PLAN B

Whether the Yankees want to admit it or not, they need another legitimate starting pitcher.  CC & Burnett are the only two pitchers who I can consider as reliable.  Burnett of course is a bit of a question mark, but his performances so far make me believe he will not bottom out like last year.  The other pitchers are either injured or simply just another question mark.  Colon has been great but we don’t know whether he can last all season.  Garcia has looked good, but again, we don’t know whether he can last all season, although Garcia did pitch last year for the full season with the White Sox.  Nova shows great signs of potential but the fact remains that he is still an unproven rookie.  The Yankees will try to sign a big name, but they have also enlisted a back-up plan after they failed to sign Cliff Lee.

Part of the Yankees strategy this offseason, was to sign some veteran pitchers to minor-league and low-value contracts.  I have referred to this strategy as the low risk and high reward strategy utilized by Brian Cashman.  It worked out well for Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia.  Both signings were very little risk as Colon was signed to a minor league deal and Garcia was signed to a 1.5 mil deal.  Colon & Garcia came with some high potential.  I originally though Garcia had a higher ceiling for potential but Colon is a man on a mission this season and after watching Monday’s game I was blown away with the speed and movement of Colon’s pitches.  For the very little they are getting paid (it’s all relative of course), they have high potential for great rewards.

Cashman also signed Kevin Millwood in the last week of spring training.  The Yankees had offered Millwood a minor league contract early in the offseason but Millwood held out thinking somebody was going to pay him big money.  I am not certain why Millwood thought anybody would offer him a legitimate contract as Millwood went 4-16 in 2010 with a 5.10 ERA.  Eventually Millwood signed with the Yankees for the minor league contract with some incentives, but had an opt-out clause where he could opt out of his contract with the Yankees if he didn’t make the MLB roster by May 1^st.  Millwood had the opportunity to pitch in the minors, but never looked especially sharp.  In fact, Millwood was never throwing faster than mid 80’s fastballs.  His first two starts were good where he only allowed 2 Earned Runs in 14 innings, but when he was called up to Triple-A last week he looked awful and allowed 6 Earned Runs in 2 innings.  By all accounts, Millwood looked bad.  Even with his poor performances there was a chance the Yankees could find a spot for him with Hughes going on the DL and most likely not returning until July 4, and Nova still trying to find his groove, but ultimately the Yankees passed.  Millwood opted out after going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA.  Ultimately, the Yankees risked nothing with this signing, so it never blew up in their face.  My opinion:  This was a good signing with low risk & high reward potential which ultimately was unfulfilled.

The Yankees also signed Carlos Silva after he was released by the Cubs.  You may remember him for getting into a fist fight with a teammate in the second game of spring training.  Silva has been limited to “extended spring training” games until recently.  Last season he started 21 games and ended the season with a 4.22 ERA.  At the very least, he could create some depth in the Yankees starting rotation.  He started with High-A Tampa last week and pitched a solid three innings.  Although he did allow two runs, they were attributed to two-run home run from Cubs Prospect Jae-Hoon Ha.  Ha has some serious potential and is hitting .346 this year with 5 home runs already.  Silva did strike out 4 batters in his start.  If Silva doesn’t work out… so be it.  He was only signed to a minor league deal.  Unfortunately for the Cubs, they are still paying him 11 million for the year.  I have a feeling that if Silva puts up some decent numbers he may make some starts for the Yankees later in the season.  Time will tell.

Following Millwood opting out of his contract, the Yankees signed lefty Brad Halsey to a minor league contract.  The name should sound familiar as he played for the Yankees back in 2004.  He was actually traded by the Yankees after the 2004 season for Randy Johnson.  Javier Vazquez and Dioner Navarro were part of the deal as well.  Before being shipped off to Arizona, Halsey went 1-3 for the Yankees with a 6.47 ERA.  His career ERA isn’t much better at 4.84, but he does have a decent amount of big league experience, starting 88 games in the majors.  Right now, Halsey will work out in Tampa and pitch in “extended spring training” and presumably work his way up the system.  I’m not sure how he fits in with the Yankees but for a minor league contract it may just be nice to have insurance with Halsey as a mid-season call-up with major league experience if one of the starters goes down.

Side Notes:  Halsey was the pitcher in the game where Jeter dove into the stands up in Fenway.

Halsey was the pitcher who gave up a home run #714 to Barry Bonds

These guys all show some potential and were signed with very little risk.  If the Yankees can’t find another big name starter they may have to mix and match with some of these guys.  At least they have put together Plan B.