By SAM MAXWELL
Staff Writer
If the New York Yankees win the American League in 2012, they can look to January 13th as the day that may have put them over the top.
That day the bombers bolstered their starting rotation, adding Michael Pineda in a trade from the Seattle Mariners, and signed Hiroki Kuroda out of free agency from the Los Angeles Dodgers. These two moves answered any questions about the club’s pitching rotation, and lands the club again as one of the favorites to win the American League.
However, the moves did not come without a price. In exchange for Pineda, and minor league pitcher Jose Campos, the Yankees had to trade arguably their best young prospect, in catcher Jesus Montero, and utility right-handed pitcher Hector Noesi.
Montero was ranked ninth on MLB.com’s top 50 prospects for 2011. Last season, he showed the baseball world that he is a legitimate big league hitter, posting a .328 average, with four home runs, and 12 RBI’s in only 61 at-bats.
It seemed like he was going to enter the 2012 season as the team’s starting designated hitter, and backup catcher to Russell Martin, as Montero’s catching abilities were considered suspect at best.
Even though it seems like the trade was a win for both sides, the Yankees finally have a stud number two starter to go behind ace CC Sabathia in Pineda. The 23-year-old Dominican was one of baseball’s top rookies last season, making the All-Star game for his sensational first half.
He was 9-10 last season with a 3.74 ERA as a rookie. I do not put too much into his record because he was playing for the Mariners, whose offense is that of a Triple-A club. That will obviously be different next season, as the Yankees have one of the best lineups in baseball.
Pineda posted 173 strikeouts in 171 innings last season, and walked just 55 batters. This was the perfect deal for the Yankees, as they acquired a promising young pitcher to compliment CC Sabathia, and also not break the bank in doing so.
On the same day, the Yankees also acquired right-hander Hiroki Kuroda in a one-year, $10 million deal. Last season, Kuroda went 13-16 but whose record, like Pineda, was a product of awful run support. He earned a 3.07 ERA (a career best) and posted 161 strikeouts in 202 innings. Even though Kuroda is 36, he brings some much-added depth to now a very deep starting rotation.
With the addition of Pineda and Kuroda, the bombers now have seven legitimate starting pitchers. Along with Pineda, Kuroda, and Sabathia, the team has AJ Burnett (who has number two stuff if he can get his head on straight), Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia, and Ivan Nova (who at times last season looked like the team’s number one pitcher). A team that could not find any starting pitchers last season now has too many starting pitchers.
With these additions, on paper the Yankees look to have one of the most complete teams in the major leagues.
