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New York Yankees Will Let Luis Cessa Develop As Starting Pitcher

By Kenneth Teape

Feb 28, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (28) talks to a group of players before running a drill during the workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (28) talks to a group of players before running a drill during the workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Yankees have decided that they will let prospect Luis Cessa continue developing as a starting pitcher like he would like to do.

The New York Yankees may not have had an active offseason on the free agent market, but they were very active on the trade front. They made a total of four deals, acquiring the likes of Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro and Aroldis Chapman. The fourth trade is one that people forget, as they shipped left-handed reliever Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers.

At the time, it was a trade that many people questioned. The Yankees went into the offseason looking to shore up their bullpen, as Wilson combined with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances as the only reliable options for Joe Girardi. By trading away Wilson, it seemed like the Yankees were making a mistake, but the acquisition of Chapman quelled some of those worries.

With the bullpen now having three lights out arms at the back end, the Yankees just need to piece together the middle relief to bridge the gap to their big three. One of the people that could eventually fill that role is someone the Yankees acquired from the Tigers in exchange for Wilson; pitcher Luis Cessa.

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Cessa has been involved in some big trades in the past couple of months, as he was part of the package that the Tigers received for Yoenis Cespedes prior to the trade deadline. He is now back in New York after the Yankees acquired him along with Chad Green for Wilson. There are many people that believe Cessa projects as a relieve down the road, citing his lack of a pitching repertoire.

Cessa currently throws a fastball that clocks in at about 93 miles per hour, with a change up. He also throws a slider and curveball but on Monday said that he is working on a slurve. Having only two real pitches at the moment is a reason that people believe he will be a relieve at some point, but that time is not now.

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The Yankees plan on giving him an opportunity to develop as a starter, something that he prefers to do. He said that he would do whatever the Yankees need him to do, but made it clear that his preference is to start. The Yankees will listen to his preference, as the plan is to allow him to start for now.

Cessa has made 95 appearances in the minor leagues thus far in his career, and 86 of them have come as a starter. Cessa has a career ERA of 3.68 in the minor leagues with a 1.24 WHIP, 7.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 513 2/3 innings. Those are solid numbers, as Cessa was successful at AA with an ERA of 3.00.

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But, once he got to Triple-A, he struggled mightily. Cessa got his first taste of the Triple-A last season, and the results were not pretty. In 12 starts, he went 1-6 with an ERA of 7.55. His WHIP jumped up to 1.69, as his BB/9 also rose to 2.8. His K/9 also went up to 8.4, but the rise in ERA is concerning.

Part of it could have been the trade, as he was moved from the Mets organization to the Tigers. Also, many of the parks in Triple-A, especially where the Mets play in Las Vegas, are hitter havens, making it difficult on pitchers.

Whatever the reason may be, the Yankees are willing to look past it and try to work out the problems with Cessa. They are trying to make the most of the trade of Wilson, as Brian Cashman is excited to have Cessa in camp. “We think he has starter capability, just like we think Green has starter capability,” Cashman said. “And then if not, all failed starters go to the pen. We feel we acquired, in Cessa’s case, a strike-thrower with a good arm.”

As currently situated, Cessa is probably eighth, at best, on the Yankees’ starting pitchers pecking order. He is behind the six players fighting for a spot in the rotation already in Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi, C.C. Sabathia and Ivan Nova. Bryan Mitchell is also on the outside looking in, but probably ahead of Cessa at this time for the experience he has in the bullpen already.

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Whatever may happen for Cessa this spring, he will be given a fair shot at doing what he wants to do in being a starting pitcher. But if he struggles at Triple-A as he did last season, the Yankees may have to change course and convert him to a reliever.

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