Projecting the 2014 Pinstripe Starting Rotation

I'm a firm believer that pitching wins Championships. We last saw this in the Bronx in 2009, behind a resilient three man playoff rotation of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mr. Andrew Eugene Pettitte, who at that point were all conceivably close the top of their game.

Fast forward a few years to the upcoming 2014 campaign, zero championships later... and the once irrepressibleYankees rotation is average at best.

Andy Pettitte has decided to retire, and this time he'll be walking off into the sunset for good. Hiroki Kuroda, arguably the teams best pitcher over the past two seasons has also hinted at retirement. Phil Hughes, the once number four overall prospect in all of baseball has been nothing more than a disastrous nightmare for the Yanks, and all signs point to him finding a new home this winter. Not to mention the work horse himself Carsten Charles Sabathia is coming off the worst season of his MLB career,  leaving his future productivity in doubt.

Some may argue the Yankees need to bolster their lineup for the upcoming season, but I think the only way the New York Yankees can contend in 2014 is to construct a reliable and competitive starting rotation.

If everything unfolds the way it's projected, the only members of the 2013 rotation who are proven starters are Sabathia, Ivan Nova, David Phelps, and the masked man Michael Pineda.

Sabathia is, as I mentioned earlier, a question mark going forward, as is Michael Pineda, who's still coming off shoulder surgery and has yet to pitch an inning for the New York Yankees ever since coming over from the Seattle Mariners in exchange from Jesus Montero in January of 2012. Both Sabathia and Pineda's 2014 seasons can produce a range of outcomes from very good to very, very, (and I stress the word very) bad.... but I guess that can be said about any pitcher. On a lighter note, hopefully Ivan Nova will continue to be a bright spot for the future of the New York Yankees and continue to improve with experience. David Phelps will be David Phelps, a four or five starter at best.

All this being said, I think Brian Cashman should center a majority of his focus this winter on some of the younger pitchers on the market, specifically Ubaldo Jimenez and Masahiro Tanaka. Though they may not be long term solutions, they're both young with plenty of upside and room for improvement, especially in the hands of Larry Rothschild. These are the pieces worth paying for.

Jimenez, 31 has finally emerged as the front of the rotation starter Cleveland though it was getting at the 2011 trade deadline when they acquired him from the Rockies. After a slow start to the 2012 season, Jimenez fine-tuned his delivery, fixed his mechanics, and posted a modest 13 win season. Jimenez was light's out in September, going 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA, helping the Indians clinch a Wild Card berth and play baseball in October for the first time since 2007. The Indians needed someone to step up and carry the rotation when Justin Masterson went down with a rib cage injury, and it was Jimenez who did so.

Though the Yankees will have to cough up a draft pick in order to sign Jimenez since Cleveland made him a $14.1 MM qualifying offer, the leadership he displayed and his superb pitching down the stretch when games mattered most may make him very appealing to the New York Yankees. We all know playoffs really begin in the A.L. East in September and having an asset like Jimenez can be very beneficial in a playoff race. Let's not forget that Brian Cashman was in contact with the Rockies for Jimenez's services at the 2011 trade deadline as well, but a deal was never finalized. Is he destined to pitch in the Bronx?

Masahiro Tanaka, 25 may be the biggest prize of the off season behind free agent Robinson Cano... why else would the Yankees and Dodgers be the projected front runners to sign him? The 25 year old went 24-0 with a 1.24 ERA for the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles of the Pacific League in 2013. Though the Yankees may be skeptical about posting Japanese pitchers after throwing away $46MM  on Kei Igawa, there are many differences between the two. First and foremost is age. Igawa was 28 when the Yankees brought him aboard. Igawa was also a finesse pitcher with soft stuff that didn't really phase MLB batters. Tanaka on the other hand is way better. Tanaka has a fastball that consistently sits in the mid 90's and has a hard slider. His stuff is downright nasty. Last but not least are the numbers. Before coming to New York, Igawa produced a 14-9 record with a 2.97 ERA. He just doesn't compare to Tanaka.

Here's what I want the rotation to look like on April 1st, and this no fool.

1. C.C. Sabathia
2. Ubaldo Jimenez
3. Masahiro Tanaka
4. Ivan Nova
5. David Phelps/ Michael Pineda

This is a group of guys with tremendous upside but also disaster potential. The clincher for me is that they're young...yes YOUNG, something the Yankees seem to be lacking in recent years. Youth is what the Yankees need, and hopefully such a staff can pitch to it's full potential.


In the words of Brian Cashman;

"You can never have enough pitching."