How the mighty have fallen. With the Yankees saddled under a mountain of bad contracts and with other teams signing young players to long term contracts that buy out their first few post-arbitration years, and with all of baseball flush with TV money, the Yankees have decided to forego contending for the next few years, while their albatross contracts play out and they finally turn their attention to developing their own players. Brett Anderson? Too rich for their taste. Brandon McCarthy the same. Chris Capuano who last year wasn't good enough to pitch middle relief for the Red Sox is now the Yankees number 4 starter.
Chris Capuano is no one’s idea of a Yankees rotation cure-all
By George A. King III December 16, 2014 | 5:01pm
While a spoiled fan base grows increasingly frustrated that Hal Steinbrenner won’t throw good money after the bad $500 million he tossed into the pot last winter, questions about the Yankees starting rotation linger.
Will CC Sabathia’s right knee and Masahiro Tanaka’s right elbow hold up? Can Michael Pineda make 30 starts? When will Ivan Nova return from Tommy John surgery? Is Hiroki Kuroda, the most consistent starter last season, returning, retiring or going to pitch in Japan? Where do David Phelps and Adam Warren fit?
And who is replacing David Robertson in the closer’s role?
The Yankees have their fingers crossed Sabathia and Tanaka can contribute considering the financial investment in them, but nobody really knows until at least the end of spring training.
On Tuesday, the Yankees added depth to the suspect rotation by signing veteran lefty Chris Capuano to a one-year deal for $5 million. For the fans clamoring for free agent studs Max Scherzer or James Shields, getting Capuano doesn’t do much. Nor does it keep people from other organizations from predicting the Yankees eventually will jump in on Scherzer and Shields, despite the Yankees’ denials that will happen.
Capuano, who went 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA in a dozen starts after joining the Yankees on July 24, was signed to be a starter, according to GM Brian Cashman. In 40 combined outings for the Red Sox and Yankees, Capuano was 3-4 with a 4.35 ERA.
“We tried to sign him last year, but we didn’t match up,’’ Cashman said of the 36-year-old Capuano, who opened the season in the Red Sox bullpen and was pitching in the Rockies’ system when acquired by the Yankees.
If all the questions in the Yankees’ rotation are answered positively — and that rarely happens — Capuano will be the fifth starter. If those questions are met with negative responses, he would be elevated in the rotation, and that isn’t an encouraging thought.
“There are a lot of areas you try to address like run protection and run contributions, and we have improved with [Chase] Headley, Didi [Gregorius] and [Martin] Prado at second base,’’ Cashman said of an infield that almost certainly will be better than a year ago in the field and at the plate. “We have an exceptional infield with [Mark] Teixeira, Didi, Headley and Prado.’’
Though Cashman has added Headley, Gregorius, Capuano, and relievers Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson since the end of the season, more moves could be on the way.
“We are never done or finished, so I will continue to be engaged in the free-agent and trade markets,’’ said Cashman, who likely would want to add a veteran reliever to help in the late innings, if not save situations. Free agents Jason Grilli, Rafael Soriano and Sergio Romo, all of whom have closing experience, are available.
Had the Yankees met their goal of re-signing Brandon McCarthy, they might not have had an opening for Capuano. However, McCarthy inked a four-year, $48 million deal with the Dodgers and created an opening. In 14 starts last year for the Yankees, the 31-year-old McCarthy was 7-5 with a 2.89 ERA
