When the New York Yankees called up young right-handed pitcher Shane Greene on Monday, they were looking for a decent spot start. What manager Joe Girardi saw in six innings against a powerful Cleveland team impressed enough to possibly earn a second start. But can Greene stick in the big league rotation?
Greene uses a heavy mixture of sinkers and sliders while throwing a few four-seam fastballs and cutters. In his start on Monday, Greene saw a lineup stacked with left-handed batters, or switch hitters batting left-handed. He faced two right-handed batters in the lineup, and each had two plate appearances. Neither were able to get ahead of Greene in any of the combined four at-bats.
He needed only 88 pitches to get through six innings and earn his first Major League victory. But to Shane Greene, Monday’s 5-3 win over Cleveland was more important than the club’s win. He had a disastrous debut on April 24 against Boston when he allowed three runs in a third of an inning in relief. Greene shook it off as nerves, so when Monday’s call came, he remembered that experience and got ready. He allowed four hits, two runs (one home run), and struck out two batters.
If the Yankees give Greene another start on Saturday against Baltimore, will the defense be able to back him up? Since he is mainly a sinker-ball pitcher, he will induce primarily ground balls. The Yankees have not had solid defense in the infield in 2014, despite ranking sixth in the American League in fielding percentage (.985). In the first 89 games of the season, the Yankees have made 50 errors, ranking eighth in the American League in that category.
So can a sinker/slider pitcher succeed with the New York defense behind him? He did Monday night. And the Yankees traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brandon McCarthy, who is also a sinkerball pitcher with a curveball, four-seam fastball, cutter, and sometimes he mixes in a changeup. Apparently the Yankees believe their defense can handle the groundballs that a sinkerball pitcher induces. If Brian Cashman has faith in the defense on the field, the fans can have faith too. Given the short porch in right field, the ball is better down than up.
But does this mean Greene is in the big leagues for a second start? “That’s obviously going to be a topic of discussion,” Girardi said shortly after Monday’s victory over Cleveland. “We haven’t made any decisions about what we’re doing moving forward, but we’ll figure it out here pretty quick.” With Masahiro Tanaka heading to the disabled list with right elbow inflammation (Masahiro Tanaka, SIA Profile), Greene will likely hold on to a spot in the rotation for the foreseeable future.
The Yankees rotation now looks something like this: Brandon McCarthy (NYY debut Wednesday, July 9 at Cleveland), David Phelps, Hiroki Kuroda, Shane Greene, and possibly Chase Whitley. With CC Sabathia likely done for the year due to a knee injury (CC Sabathia, SIA Profile), and Michael Pineda’s uncertain status for 2014 with a shoulder injury (Michael Pineda, SIA Profile), the Yankees have to lean on young prospects or continue to trade for pitching to stay in the playoff race. Going into Wednesday’s game against Cleveland, New York is four games behind Baltimore for first place in the American League East.
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