Yankees Have No Plans to Pitch Joba Out of the Pen

(Zell's Pinstripe Blog)

Pete Abraham spoke with Cashman about some non-A-Rod related news and found out two interesting things. First, the Yankees have no plans to place Joba in the bullpen. Sounds good to me. The idea that he doesn’t have the stuff to be a starter is complete nonsense. He can pick either role, and I’m sure he would be successful in both situations.

Cashman also said that he likes the idea of having both Nady and Swisher on the roster. They definitely give Girardi a lot of options. I want both to stay with the team as well. If I had to pick one of them to go, it would be Swisher, but that’s beside the point. Right now, both are on the Yankees roster going into Spring Training.

From Peter Abraham’s Blog:

"

The Yankees will use Joba Chamberlain as their No. 5 starter from the start of the season. There are no plans to pitch him out of the bullpen. “That is why bringing Andy (Pettitte) back was so important,” Cashman said. Having Chamberlain as the No. 5 will allow the Yankees to easily skip his turn on occasion, thus controlling his innings.

Cashman said he “absolutely” likes the idea of keeping Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher on the roster. While a trade is possible, there is value in roster flexibility. “Nady can cover us in left and right. Swisher can play first, left, right and center in an emergency. It gives our manager a lot of choices,” Cashman said.

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