Yankees News: Michael Pineda Staying In The Rotation

By Kenneth Teape | May 29, 2016

May 28, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda (35) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

In recent New York Yankees news, starting pitcher Michael Pineda will not lose his spot in the rotation, at least for now, and will make his next scheduled start.

Recent New York Yankees news involves starting pitcher Michael Pineda. Pineda saw his season struggles continue this weekend, as the Tampa Bay Rays taggeed him for six runs in 3 2/3 innings in yet another loss.

As a result, there was some talk about whether the Yankees would remove Pineda from the starting rotation. On the season he has poor numbers with a record of 2-6, owning an ERA of 6.92 and WHIP of 1.65. The ERA is the worst in the major leagues for qualifying starting pitchers, so it makes sense that there would be discussions about his potential removal.

But, it would seem that those discussions were a bit premature, as the Yankees have no plans on removing Pineda from the starting rotation, at least not yet. Manager Joe Girardi said that Pineda will make his next scheduled start Thursday against the Detroit Tigers, putting to bed any of the doubts surrounding Pineda after Saturday’s poor start.

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Girardi was asked if the possibility of demoting Pineda, or moving him into the bullpen as a result Sunday before the Yankees defeat the Rays. He said Pineda would get another chance, and they are still confident that Pineda get get it turned around.

“We still believe in Michael,” Girardi said. “It’s just some minor adjustments that Michael needs to make. Like I said yesterday, he wasn’t getting the ball to the first base side. That’s something that you have to be able to do against right-handed hitting lineups.”

Girardi pointed out Pineda’s past success as a reason to keep him in the rotation. But, the biggest reason for Pineda remaining there is probably because the Yankees do not have a clear replacement for him. There are no players banging down the door in Triple-A to get a spot, so removing Pineda just for the sake of removing him without having a plan in place makes little sense.

Pineda understands that he is putting the team in a tough position to win when he takes the mound and performs this poorly, as the Yankees are 3-7 in his starts this season. But, he remains confident in himself, which is important if he is to turn things around.

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Pineda will have at least one more shot to hold onto his rotation spot, but if he struggles against the Tigers he could have his spot taken away. Luis Severino is set to have a rehab start today, and could replace Pineda in the rotation once he returns to the big league club. That is a big if though, as Severino has struggled mightily as well this season, arguably worse than Pineda.

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