Via Donnie Collins, the Yankees have released Carlos Silva. Joel Sherman says it’s because he was having shoulder trouble. The 32-year-old was brought aboard on a minor league contract this spring after being released by the Cubs to provide some pitching depth when the Yankees needed it the most. He struck out 28 and walked six in 36 minor league innings, getting a ground ball 50% of the time.
Minors Notes: Anderson, Sanchez, Injuries, More
Got a bunch of minor league notes today, so let’s round them all up in one post. Everything comes from Mike Ashmore or Chad Jennings…
- Right-hander Brian Anderson has been released. He had been on the Double-A Trenton disabled list with a biceps issue, though his performance when he did pitch was pretty good: nine strikeouts and just one walk in 7.1 IP.
- Mark Newman again said that Gary Sanchez is out with a “stiff lower back,” though he’s playing in Extended Spring Training. He is on the Low-A Charleston disabled list at the moment, and he’ll return there when healthy.
- Both Slade Heathcott (.376 wOBA) and J.R. Murphy (.385) will “probably” move up to High-A Tampa this summer. That’s a yes, though I was wondering if Heathcott’s brawl would slow down his schedule somewhat.
- Mark Prior is not throwing off a mound and is dealing with some kind of oblique/hip issue. Alan Horne (remember him?) is throwing in ExST, as is Brad Halsey. Graham Stoneburner, Jeremy Bleich, and Steve Garrison aren’t close to returning yet.
- David Adams is still having leg issues. It might be related to last year’s broken ankle, but the leg started bothering him after his one game played this year.
- When asked about who’s impressed in ExST, Newman responded with personal fave Bryan Mitchell. “He’s got electric stuff,” said Newman. “He’s got the stuff to be the next Banuelos, Betances. The high-end guy. That’s Mitchell.”
- Carlos Silva can opt out of his minor league deal in mid-June, so he could probably make another two or three or maybe even four starts for Triple-A Scranton before the Yankees have to make a decision about whether or not to call him up.
The Yankees remaining pitching depth
In today’s game it is the rarest of feats for a team to last an entire season using only five starters. It’s not even common to see a team use only six. Pitching depth has become an important aspect for any contending team. That puts the Yankees in a tough position. They came into spring training with two open rotation spots and few arms to fill them. What would happen if someone didn’t work out? Worse, what would happen if someone got hurt?
The Yankees got the answer to the latter question pretty quickly. Phil Hughes hit the DL after three terrible starts. Thankfully, the Yankees did have a surprise replacement in Bartolo Colon. That has worked out well so far, as have the other two non-household names in the rotation: Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova. But sometimes it feels as though the Yankees’ rotation is held together by CC Sabathia and some duct tape. What will happen, then, when they need a seventh starter?
Yesterday one of the depth options, Kevin Millwood, left the fray. That doesn’t represent a huge loss, since the Yankees reportedly weren’t impressed with his stuff. Still, he was a veteran option who could have stepped in if the Yankees needed an extra starter. They’ll have to move onto the next guy. Here’s who we could see in the case that Garcia, Colon, Nova, or even Burnett becomes a problem down the line.
Carlos Silva
Signed to a minor league contract last month, Silva just threw his first extended spring training start on Saturday. He’s still a little ways off, which is fine. The rotation is going well right now, and barring injury they probably won’t need someone for at least another two or three turns through the rotation. Silva pitched well for the Cubs last season — under Larry Rothschild’s tutelage — with a 4.22 ERA and 3.75 FIP. At this point in his career he’s not going to dazzle anyone, but he can definitely serve a purpose in the back of the rotation. As long as the Yankees don’t need another starter in the next two weeks, I presume he’s first in line when that need does arise.
David Phelps
He got some hype this winter as the Yankees tried to build the staff, but there was no realistic way he was making the Opening Day roster. A rough spring made that took away unrealistic chances. His 2011 season has been ho-hum so far, a 4.15 ERA in 30.1 innings. A couple of short outings at the start of the season depress his numbers a bit, but it’s not as though he’s been dominant since. His maturity as a prospect and his good control will probably put him next in line for a call-up.
Adam Warren
I was surprised to see Warren start with the AAA team, but he’s made a fair run of it his first five starts. That is, he’s experienced good results. The inputs — specifically his 17:13 K/BB ratio — haven’t been that encouraging. He’s also a fly ball guy, which makes him more of a liability at Yankee Stadium. Again, the stat sheet looks fine, but given his lack of experience (just 84.1 innings above A-ball), his current profile as a fly ball guy, and his spotty control, I’m not sure he’s taking the shuttle to the Bronx this year unless there is a major catastrophe.
Andrew Brackman
At some point this season Brackman figures to make a Bronx appearance. Whether that’s as a starter or in relief remains the question. His first four starts at AAA haven’t been great, as he’s been a bit wild at times. The Yankees clearly want to get him more experience in the minors, so I assume he wouldn’t get the call until mid-June at the earliest. Even that might be stretching it. He’s in line for sure, but he doesn’t appear to be near the front.
Hector Noesi
Sitting in the bullpen rather than pitching didn’t help Noesi’s case. He’s on the 40-man roster and because of that he’ll always be near the front of the line. But he will probably need some more work if he’s going to take a spot in the rotation, even if temporarily. Clearly, he was an emergency-only option during his brief sting with the team earlier in the year.
D.J. Mitchell
I don’t think he’s much of an option, but he’s at AAA so he at least gets a mention. A two-pitch guy without much of an out pitch, he’s probably bullpen-bound anyway.
Schaeffer Hall, Craig Heyer, Manny Banuelos
They’re all off to good starts in AA, but I doubt they’re ahead of any of the AAA guys, except maybe Mitchell. Maybe later in the season they’ll move up a level and get a longer look, but until then I doubt the Yankees think about adding any of them to the 40-man and then the active roster.
Silva set to throw batting practice
Via George King, scrap heap pickup Carlos Silva is scheduled to throw batting practice in Extended Spring Training for the first time since signing with the Yankees a few weeks ago. He had been working under a conditioning program and throwing bullpens so far, but moving on to face live batters is the next step toward minor league games. I’m not sure what Silva will give the Yankees, if anything, but they need the pitching depth and it doesn’t hurt to have him as an option.
The Pitching Waves
Sixteen games into the 2011 season, two things are very clear about the Yankees: they have a great offense, and boy does their starting pitching stink. They’re second in the majors with a .357 wOBA but first with a 126 wRC+, hitting at least six more homers than every other team. Just wait until their .260 BABIP (third lowest in baseball) starts to correct. At the same time, the Yankees’ rotation has the worst ERA (5.06) and third worst FIP (4.38) in the American League, and their average of 5.32 innings per start is the worst in baseball.
Obviously that has to change, we’ve known that since the last September. Even if the Yankees had landed Cliff Lee, they’d still be in need of starting pitching right now, that’s how bad it’s been. That’s another post for another time, I suppose. The offense and some timely bullpen work have helped the team overcome its starting pitching problems during the first 16 games of the season, but obviously this isn’t a sustainable approach to securing a playoff berth. Some pitching help is on the way though, just not the kind of help a contender wants to rely on.
At the moment, both Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have done a bang up job of turning the clock back, at least temporarily. Who knows how long it’ll last. Kevin Millwood will make a second minor league start for Triple-A Scranton this weekend, and there’s ten days until his opt-out clause kicks in. The Yankees will have two more looks at him before deciding what do, though you’d have to imagine that if he shows anything that looks like it could get big league batters out, he’ll be called to join the team. Millwood represents the next wave of pitching help, as unappealing as it sounds.
Behind him lies Carlos Silva, who apparently showed up to Extended Spring Training slightly less fat than the Yankees expected. He isn’t doing anything more than conditioning drills last we heard, but you have to figure he’s not far off from climbing on a mound. He did pitch with the Cubs in camp just a few weeks ago. If he goes on the Millwood plan, meaning some starts in ExST and two or three appearances with the full season minor league affiliates, then we have to figure he’s about four weeks away, at the very least. Silva, as unspectacular as he is, is the second wave of pitching help.
By the time he comes up, if he does at all, we’re talking early-June or so, which is the start of trading season. The Yankees are surely mining the pitching market at the moment, but it’s not often that teams will commit to selling off valuable pieces this early in the season. If the Twins keep tanking, maybe Francisco Liriano becomes available sooner than expected. Maybe the struggling Astros make someone available, maybe MLB’s takeover of the Dodgers put someone on the market, who knows. A lot will change over the next few weeks and the Yankees are simply going to have to bide their time until it does. For all intents and purposes, the trade market is the third wave of pitching help.
Although Millwood and Silva are the obvious guys on the way, there is also one constant: the farm system. If the Yankees need to plug hole in-between some of these veteran scrap heapers, there’s always a Hector Noesi or an Adam Warren a phone call away. Best of all, those guys are already in game shape, there’s no need to wait. The first round of pitching help, essentially Garcia and Colon, has worked out well so far, but it’s just been one turn through the rotation for both of those guys. How long it will last is anyone’s guess. Millwood and Silva will offer some alternatives (not necessarily help, but at least alternatives) in the coming weeks before the trade market heats up, plus there’s always the farm system. Until the rotation gets settled, the offense is really going to have to carry to load, and it’s certainly good enough to do that.
The plan for Kevin Millwood
Via Brian Costello, Brian Cashman confirmed that Kevin Millwood will make his next start for Triple-A Scranton sometime this week. He just threw seven one-hit innings for Double-A Trenton on Sunday, so sometime this weekend is a safe bet. The Yankees have 11 days left to evaluate Millwood before the opt-out clause in his contract kicks in, so it looks like they’ll get to see him make two starts for Scranton before the decision needs to be made.
Carlos Silva, on the other hand, is not scheduled to pitch anytime soon. He’s in Extended Spring Training right now and is undergoing a conditioning program.
Yankees sign Carlos Silva
Via Jon Heyman, the Yankees have signed Carlos Silva to a minor league contract that has an opt-out date. The Cubbies are on the hook for his entire 2011 salary after releasing him ($11.5M), so the only thing the Yankees will have to pay him in the pro-rated portion of the league minimum. The Yanks, says Sherman, will send him down to extended Spring Training in Tampa in an effort to ” get [him] in shape” before shipping him off to a farm club.
Late last month we heard that the team had no plans to pursue the right-hander, but apparently they changed their mind (probably after seeing Phil Hughes’ awful start to the season). Larry Rothschild was his pitching coach in Chicago, so I’m sure he had some input here. I’m not a Silva fan because of the whole pitch to contact thing, but I’m not going to complain about a deal that costs the team next to nothing. The depth doesn’t hurt.