shot and pills to kick in.

It usually takes a few days before the medicine takes its full effect. If it doesn't ease the pain in Beltran's elbow, he could face surgery. Beltran estimated an operation would cost him six to eight weeks.

"I'm getting better but not to the point I'm capable of swinging a bat," Beltran said.

Beltran, 37, joins starters CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova, along with setup man Shawn Kelley and backup catcher Francisco Cervelli, on the DL.

Reserve outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, has been out with a back issue, but is not expected to go on the disabled list. If healthy, Ichiro likely will play more in the outfield, joining Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. Alfonso Soriano will play some outfield and DH.

The Yankees signed Beltran to a three-year, $45 million contract this offseason. He is hitting .234 with five homers and 15 RBIs.

Beltran originally felt the pain in the elbow taking swings in the batting cage during Monday night's Subway Series game against the Mets in the Bronx, where he served as the Yankees' DH.

Beltran's spot on the 25-man roster was taken by Thursday's rookie starter, Chase Whitley.


Will Masahiro Tanaka ever lose?
May, 15, 2014
By Andrew Marchand | ESPNNewYork.com
NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka is a quarter of the way through another 24-0 season. He has not ruled out a major league repeat of his incredible final year in Japan. At this point, who can doubt him?

Tanaka did it all in his first major league shutout, a 4-0 win over the New York Mets. He stopped the Yankees' six-game Subway skid. He saved the bullpen. He struck out eight. He walked none. He only gave up four hits. And, to top it off, he picked up his first major league hit, which he joked was the highlight of his night.

Tanaka, 25, is 6-0 as a Yankee with a 2.17 ERA. His start is the best for a Yankees rookie pitcher since ****** Ford's 9-0 liftoff in 1950. His 66 strikeouts to seven walks is the best ratio ever for a pitcher in his first eight games, according to Baseball Reference Index. The Yankees are 7-1 when he is on the mound and 13-18 when the mortals pitch.

Going back to Japan, he hasn't lost a start in his last 42 regular-season outings. 42!

Tanaka has seven pitches. Sometimes the Mets anticipated which one he would choose -- but it didn't matter.

"I knew what was coming and I couldn't hit it," said Daniel Murphy, who actually did manage to get one of the four hits.

What is most impressive about Tanaka is how in control he is in every which way. He seems to share some traits with Derek Jeter.

He is not overwhelmed on or off the field. He handles all the media attention as easy as facing a No. 9 hitter. But that little skill would not be applauded if he wasn't so good on the mound.

His competitiveness shows as he improves as games go on. The crest of his performance on Wednesday came in the seventh inning, when he struck out the Mets' 3-4-5 hitters. He took David Wright out with an 85 mph slider. He sat down Curtis Granderson on a 76 mph curveball. He finished the inning with a 93 mph fastball to punch out Chris Young.

"He stopped a losing streak, knowing we needed a win bad," manager Joe Girardi said. "We needed distance bad. You look up and he is in the fifth inning and he had only thrown 50-something pitches. He did what he had to do for our club. He really stepped up."

In the top of the ninth, Tanaka made Girardi a little nervous because the player he described as "valuable as anyone" on the team reached base with a single past a diving Murphy. Wearing a jacket, he survived the basepaths.

Girardi is going to treat Tanaka as the precious gift he has become for his frazzled pitching staff and team. Tanaka entered the ninth with 101 pitches. After he used 11 more for his first two outs, Girardi decided Wright would be his final batter.

Tanaka used a splitter to force Wright to line out to Jeter to end the game. The Yankees' four-game losing streak was over thanks to Tanaka.

"I knew we were in a little funk, having lost four in a row," Tanaka said. "I also knew we hadn't won a Subway Series [game] in a while."

Tanaka hasn't lost a regular-season game in a long while -- Aug. 19, 2012, to be precise -- and who is betting against him at this point? He is a quarter of the way to another 24-0 season.


Yankees rumors: Hal Steinbrenner willing to spend to improve pitching staff via trade
By Tanya Bondurant @TanyaBondurant on May 15 2014, 2:55p | Pinstripe Alley
The Yankees' front office showed a willingness to blow past their $189 million payroll goals this offseason to bring in players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran. Almost half a billion dollars later, the Yankees are still looking for upgrades due to a rash of injuries among their starting pitchers. Ivan Nova won't be see again until sometime in 2015, CC Sabathia has been diagnosed with a degenerative knee injury that will only continue to worsen for the remainder of his contract, and Michael Pineda is out with a muscle injury until June at least. A weak AL East has allowed the Yankees to keep their heads above water with the likes of Vidal Nuno and David Phelps getting regular starts, but betting on that lasting would not be smart. Even getting Sabathia back is no guarantee for future success considering how the supposed ace has pitched of late. Hopefully that improves once he's healthy, but it seems unlikely that a knee issue caused the multitude of problems the lefty faced.

Hal Steinbrenner told the New York Post that he's willing to spend what is necessary at the trade deadline to make necessary upgrades. Unfortunately, money alone won't solve the problem. The Yankees need to hope that their farm system continues to play well, unlike last year, so that they have some hope of finding a worthy trade chip. The insane number of pitchers falling victim to torn UCLs won't help the Yankees on the trade market either. Teams will be desperate for pitching and others will be desperate to hold onto the healthy pitching they have. Add that to the fact that it seems like other teams are always ready to fleece the Yankees in trades (remember Manny Banuelos, Ivan Nova, Jesus Montero, and Dellin Betances for Ubaldo Jimenez, anyone?) and you have a bit of a dilemma.

The Post speculates that names like Cliff Lee of the Phillies, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel of the Cubs, and Bronson Arroyo of the Diamondbacks could be available at the deadline. If the Yankees are willing to take on salary, as Steinbrenner claims they are, then it should put them on a more even playing field with teams that have better prospects to give up. Lee is under contract through 2015 and shows no signs that age is starting to slow him down. Attempting to land him would mean trading prospects for a year and a half of control, which is better than giving away players for nothing more than a rental. Samardzija is in his second year of arbitration with the Cubs, pitching very well on a team that isn't going anywhere this season. He has a 1.45 ERA in 56 innings this year, but he has never shown the ability to be that good over a full season. He pitched to a 4.34 ERA in 213.2 innings a year ago.

Acquiring Hammel would be a rental situation with his one-year contract being up at the end of 2014. He currently has a 2.45 ERA with the Cubs in 47.2 innings this year, but his numbers didn't look so good last time he was in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles in 2013 with a 4.97 ERA in 139.1 innings. Arroyo would also be under team control in 2015 after signing a two-year, $23.5 million contract with the Diamondbacks this offseason. He has a 4.15 ERA so far this season, but had found a bit more success with the Cincinnati Reds over the last few years. Arroyo is the oldest of these options at 37 years old, while Samardzija would be the youngest at 29.

Whether or not any of these options are worth trading away the likes of Gary Sanchez or another top prospect remains to be seen. There is still a lot of baseball to be played before trade season really heats up. Pitching is obviously the team's greatest need right now, but with Beltran's elbow possibly requiring surgery and Brian Roberts' noted fragility, who knows how the landscape will change in the meantime. Luckily, it sounds like those writing the checks realize that they may need to make necessary upgrades to keep the team competitive in a season where the AL East could be anybody's to take. Bringing in Alfonso Soriano at the deadline last year was a move that really boosted the anemic offense. Hopefully they can find a similarly good deal to help out a depleted and struggling pitching staff this time around.


It's time to start believing in Yangervis Solarte
By Chris Mitchell @_chris_mitchell on May 15 2014, 1:00p | Pinstripe Alley
After eight unimpressive minor league seasons, Yangervis Solarte has broken out in a big way in 2014. Although the sample's pretty small, there's reason to believe Solarte's more than a flash in the pan.[/I]

Many of the Yankees' regulars have scuffled so far in 2014. Carlos Beltran, Derek Jeter, Brian McCann, Brian Roberts, and Alfonso Soriano have all struggled out of the gate, which has held back the team's offense. Six weeks in, the Bombers rank seventh in the American League in runs scored. Not terrible, but a bit of a let-down given some of the names in their lineup. Several players have fallen short of pre-season expectations thus far, but third baseman Yangervis Solarte has exceeded them by a wide margin.

Even for die-hard baseball fans, Solarte was a complete unknown three months ago. The 26-year-old had never managed to crack the majors, and frankly it's not hard to see why. Solarte spent the last two years playing for the Round Rock Express -- the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affilliate -- in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Yet despite the favorable offensive environment, Solarte only managed to hit a tepid .282/.332/.404. To put his performance in perspective, 15 players logged at least 150 plate appearances for the Express last season, and Solarte ranked 13th in wOBA. Not only was Solarte a career minor leaguer, but he wasn't even a good one. He was just another face in the minor league crowd.

But after an impressive spring training, Solarte beat out Eduardo Nunez for a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster and hasn't looked back. Through 33 games, Solarte's been easily the team's best hitter, slashing .336/.414/.521 and amassing a 157 wRC+ -- tops among qualified third basemen. Solarte's BABIP currently sits at .356, so some of his success has been driven by lucky bounces on balls in play, but not all of it. He's one of only 14 players in baseball who's managed to walk (12.1%) more than he's struck out (11.4%). Strikeout and walk stats stabilize pretty quickly, which sparks hope that Solarte's breakout might be for real.

It's hard to fluke into good strikeout and walk numbers over a six week stretch, but those numbers could certainly crater if pitchers find ways to exploit Solarte's weaknesses. But based on what we've seen so far, there don't seem to be many holes in Solarte's approach. Although he doesn't have the keenest eye, Solarte is far from a hacker, and has shown decent ability to lay off pitches out of the zone. Solarte has swung at 63% of pitches in the zone and just 27.7% of pitches outside of it -- both slightly below the league average

Where Yangervis has really excelled has been putting the ball in play. He's been particularly adept at connecting at pitches in the zone, which explains why he's struck out so infrequently. Solarte's made contact on 96% of the balls he's swung at, placing him 9th out of 179 qualified hitters. He's been no slouch on pitches out of the zone either, where his 77% contact rate ranks 30th out of 179. It's not like this is coming completely out of nowhere, either, as he struck out just 9.9% of the time in 1,145 PA's in 2012-2013. Solarte's always been a high contact guy.

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Ok, so Solarte's shown some ability to put the ball in play. You might be wondering what's going to happen when pitchers stop throwing him fastballs. Surprisingly, it looks like that's already happening -- and Solarte's been unphased. Just 54.1% of the pitches thrown to Solarte have been fastballs, a good bit below the league average of 58.4%. And although the sample's tiny, Solarte's hit .333/.385/.479 in 52 PAs that have ended in something other than a fastball --including a ridiculous .435/.480/.783 line in 25 PAs against breaking balls.

Solarte's bound to come back to earth at some point. Not only is his BABIP trending high, but his 11.8% walk rate smells a little fishy as well. He was never much of a walker in the minors, and lacks the mix of power and plate discipline to post double digit walk rates. Still, he's a player who can put the ball in play -- and can do so while hitting for a non-negligible amount of power. There's no way that Solarte will continue being one of the best hitters in baseball, but I could very easily see him hitting .275/.325./400 from here on out, which would make him roughly a league-average hitter. That's nothing special, but is more than adequate for a third baseman -- especially when the likes of Mike Moustakas (42 wRC+) and Marcus Semien (68 wRC+) can hold down starting gigs. One way or another, the Yankees found a diamond in the rough in Solarte. He was just some obscure minor leaguer three months ago, but today it's clear that, at the very least, he's worthy of a big league roster spot.


What To Do About The Depleted Pitching Staff
By Michael Eder | It's All About The Money
After recovering from a slumping offense, the Yankees found themselves with fourteen runs over their last two games. This type of scoring is usually enough to win a game or two, but the Yankees are now on a four game losing streak thanks to a depleted pitching staff. Both the bullpen and rotation are too injured to hold even mediocre offenses like the Mets to a logical amount of runs.

As I pointed out in the beginning of May, losing pitchers in the rotation will ultimately have an adverse effect on the entire pitching staff. Moving Vidal Nuno and David Phelps to the rotation removed two valuable middle relievers from their bullpen in the hope that they could find success in the rotation.

Since then, Nuno struggled in the rotation, Phelps pitched decently, and CC Sabathia suffered a knee injury. On top of that, the Yankees have found no success with the bullpen arms that they’ve brought up and Shawn Kelley was moved to the 15-day disabled list. While this run of injuries looks bleak, the Yankees could potentially be back to full strength in a couple of weeks. With Sabathia and Pineda back in the rotation, Phelps looks like a formidable 5th starter and the Yankees do have a couple of prospects that could help the major league bullpen.

But the obvious answer to the Yankees’ problems right now is to desperately look for a trade. At this point in the season, Brian Cashman would undoubtedly need to overpay for a starting pitcher, and only a handful of options are out there. The Cubs are still looking to deal Jeff Samardzija, and the Diamondbacks are probably willing to drop some payroll from their budget with their team still ten games under .500. But would overspending for Samardzija or taking a gamble on one of the Diamondbacks’ scuffling pitchers be worth it?

For Samardzija, the Yankees would need to see something special in the right-hander. At the moment, he owns a 7.23 K/9 rate and a 2.57 BB/9 rate, but the ERA is much more impressive at 1.45. He’s found some luck in the early part of the 2014 season, but this comes after posting a 4.10 ERA in his previous two seasons. Samardzija’s velocity has dropped slightly, and he’s allowing a ton of ground balls, but he’d probably be the Yankees’ second best pitcher in their rotation. Even with the Yankees’ infield defense as weak as it is, Samardzija would be a major upgrade to the Yankees’ current pitching staff. It’s still May though, and the Cubs could hold on to the pitcher and offer him a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Assuming the Yankees would eat the $4+ million left on his 2014 contract, the Cubs would still want a first round caliber prospect back. When they traded Matt Garza last season, the Rangers gave up both C.J. Edwards (BP’s #81 prospect in 2014) and Mike Olt (BP’s # 30 prospect in 2013) along with relief pitchers Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez. A similar package for the Yankees would include two of the Yankees top five prospects, which is a certainly a high price for a non-ace pitcher with less than a year of team control, but perhaps Samardzija could push the Yankees into playoff contention.

As for what the Diamondbacks would have to offer, Brandon McCarthy might be the most available and enticing starter. He currently owns a 5.66 ERA, but his 4.02 FIP points to some very bad luck. His K/9 rate of 8.50 and 1.89 BB/9 is promising, and since last season, he’s actually seen a significant velocity spike from 90.7 mph to 92.8 mph on his sinker. Again we’re dealing with a ground ball pitcher, but McCarthy has seen similar problems to CC Sabathia this season. While he’s striking out plenty of batters, walking few, and earning lots of ground balls, more than 1 of every 5 fly balls have been home runs. McCarthy looks like he could rebound soon, and the Diamondbacks will probably be happy to part with the majority of his $10.25 million 2014 salary. Acquiring McCarthy is a much more realistic trade than for Samarzija, as he likely wouldn’t even command a top prospect, but he’s also less obviously a top of the rotation pitcher.

More than likely, the Yankees will wait this out and hope they find lightening in a bottle with one or two of their young pitchers. Hopefully Sabathia and Pineda will return to full strength and bring the pitching staff back to normal, but even in this case, the Yankees should still worry about their fifth starter and ongoing injury bug. The team can survive two more weeks with a half-*** rotation, but any longer than that could be detrimental to their season. I do expect a move soon, but I wouldn’t count on acquiring a big name pitcher like Samardzija. A buy-low pitcher like McCarthy is more likely, but perhaps the most realistic scenario is finding help on the weak free agent market or waiver wire.
 
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Proshares said:
A friend sent me his video of a couple of his starts when they moved him up to AA, he just doesn't have it anymore. TJ is part of it but his velo isn't even back yet.
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I thought during spring training they said his velocity was back and he was around 93 mph? For some they get back in 1 year and others it takes 1 1/2 - 2 years to get back fully healthy. While some don't ever get their velocity back. Look at Neftali Feliz, he hasn't been the same since TJ surgery and idk if he's even in the majors anymore.

But like @Essential1  said, they're gonna end up keeping him in the minors year after year. He could benefit from a move to the pen but there's no room for him. Especially if Andrew Bailey ever gets healthy and plays for them.
 
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