A Second Burnett ??

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any fan that the Yankees are looking for another lefty in the bullpen.  Right now Logan is the lefty “specialist” and aside from giving up a home run to Cleveland on Wednesday, he actually has been doing pretty well against lefties lately going back to the Cincinatti series when he struck out Votto & Bruce. Check out more on Logan HERE

Feliciano, who was signed as the lefty specialist in the offseason has been shut down for the season.  You can read about that HERE.  Andy Sisco was a lefty prospect down in Triple-A but was released about a month ago & Randy Flores has taken his place, but Flores' value remains to be seen at this point.

Even with Logan doing better lately, the Yankees will need a second lefty in their bullpen should they want to compete in the postseason.  Right now, the biggest competition is the Red Sox whose lineup is filled with lefty power hitters.  In order to play in a 7 game series with the Red Sox the Yankees will need a second lefty in their pen for situations where Girardi needs a lefty to lefty matchup.  Since Boston has so many lefties, this very well could happen twice a game.  The first time would most likely be when Girardi feels his starting pitcher is beginning to gas and there is a lefty deck.  He would pull the starter and use lefty matchup for a batter.  This would likely only be a ‘one-out’ situation rather than using a lefty to pitch a full inning with better righties available in the pen.  Since Boston is so lefty heavy, there could be another inning later in the game with a power lefty coming to the plate that Girardi would have the freedom to again use the lefty to lefty matchup, whether it is for the full inning or just one out.  The hypotheticals on this are endless, but a second lefty is vital for postseason success.

Last night it was reported that the Yankees sent a scout to check out Sean Burnett on the Nationals.  Although Burnett didn’t pitch last night it seems as though the Yankees have an interest in pursuing the lefty.  Burnett’s numbers aren’t very flashy, but there aren’t terribly many options out there so he is worth considering.  Right now Burnett has a 5.76 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP.  His ERA on the season is a bit higher than his career average at 4.00 but his WHIP is generally where it has been over the past five years, averaging 1.38.  These numbers definitely don’t sway me, but this season lefties only have a .240 batting average against Burnett with a .316 on base percentage.  His numbers against righties seem to hurt his average as righties bat .308 against him with a .378 on base percentage.

Burnett has a decent selection of pitches to use which could be helpful.  His main pitch is a fastball/sinker which he throws more often than any other pitch.  He also uses a slider fairly often to keep batters guessing and sometimes will throw a changeup with varying success.  Although his numbers seem average at best, he is worth sending a scout to check out & after watching Masterson's sinker this past week - I want one of those!

Right now the Nats haven’t said anything as to whether Burnett is available for a trade, but I’m sure the Yankees have a few players they may be interested in.  It's worth keeping an eye on.