New York Yankees Reward Adam Warren With Rotation Spot

By Kenneth Teape | Jun 2, 2015

Adam Warren Has Earned A Spot In The New York Yankee Rotation With His Recent Performance

With the New York Yankees beginning to get some players back on their pitching staff, decisions have to be made regarding the starting rotation. Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to return Wednesday, meaning someone needs to be pushed out of the rotation and into the bullpen. There were really only two players who had to worry about getting moved; Adam Warren and veteran Chris Capuano. The Yankees made that decision Monday, and judging by recent performance it wasn’t a very tough one.

Warren was awarded the last spot in the rotation, and he earned it. On the season, Warren has a 3-4 record with a 3.75 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 57 ⅔ innings, which are very strong numbers for a No. 5 starter in a rotation. He has been even better over the last month, throwing four consecutive quality starts. The Yankees’ record over that time is only 1-3, but that has more to do with their lack of run support for Warren than ineffectiveness on his end.

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That is something manager Joe Girardi mentioned as well, saying, “He pitched a great game yesterday [against the Athletics in a 3-0 loss]. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get him any runs, but he pitched really well.”

Warren has been able to turn things around after a tough start to the season, as he failed to give the Yankees a quality start in his first six starts of the season, unable to make it through the sixth inning. Over that course of time, he also had three starts he gave up four earned runs, which ballooned his ERA at the time. He has gotten things going recently though, as his ERA has dropped five consecutive starts.

While Warren’s numbers won’t jump off at you, he has done immensely better on the mound than his competition in Capuano. Capuano has essentially been a disaster since coming off the DL two weeks ago. In his three starts, Capuano has been hit hard, as he is 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA and 1.74 WHIP. Like Warren, the Yankees didn’t provide him with much scoring support, but when you reach the sixth inning only once in three starts you aren’t really doing your part on the mound.

Like any good veteran, Capuano took the change in stride, knowing it is what is best for the team and insisted he isn’t worried about heading into the bullpen. “I don’t try to think too much about the big kind of political issues as a player. It’s enough every day to just try and figure out what’s my routine, how am I going to take care of my body, how am I going to get ready to play. I try not to waste too much mental energy on that.

Warren may have beaten out Capuano this time, but he needs to continue pitching well to secure a spot in the rotation long term as Ivan Nova isn’t far off from his recovery from Tommy John surgery. While he has earned the chance to stay in the rotation this time, he cannot get comfortable there and needs to continue performing.

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