WHY THIS LEFTY COULD SHINE FOR THE YANKEES

The Yankees made a move to possibly stabilize their lefty portion of the bullpen. Mike O’Connor, a lefty that spent time with the Met and the Nationals got a minor league deal with the Yanks. What? You never heard of Mike O’Connor? Me neither, I’m going to be honest with you. But the point is it’s Brian Cashman re-inventing the game of signing during the off-season. I think Cash learned fast what it means to sign pitchers to multi-year deals when he signed a damaged Pedro Feliciano and before that, Damaso Marte. (Please read THE MARTE & FELICIANO COMEDY HOUR.) Both lefties, both hurt and both signed to more than 1 year and the Yankees paid for it. Signing Mike O’Connor could turn out to be one of the smarted off-season deals by the Yankees this season because it’s cheap and he's a lefty. O’Connor may prove that he’s quality and he may end up in the Yankees bullpen to help out Boone Logan in late inning mix and matching. Then again, we don't know, it's a rolling of the dice, but a cheap one.

Let’s face it, it’s not about names, it’s about what these guys can offer. Don’t forget, many of you had no idea who Cory Wade was before this season, but Wade shined in New York and we want more of him in 2012. Mike O’Connor could be the diamond in the rough, the lefty that’s cheap and capable to assisting Boone Logan in the late innings. Last season, O’Connor’s line looked like this:

2.70 ERA / 9 G / 6.2 IP / 5 H / 2 ER

You can click on O'Connor's hyperlink and check out his lefty matchups using Baseball Reference. He's impressive and it could be a good thing. Hey, all I’m saying is it’s worth a shot.

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