Warren set to take the fifth on mound
TAMPA − Joe Girardi hasn’t named a winner in the battle for the No. 5 starter job, but Brian Cashman thinks he’s seen enough to handicap the race. “I think there’s a predictable favorite,” Cashman said. “There’s a Secretariat right now in this race for me that’s got a number of lengths ahead of the field.”
That would be Adam Warren, who makes his next start Thursday in Port Charlotte against the Rays. Warren is 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in four starts this spring, allowing four runs on 13 hits over 13 innings. He has struck out six and hasn’t walked a batter.
Esmil Rogers started strong this spring before falling apart in his last two outings. He gave up five runs (only one of which was earned thanks to his own fielding error) over three innings Tuesday night against the Tigers, likely putting his hopes to win the job out of reach.
“Warren has certainly got a big lead in this, but we don’t have to make that decision today,” Cashman said. “When you’re running the race, someone is certainly ahead of the field. Things can change radically all the time. We have to stay healthy, but if we had to make a call today, it would obviously have to be Warren via the competition.”
Rogers will likely land a spot in the bullpen, joining Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, David Carpenter and Justin Wilson. That leaves two open spots for Girardi to fill, with Chase Whitley, Andrew Bailey, Chasen Shreve, Chris Martin and Bryan Mitchell all vying for those jobs.
DELLIN NOT CLOSE
Betances allowed a run in one-third of an inning, hanging a 1-2 curveball that Juan Lagares hit out of the park. Betances − who was pitching in his first back-to-back games of the spring − has now allowed four runs in 5.1 innings during his six outings this spring, a sharp decline from his brilliant spring and regular season a year ago.
“I’m obviously frustrated,” Betances said.
“I think he set a pretty high standard last year that’s not always so easy to live up to,” Girardi said. “My only concern is that he’s right at the end of spring training.”
After reaching 93 mph with his fastball on Tuesday night, Betances topped out at 90 mph on Wednesday, but both Girardi and Betances insist the pitcher is throwing harder than he was a year ago at this time.
“It was the last week that it kind of jumped up,” Girardi said. “It’s all part of the build-up process. If it’s the last week, the last day, you might have a little bit more concern.”
NOW BATTING AT DH . . .
Cashman cited the backup catching job and the final two spots in the bullpen as the biggest decisions heading into the final 10 days of camp, and while Girardi hasn’t seen enough to declare Alex Rodriguez the Yanks’ primary DH, Cashman believes A-Rod is on his way to that role.
“We’ll talk about all these things, but the way he’s looked so far down here, I would say he’s definitely pushing himself in the mix for full-time DH consideration,” Cashman said. “He’s got a lot of life in his body. If he continues to show athleticism, that means he’s going to impact the baseball. That will be good for us.”
Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a strikeout on Wednesday, lifting his average to .290 (9-for-31) this spring.
“I think I’m getting better,” Rodriguez said. “I’m happy with my strike zone discipline, and for me the goal never changes; just get a good pitch and put my ‘A’ swing (on it). Any time I give myself a chance to do some damage and swing at strikes, that’s a good thing.”