So as we all know by now the Yankees made little movement at this weeks Winter Meetings in Dallas. I certainly was hoping that Cashman came home to the Bronx with a Mark Buehrle, CJ Wilson, or Gio Gonzalez in tow, but it was not to be. Look, while the Winter Meetings is a week of fast and furious deals being made by GM's across MLB, it certainly does not end the process of off season acquisitions. There is plenty of time to trade or sign players. Now, that being said the one area that I think just about every Yankee fan can agree on is the need for at least another solid starting pitcher. Look, CC Sabathia is the ace we all dreamed he would be for us. He's already brought us to the promised land in just his first year as a Yankee in 2009.
But in 2009 CC did not have to carry the entire load. He had the veteran Andy Pettitte to share the workload. The CC/Pettitte, one-two punch, was key to the Yankees finishing with 103 regular season wins and eventually beating the Phillies in the World Series. So what can the Yankees do now? It's always easier said than done, right? Okay, lets first take a look at our probable starting rotation if the season started tomorrow:
toss in Hector Noesi(spot starter?)
I personally feel that a CC/Nova, one-two punch, could really match what the Yankees did in 2009. I mean, the more and more I see Nova the more he reminds of Andy Pettitte. I've mentioned that comparisons several times in my BYB pieces during the 2011 season. But is it enough for 2012? Even if CC and Nova put together CY Young type caliber seasons is it sufficient? I guess that's debatable but why even take that chance? We have no idea what we will get out of Hughes this year and the same certainly goes for Burnett. And even if Garcia gives us a repeat performance in 2012 I'm just not sure it will be enough, especially postseason time Okay, so I think the Yankees have two options...
- Option #1: The Yankees continue to work the free agent market for a solid starter or work out a trade for a pitcher.
- Option #2: The Yankees give one of both of the "Killer B's" a shot at the starting rotation. The "killer B's" being Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos.
However, that being said, in order to get a good starting pitcher we are going to have to make a dent in our Yankee team/farm system. There is no way around it. Obviously signing a free agent is just a money issue, but getting a guy who is locked in with another team is gonna cost you warm bodies. I am not going to get into a discussion here about who we should trade. That is really another piece that I can put together some other time. But, what I will say is, if you read Bleeding Yankee Blue, you know we practically started the Gio-To-The-Bronx campaign weeks ago. So, to me, the door is open for ideas on how we get Gio to the Bronx and what we give up in return? Would love to hear your ideas...let us know.
Now, Option #2 seems to be a very popular option for a lot of fans. Many people want to give Dellin Betances and/or Manny Banuelos a shot at a starting job. Look, I am not opposed to that. In fact, in August I even wrote about bringing one of these guys up to replace AJ Burnett last season. You can read WHY IT'S TIME TO PULL A.J. BURNETT. AJ was so awful and I really thought we needed to stop the bleeding. So, at the time I was all for giving them a shot mid season. So when these two pitch in the spring and are lights out I will be the first fan to scream for them to be on that Yankee roster on opening day. But its now December 11th, not March 11th. I have not seen enough of the "Killer B's" at the MLB level to throw my eggs in that basket, just yet. I know that every rookie has to start sometime, obviously that is why they are called rookies. But what's the rush today? I am sure Cashman has ideas he has floated around and is planning to put into action this Winter. Let's give him some time to see what he can do. The one thing you don't want to do is possibly bring one of these kids up with all that pressure, having him fail initially, and possibly destroying his self confidence. I'm sure the Yankee brass know these kids better than you and I.
So what do you all think? Do we trade for a pitcher or do we just go for it and give Dellin Betances and/or Manny Banuelos one of the starting spots?
--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23
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