Who Is Brian Gordon ??

It seems as the Yankees are making new roster moves every day and today is no different.  Cashman got a little creative while looking for a starting pitcher to replace Bartolo Colon while he is on the DL, and found right hander Brian Gordon.  Gordon was not in the Yankees farm system, but was actually pitching for the Phillies Triple-A Lehigh Valley team and having a great season.  Prior to this announcement yesterday, it seemed like the Yanks were going to look internally for a starting pitcher and David Phelps was a leading candidate, but Gordon’s numbers were significantly better.  You Can Read More About Phelps Here

So far this season Gordon has pitched a total of 12 games, 9 of which were starts.  In those 9 starts he went 5-0 with a 1.14 ERA.  Gordon has pitched a total of 55 1/3 innings in the minors this season, striking out 56 batters and most importantly, only allowing 7 walks.  Over his last two seasons in the minors, Gordon is 25-13 with a 3.09 ERA.  He is somewhat of a journeyman minor leaguer and has been in the minors since 1997.  He made a major league debut with the Rangers back in 2008 pitching in 3 games as a reliever, for a total of 4 innings.  I think it would be fair to say that he is a career minor leaguer, but this year’s numbers were difficult for the Yankees to ignore in the wake of a string of injuries for the pitching staff.

Girardi commented yesterday that Gordon throws strikes.  This is important as he doesn’t have a high velocity on his fastball which sits around 90 – 91 mph and needs to execute his pitches well.  Gordon’s real weapon is his repertoire of pitches.  He throws a total of 6 pitches – 2 seam fastball, 4 seam fastball, cutter, changeup, slider and curveball.  This arsenal of pitches keeps batters guessing as to which pitch will be thrown next, as they are unlikely to see the same pitch twice in an at bat.  The mix of pitches also bodes well for the amount of ground balls he induces, as he is considered a ground ball pitcher.  Gordon’s reputation also includes his ability to hold runners on base.  I couldn’t be happier about that as Cervelli has become quite a liability behind the plate lately.

Sometimes the GM’s have to think outside the box when making roster moves.  In this case, Cashman and the scouts had kept an eye on Gordon throughout the start of this season and knew he had an opt out clause with the Phillies for early June.  Once Colon went on the DL, the Yankees were forced to make some moves and fortunately they acquired Gordon, a leader in Triple-A.  Say what you want about Cashman, but this is the type of creativity I want in my GM as the internal options weren’t nearly as appealing.

You can read the rest of the "Who Is ...? " series here:

Who Is Kevin Whelan ??

Who Is Buddy Carlyle ??

Who Is Hector Noesi ??

Who Is Lance Pendleton ??