TAMPA — The Yankees’ search for the fourth and fifth starters may be headed outside of George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Though the Yankees believe they can fill the gaping holes in the back of the rotation from within, they are contemplating signing free-agent right-hander Kevin Millwood.
A source yesterday described the Yankees’ interest in 36-year-old Millwood as “strong.”
What remains to be seen is what type of contract the Yankees and Millwood may agree on. Veteran right-handers Freddy Garcia (one year at $1.5 million, plus $3.6 million in performance bonuses) and Bartolo Colon (one year at $900,000) are in camp on minor-league deals. Millwood could be looking for a major-league contract.
After making $10 million in the final season of a five-year, $60 million deal with the Orioles, Millwood could be looking for substantially more dollars than Garcia and Colon took on make-good deals.
Millwood is working out in California and has attracted interest from the Indians. He was 4-16 last year with a 5.10 ERA but did log 190 innings, which would have been second among Yankees starters.
With pitchers still working only in bullpen sessions, it’s impossible to say who is ahead of whom in the competition to fill out the rotation behind CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett.
However, listening to Joe Girardi praise Ivan Nova’s short body of work for the second time in four days certainly casts the 24-year-old right-hander in the favorite’s role. And Garcia having won 12 games last season for the White Sox likely puts him ahead of Colon and Sergio Mitre.
“I would think it gives him a better understanding of what he has to do to stay here,” Girardi said of Nova’s 10 big-league games (seven starts) last year, when he was 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA. “He faced pretty tough teams in our division last year. He pitched in the toughest month of the year when, we’re trying to win our division. He knows what it takes, but you still have to go out. Obviously, we know what he is capable of but you still have to be able to go out and do it.”
If the Yankees were guaranteed 35-year-old Garcia would duplicate the 12-6 record, the 4.64 ERA and provide 157 innings in 28 starts last year, they would be ecstatic.
“I have seen Freddy pitch against us a couple of times and have a pretty good understanding of what he likes to do,” Girardi said. “Freddy competes and that is the best way to describe him. He finds a way to get it done.”
Because Garcia was active last year and Colon wasn’t, Girardi has to use his recall skills to paint a picture of Colon.
“We haven’t seen him in a couple of years so it’s a little harder to imagine what it’s going to be like for him once he gets into the games,” Girardi said. “But the Bartolo I remember was a guy who could really command the baseball.”
As for the prospects, they will get a cursory look, but unless Manuel Banuelos, Dellin Betonces, Andrew Brackman, Hector Noesi and Adam Warren really impress, they won’t be part of the competition during the final lap.
“We don’t want to push the young players, we want to make sure they are ready to perform,” Girardi said.