Cliff Lee To Phillies: Five Pitchers To Fill in for the New York Yankees
Well, after a much ballyhooed week of throwing money on the table at Cliff Lee, both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers ended up coming home empty handed as the Philadelphia Phillies came out of nowhere to win the sweepstakes.
Now, the world seems to have stopped considering the fact that four nine-figure contracts have been doled out so far this offseason, and none of them are being paid for by the Yankees.
Well, all is not lost with New York yet. Sure, they have a rotation that can be considered shaky at best, with a considerable head case in A.J Burnett waiting to give up seven runs in any given inning and Andy Pettite remaining unsigned, but it's not the end of the world.
The good news is that the failed experiment that was Javier Vazquez's second stint in the Bronx is over, and Yankee fans will not have to deal with watching him yak away a game in the second inning.
There are still some veritable options out there to fill in for a season or two before either a trade happens or a young guy steps up to fill the role.
So, let's take a look at the guys still out there who have the ability to step in and be the man somewhere near the back of the rotation for the season.
First, Stay Away From Greinke
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It will be too easy for the Yankees to fall back into "trading prospects for an established guy" mode with Zach Greinke.
Even if it has been reported that the Royals are currently unwilling to move him, I'm thinking that many teams out there would be able to change general manager Dayton Moore's mind.
What I'm saying is, don't do it.
Why shouldn't they go after the 2009 AL Cy Young you ask?
For one, there have been questions about him adapting to the game in the spotlight in the Bronx, considering that he has basically been living in baseball purgatory out in Kansas City, a place where the spotlight has not shone in ages.
Second, Greinke only has one season, his 2009 stint, in which his ERA has dipped below 3.00, and for the players they would have to give up to get Greinke, it would be more sound to have a more well established star rather than a budding superstar that Greinke is.
Finally, there are other things they can do with their wealth of minor league prospects like, well, bring them up for one.
If they fall back into old ways and trade away their prospects willy-nilly, it's a slippery slope that'll be hard to get out of.
5. Chris Young
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Chris Young has been a terrific pitcher in the past seven seasons and has only recently been sidelined with injury problems.
He missed most of the 2010 season after having arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder.
The good thing is that Young is not the type of pitcher to re-aggravate an due to his pitching style, he is not a high-heat type pitcher who would be prone to blowing out his shoulder, but rather a control pitcher who would be more likely to injure an elbow.
Young has a career 3.80 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP and would probably be worth giving a shot at this point in his career.
4. Freddy Garcia
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While Freddy Garcia is not the kind of guy who is going to come out and have a breakout year any time soon, he is a veteran guy who can be used as an innings eater and may even thrive in New York.
He is a guy who will have an ERA that hovers at or around 4.00, and his WHIP may end up being too high for many people's liking, but he doesn't walk many people and he puts balls in play which, for a defense that is pretty good in New York, should be a good thing.
He pitched last season with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP while his career numbers are a bit lower at 4.13 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.
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3. Doug Davis
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Doug Davis had a rather tough year this season as he dealt with a heart condition that kept him out of the game for a while.
Depending on if he can pitch for a full season or not, he may just be a guy the Yankees should look into.
He is another veteran who can use his pinpoint control and big breaking pitches to win games and fool batters.
While he sometimes walks the line, walking too many batters, he is also a very crafty pitcher, making up for it with a larger chunk of strikeouts every year.
He has recently gotten over a bout with thyroid cancer which leads me to believe that he will have little problems pitching with constant scrutiny in New York.
2. Ivan Nova
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Ivan Super-Nova was as cool as the other side of the pillow when asked to fill in as a starter near the end of the season.
Only once all last season did he look like a rookie, and that was when he gave up six runs in just under five innings against the Rays late in the season.
Nova has great command for a guy who is only 23, and isn't like other Dominican pitchers who try to throw the hell out of the ball and hope that the guy whiffs at it.
He doesn't have elite velocity or a knee-bending breaking ball, but he can hit the corners of the strike zone and change the eye level of the hitters with great consistency.
He is calm and collected the whole time he is on the mound and showed that he has what it takes to pitch for the team, now all he needs is a full season to show what he is worth.
1. Carl Pavano
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How much does this hurt, but the guy that looks like he could potentially do the best in pinstripes this season is a guy who Yankee fans cannot trust.
Just like they tried going to an old flame last season, the Yankees should do the same this season.
Pavano was borderline excellent a season ago, with a 3.75 ERA and a tiny 1.19 WHIP.
I know that the guy had his injury plagued years in the past, but he may just be the short term answer for this team, so long as he doesn't break his wrist while he's signing the contract.
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