New York Yankees Could Deal From Their Trio Of Dominant Relievers

Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances have dominated batters so far this season, striking out 27 of the 41 total batters the duo has faced. However, with Aroldis Chapman set to join the Yankees’ bullpen early next month, one of those three flamethrowers could become a trade asset.

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, the Yankees could address other areas of need — particularly the starting rotation — by trading one of their relievers. With the bullpen flourishing but the rotation continually a huge question mark, it seems possible for the team to consider a trade. However, the team is currently not thinking about that.

“The plan is to have those three guys the whole way, that is why we added Chapman to the fold,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Sherman.

Chapman will be eligible to return on Monday, May 9, for the first game of a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals, the defending World Series champions. At that point, the Yankees may not need to rely on their starters to go deep into games as the trio of Betances, Miller, and Chapman can handle the final three innings.

The rotation, however, is not even averaging six innings through the season’s first 11 games. As George A. King III of the New York Post writes, the Yankees’ rotation currently ranks 15th in the American League with 61-and-two-thirds innings. That averages out to five-and-two-thirds innings per game from the starting pitching.

It wasn’t until the Yankees’ 4-3 win two days ago that a starter exceeded six innings. Masahiro Tanaka threw seven solid frames before handing things over to the bullpen for the final two innings. Aside from Tanaka, the quartet of Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Luis Severino, and CC Sabathia have combined to pitch just one game of six innings or more (Sabathia on April 9).

“Obviously there is room for improvement. We are capable of having a quality staff if they stay healthy. I don’t think as a group we have pitched to our ability yet,” Cashman said to King on Monday. “We will see more as we move forward.”

Four of the Yankees’ starters entered this season with injury questions. Tanaka (elbow), Pineda (shoulder), Eovaldi (elbow), and Sabathia (knee) all missed significant time last season. As for Severino, the 22-year-old made just 11 starts last season but showed tremendous promise. He has struggled through his first two starts this season as he owns an 0-2 record with 5.91 ERA in 10-and-two-thirds innings.

A lot of the Yankees’ decisions this summer likely hinge on the performance of the non-Betances, Chapman, and Miller portion of the bullpen. Lefty Chasen Shreve, coming off a successful 2015 campaign, has been solid in his first five appearances, as he is yet to allow an earned run. Also, 23-year-old Johnny Barbato has been impressive through his first five appearances, striking out nine batters in six innings of work.

The Yankees acquired Barbato from the San Diego Padres after the 2014 season in the Shawn Kelley trade. He has always been a hard thrower but struggled to throw strikes consistently. As Sherman notes, Yankees minor league pitching coordinator Scott Aldred worked with Barbato to improve his control.

“I’m doing the little things every day, like going in, stretching out and making sure my arm feels good,” Barbato said to MLB.com after his debut two weeks ago. “Obviously when you’re feeling good, you’re going to be able to do more things, be a better player. I think that’s what mostly helped me out.”

The Yankees have coveted young, hard-throwing starters with less than three years of service time. It was the reason they parted with a productive veteran like Martin Prado two years ago to acquire Eovaldi. Sherman adds that the Yankees were interested Vincent Velasquez and Lance McCullers Jr. this offseason.

So if they choose to part with one of their elite arms, they will seek to acquire a potentially elite arm in return.

[Featured Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images]