The New York Yankees have fallen on hard times with their rotation. The team has recently placed Masahiro Tanaka on the disabled list. He is the second Yankee starter to go down as CC Sabathia also went on the DL this past week. This is the third major injury to the rotation as Michael Pineda suffered a season ending surgery as well. The Yankees could look to the waiver wire to add, or they could dip into their farm pool. What would make the most sense?
The waiver wire options
According to RJ Anderson of CBS Sports, there are some options that could make sense for the Yankees.
RA Dickey, Marco Estrada, Scott Feldman, Derek Holland, and Miguel Gonzalez were some names that were thrown around. Some of these names make more sense than others. Yankees fans can go ahead and cross Dickey, Feldman, and Holland off this list.
Dickey has a club option for $8 million or a buyout of $500,000. The Braves are more likely to hold on to Dickey and make a move in the winter. Feldman is not a difference maker and has never been in a playoff picture. Holland has never been the same after suffering a season ending injury in the 2014 season. Holland is way past his best season in 2013 when he had a 3.42 Earned Run Average with the Texas Rangers.
That leaves Marco Estrada of the Toronto Blue Jays and Miguel Gonzalez of the Chicago White Sox.
Estrada is an upcoming free agent, but is 5-7 with a 4.85 earned run average. The Blue Jays could sell low, but Gonzalez is the more appealing target for New York. Gonzalez spent four seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, so he is familiar with most of the players that still compete in the division. He has a career high in earned run average on the last place White Sox team.
The change of scenery could help both parties.
Chance Adams
Anderson refers to Adams as being a possible call up to fill in for Tanaka. Adams is a 23-year-old right handed pitcher. He is 6-1 and 210 pounds. The Yankees selected Adams in the fifth round out of Dallas Baptist. Adams is 13-3 this season in the minor leagues. That features a 4-0 mark in Double-A Trenton with a 1.03 earned run average.
Ever since he was bumped up to Triple-A, Adams is 9-3 with a 2.31 earned run average in 17 starts. He also holds a line of 88 strikeouts and has held opposing batters to a .173 batting average.
The Yankees decided to keep Adams when the team traded for Sonny Gray. Adams could slide into the back end of the rotation until either Tanaka or Sabathia return. Adams has never pitched in the major leagues, so his impending call up would be his major league debut. Adams has had quite the success in the minors, so the Yankees believe he can flip the switch and perform at the majors.
