Back of rotation still unsettled
Montgomery, Severino earn starts in final spring week.
TAMPA — Yankees manager Joe Girardi has thrown the competition for the fourth and fifth starting pitcher slots wide open less than a week before Opening Day.
Girardi, after a lackluster outing by Bryan Mitchell on Sunday, announced that rookie left-hander Jordan Montgomery and erratic right-hander Luis Severino will both get starts in the final week of spring training.
Montgomery, who burst onto the scene Thursday with an impressive outing in his first spring training start, is the only left-hander in the field. The 24-year-old is also the only one without any big-league experience. Montgomery will face the Blue Jays on Wednesday at Dunedin.
Asked if Montgomery was a serious candidate, Girardi said: “We’re talking about it. Yeah.”
Montgomery, a fourthround pick in the 2014 draft, went 14-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 25 starts between DoubleA and Triple-A last season. At the higher level, he was 5-1, 0.97.
Severino, who st ar ted spring training as a favorite but faltered, re-emerged with a dominant three-inning relief outing against the Phillies on Friday. Severino retired all nine batters and struck out five. He will start a road game against the Phillies on Thursday.
“We ’ r e n a r r o w i n g i t down,” Girardi said, perhaps signaling that some pitchers have been eliminated even though the Yankees haven’t revealed which ones. “We haven’t made any final decisions yet.”
Mitchell was the latest candidate to turn in a so-so performance when a better one might have earned him the nod.
Mitchell allowed three runs in three-plus innings in the Yankees’ 7-4 win over the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. It could have been w o r s e s i n c e t h e r i g h t - hander gave up six hits, walked two and hit a batter. Mitchell, whose spring training ERA is 4.57, struck out three.
“I think the results sting a little right now,” Mitchell said. “I felt good in the first and second innings. Then in the third, I think I put a little too much pressure on myself t r ying to keep runs from scoring and kind of tried to make perfect pitches rather than just letting the defense work.”
Mitchell allowed a pair of runs in the second when T a mp a B a y l o a d e d t h e bases on two walks and a hit batter and Brad Miller grounded a t wo-run single to center. Another run scored in the third on an error by second baseman Ruben Tejada.
“It stings a little bit right now, espec ially bec ause I f e l t go o d a b o u t wal k s throughout spring training,” Mitchell said. “I controlled them pretty well, I thought. That’s baseball.”
Mitchell has walked five in 21⅔ innings in spring training.
“I feel good,” he said. “Worrying about my next game. Hoping I get another s t a r t c oming up. At t hi s point in the game, I can’t not think about it, but I try not to as much as I can.”
The Yankees, who open the season Sunday at Tampa Bay, are set on their top three st ar ters: Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda.
After a day off Monday, Tanaka will face Detroit today in his final tuneup. G i r a rd i d i d n o t n a me a starter for Friday’s exhibition finale against the Braves in Atlanta’s new ballpark.
Mitchell’s outing follows Adam Warren’s mediocre performance Saturday. Warren gave up four runs in 3⅔ innings to the Blue Jays and could end up in the bullpen to start the season.