The NY Yankees have a number of questions coming out of the spring apart from whether or not they will trade Ichiro Suzuki or pitcher David Phelps and one of the biggest ones is what the team will get out of Michael Pineda this season, as he is two years removed from serious shoulder surgery and now he will join Masahiro Tanaka in the starting rotation.
The Yankees had Pineda battling with Adam Warren, David Phelps and Vidal Nuno for the fifth spot and now they have a stable of solid pitchers that have the experience to take over if someone goes down during the season. Masahiro Tanaka will pitch the fourth game of the season for the Yankees and that means he will be pitching against the Toronto Blue Jays on the road on April 4 and that will be a very anticipated game after he signed his huge contract during the offseason. The Yankees are hoping Tanaka can be a rock in the rotation along with CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda.
The Yankees made a big splash in the offseason after missing the playoffs and along with Tanaka they signed Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann to free agent deals and once again expectations are very high for the team. Ichiro Suzuki has been mentioned in trade rumors since he is the odd man out in the outfield heading into the season, but general manager Brian Cashman dismissed the notion that the former Mariners star can't be valuable, citing his strong defensive play and speed on the bases and he also will serve as insurance if anyone goes down on the DL. Ellsbury and Gardner have dealt with injuries over the past few years and the age of Beltran could get Suzuki some at-bats and playing time as well.
Tanaka has been impressive this spring and so has Pineda and David Phelps, but he will be moving to the bullpen and manager Joe Girardi feels that the back end will be a strength this season. Francisco Cervelli was shopped by the Yankees this spring and while he did not generate much interest, he has likely played himself back into a role with the team, as he has hit over .450 with five home runs and seven RBIs. Dellin Betances has pitched himself into a role as well and Pineda has been strong throughout the spring and the most promising sign has been the fact that he hasn't had any shoulder issues or injuries. Pineda was great in the game he pitched against the Red Sox, going for four innings and averaging over 95 mph on his fastball.
