The Captain's Blog

Does the answer to the Yankees’ bullpen lie in their starting rotation depth? (Photos of David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno: Getty Images)

Joe Girardi’s decision won’t be easy when it comes time to select the Yankees’ fifth starter, but not because the team is lacking in qualified candidates.

The Yankees entered camp with four pitchers in the mix for the final slot in the rotation, and each one has performed well enough to win the competition. However, although David Phelps, Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno have all pitched well, Michael Pineda has established himself as the front runner. With 14 strikeouts in nine scoreless innings over his first three appearances, Pineda has impressed scouts and opposing hitters alike, reviving some of the expectations the Yankees had for the big righty when they acquired him from Seattle two years ago.

Yankees’ Fifth Starter Competition

Source: mlb.com

Girardi really can’t go wrong filling out his rotation, but if Pineda wins the role, it could present the Yankees’ manager with some interesting options for the bullpen. In the recent past, the team’s blueprint has been to establish one or two late inning relievers as a bridge to the great Mariano Rivera, but with Robertson abandoning that role and ascending to closer, the Yankees do not have an overwhelming candidate for regular duty in the eighth inning (Shawn Kelly is the only pitcher who fits the profile, and his track record is less than convincing).

Instead of trying to shoe horn relievers into late-inning roles, Girardi might be better off building his bullpen around a rotation of long-men, especially if Warren, Phelps and Nuno all go north with the team. With three relievers capable of providing quality length, the Yankees’ manager could eschew his penchant for mixing and matching, opting instead to hand the ball off to a different member of the aforementioned trio on a scheduled basis. Although it wouldn’t be the same bridge every night, Girardi still might be able to create a reliable link between his rotation and closer.

If Nuno, Phelps and Warren are all equal to the task, they could each throw 4-6 innings per week, which would not only fill a void in the bullpen, but also keep each pitcher stretched out for spot-start duty. A relief rotation would also allow Girardi to protect his starting pitchers, which could come in handy as all but Ivan Nova will probably require some form of rest throughout the season. In addition, by shifting the focus from short-men to long-men, the Yankees could conceivably trim the number of relievers in the bullpen and use the extra roster spot to improve its depth at other key positions.

It would take some courage for Girardi to turn his back on modern bullpen theory, especially when league-wide statistics over an extended period of time suggest it has been relatively successful. However, the names on the Yankees’ roster seem to beg for change, and, if Girardi has had a particular strength as a manager, it’s been adapting his bullpen philosophy based on personnel.  One of the oldest clichés in baseball is you can never have enough starting pitching, but sometimes, managing the surplus can be a challenge. In this case, the Yankees have an opportunity to use their starting rotation depth to supplement a relatively shallow bullpen, but only if they play to the strengths of the pitchers involved.

There’s no guarantee that a rotation of long relievers will work, but all of the Yankees’ bullpen choices are fraught with uncertainty. Besides, in some ways, making such a fundamental change might help ease the transition from Rivera by shifting the focus from Robertson to the pitchers being used in front of him. Of course, that depends on Nuno, Phelps and Warren pitching well. Maybe they won’t? No one ever said building bridges was easy, and, if Girardi’s attempt to innovate falls flat, well, he can always cross that bridge when he comes to it.