How Many Can He Get?
Joba is coming back to the Yankees this week and the big question is how many innings can he throw between now and the end of the season? The Yankees are going to bring him back as a reliever and build him back up the same way they did back in May/June. The problem is, they have less than a month to do it.
Joba has thrown 89 innings so far and the Yankees need to get him as many innings as they can over the remaining weeks of the season. Realistically, I think it is going to be hard to get him more than 25 innings and that is being very aggressive. That would leave him at right around 115 for the season and probably mean that Joba is going to have an innings cap of 145 next season.
Add in the fact that Phil Hughes has thrown a total of 51 innings this season and Ian Kennedy 109 and you basically start 2009 in the same place you did 2008- three young pitchers with innings limits. The Yankees could send one or all of them to the Arizona League, but would they risk that with these arms? I'm not sure what the right answer is here, but it is something to keep a close eye on over the last few weeks of the year.
Comments
Peter,
You've touched on one of the frustrating aspects of this season -- facing the same innings limits on the young pitchers again next year.
It will be curious to see how Yankee management responds to this year's pitching debacle. We'll find out soon enough how committed they are to long-term sustainable development of young players. Or if they'll use this year as an excuse to abandon that approach. Which would indicate that they were not genuinely committed to that approach. I personally do not want to see a Santana-like contract lavished on Sabathia. Too many years, too much money. They're both fine pitchers, but that's a lot of money. And yes, I've changed my tune about this with respect to Santana. Last winter I thought he was the exception to the rule. But the more I think about the money and the years, and especially the fragility of pitchers, it just seems to me the risk is too high.
Posted by: Greg | August 30, 2008 12:32 PM |
I agree Greg, but think about the 2009 rotation for a second. You have Wang recovering from injury, Joba and that's pretty much it. There is absolutely no way the Yankees don't sign someone. They are going to give some pitcher a lot of money.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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August 30, 2008 05:29 PM
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I agree with Peter. They HAVE to sign at least 2 veteran starters and inning eaters. Maybe even Mussina for 1 more go around.
Posted by: Tim | September 1, 2008 01:41 AM |