Last night in the River Avenue Blues open thread, a commenter asked what the Yankees would plan to do without Kerry Wood as the definite set-up man. I wanted the Yankees to bring back Wood at the right price, but he ended up taking a sweetheart deal to go pitch for the Cubs. However, as I responded in the thread, the Yankees will be just fine in the bullpen, even without Wood.
I fully expect David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain to do the set up job just fine. They combined for over 132 innings last year and could likely both handle a moderate inning increase–think about 10-15 innings between the two of them. That could apply more to Robertson, who pitched 61.1 innings last year. Chamberlain’s total was pretty high at 71.2. In fact, that total was the 7th highest among all American League relievers.
Chamberlain’s ERA wasn’t pretty in 2010, but there are indicators that 2011 will be better. Chamberlain’s K/9 was a shade under 10 at 9.67 and his 2.76 BB/9 is more than fine. He also dropped her his HR/9 to 0.75. The 45.6 GB% is also encouraging, and I would expect that .342 BABIP to drop. His 66.6% strand rate was rather low, too. I think we can count on a better strand rate in 2011.
Robertson, as usual, still had the strikeouts working for him (10.42 per nine). The walks were still there for him at 4.84 BB/9, but he upped his GB% to just under 40% and also dropped his HR/9 to 0.73. There aren’t any apparent red flags for Robertson, and I’m confident in his ability to repeat 2010, or at least come close to it. If Chamberlain can repeat everything from 2010, while lowering his ERA, he and Robertson will make up a formidable set-up combination. They won’t have to bear the load alone. And, while both Joba and D-Rob can pitch well enough against lefties, they will be helped by lefty specialists Boone Logan and Pedro Feliciano. The four of those pitchers can make up a solid bridge to Mowhere.
That doesn’t mean, though, that the Yankees shouldn’t at least think about adding another reliever. I’ve argued for Brian Fuentes, but he wants to close and may want a relatively long term deal. Jon Rauch is also a possibility , but there’s been no market on him, so we have no idea what it will take to get him. I think Rauch could come relatively cheaply and he would be a welcomed addition.
What roles we may not be sure of are the non-late inning roles. The long relief role seems absolutely wide open. It could be someone out of the organization right now; it could be Sergio Mitre; it could be Ivan Nova. IT COULD BE MARK PRIOR! (No, no it couldn’t. Sigh.) Like it usually is, I think this role–along with the non-Mo/Joba/Robertson/Feliciano/Logan roles–will be rather fluid, like it tends to be each and every year.
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2 Responses to Envisioning Bullpen Roles
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TIQ IQ
I still like Heilman and believe he’ll have a solid year.
Matt, with Joba, the BABIP and the strand rate would seem to be at issue concerning expectations for his performance, rather than peripheral factors subject to some universal mean reversion. Seems to me he needs to work on that slider, to make sure it bites.