It’s almost the middle of January, and the Yankees quest for pitching depth continues.
It may get even more complicated if, in fact, Andy Pettitte doesn’t come back to the Yankees, or at least, for the beginning of 2011.
The Yankees are rumored to be interested in former Oakland A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer, but he has been on the DL regularly since 2008 and the Yankees aren’t sure if they are interested in him for the starting rotation or the bullpen.
So signing Duchscherer might not be the best or reliable option for the Yankees.
If the Yankees are looking for ideas, I might have one that couldn’t hurt. I mean, it’s just an idea.
This week, the Tigers just added Brad Penny to their rotation. Penny will join a rotation that includes Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Phil Coke and Max Scherzer, which might eliminate Armando Galarraga from it.
Since Penny was signed by Detroit, it’s been rumored that the Tigers could either demote Galarraga to the bullpen, trade or release him.
If the Tigers do decide to put Galarraga on the trading block or just release him, should the Yankees have some interest in the 29-year-old right-hander?
Galarraga has become infamous for his near-perfect game last year on June 2 against the Indians, but lost it on a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce.
Galarraga handled the situation perfectly by saying all the right things and not putting any blame on Joyce.
Galarraga did finish the 2011 season at 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA for the Tigers, but he did show a lot of signs of promise in his rookie season back in 2008 when he went 13-7 with a 3.73 ERA in 178.2 innings and finished fourth in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting.
Now, it seems as if Galarraga, who has been bounced from the majors to the minors in Detroit, may be in fact out of Detroit or at least out of their rotation.
Right now, the Yankees are not looking for a long-term answer for 2011, mostly because they have a lot of young arms developing in the minor leagues. They are just looking for a short-term solution.
Galarraga could in fact be a short-term solution. If anything, he can be an innings-eater who can give a team like the Yankees some depth and durability.
Right now, the Yankees have Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre penciled in for the fourth and fifth spots for the rotation. Nova would probably be best suited to be the fifth starter, while Mitre should be nothing more than a mop-up long reliever at best.
Getting a guy like Galarraga would be a definite upgrade over Mitre and that would move Nova to the fifth spot where he could develop without major pressure.
Now, the major question becomes: Do the Tigers even part ways with Galarraga? They don’t have to release or trade him and can in fact just keep him in their bullpen or send him back to the minors and call him up if a starter goes down with injury.
The other question that can be posed is: Do the Yankees have an interest and make an attempt to go after Galarraga?
I think with the names the Yankees have been linked to—Jeff Francis, Jeremy Bonderman, Duchscherer, guys recovering from major injuries—Galarraga could be the most reliable option considering he hasn’t sustained any major injury while still at a relatively young age.
Is there a better option out on the market for the Yankees than Galarraga? Maybe. If so, I even wonder what it is, along with a lot of other Yankee fans like myself have too this past winter. Especially since Cliff Lee took less money to return to the Phillies.
So now I post the question to you the community. Should the Yankees make an attempt to get Galarraga whether it be a trade or if he gets released and is on the market? Or should the Yankees pass and look elsewhere?
Now, whether or not you agree with the idea, like I said in the beginning of this, it was just an idea and couldn’t hurt.
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