TAMPA — By pitching well in games that don’t count Michael Pineda will open the season in the Yankees’ rotation as the fifth starter.
How long the right-hander remains at the back end of Joe Girardi’s starting five is a mystery because the Yankees are ignoring a time-honored tradition of not falling in love with positive results in March.
When camp started Girardi admitted he didn’t know what he had in Pineda who hadn’t pitched in a big league game since 2011 due to tricky shoulder surgery. Now, after four games (three starts) in which the 25-year-old acquired from Seattle before the 2012 season, went 2-1 with a 1.20 ERA and whiffed 16 and issued one walk in 15 innings, Girardi has selected him over David Phelps and Adam Warren.
“He threw extremely well and it was what we wanted to see from him,’’ Girardi said of Pineda, who underwent surgery on May 1, 2012 to repair an anterior labral tear in his shoulder. “He improved in each outing and at times was dominating and we really liked what we saw.’’
Pineda will remain behind in Tampa and throw Sunday. After that he will start Saturday against the Blue Jays in Toronto following Masahiro Tanaka’s Yankees debut Friday night versus the Blue Jays.
CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova will face the Astros in the first three games of the season.
“I grew up a lot,’’ the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Pineda said of his two years away from the major leagues. “I am a better person right now. I learned a lot.’’
The Yankees are banking on Pineda being more mature. He showed up for his first Yankees camp 30 pounds overweight, hurt his shoulder because he was out of shape and then in the summer of 2012 was busted for DUI.
Phelps and Warren are in competition for bullpen spots as is lefty Vidal Nuno.
“He is excited about it. He has worked very hard the last two years but understands he has a job to do,’’ Girardi said of Pineda, whose velocity reached 95 mph this spring with a sharp slider.
As for facing a formidable Blue Jays lineup, Pineda is looking forward to it.
“I am excited, I have been working hard the past two years,’’ Pineda said. “Today they told me and I feel pretty good because I worked hard.’’
Girardi understands Warren and Phelps want to start and they pitched well enough to be considered for the fifth spot even if their stuff doesn’t measure up to Pineda’s.
While Girardi was hesitant to announce Warren and Phelps will make the team as relievers he acknowledged their spring performances impressed.
“There are no guarantees in life but they pitched really well,’’ Girardi said of the right-handers who both have major league relief experience.
Phelps said he has been told he will pitch out of the bullpen.
In three games this spring Warren went 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA. He whiffed eight and walked one in 8 ²/₃ innings. Phelps went 1-0 with a 2.75 ERA in five starts. In 19 ²/₃ frames he struck out 14 and walked four.
Remember how careful the Yankees were limiting Joba Chamberlain’s innings? According to Girardi there will be no Pineda Rules.
“We don’t have an innings limit on him,’’ the manager said of a pitcher who tossed 171 innings for the Mariners in 2011 when he was 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA and an AL All Star. “We will watch what he is doing and make judgments on how he is doing. This is a guy who has been to [175] innings before so we know he is capable of handling that.’’
Girardi said he isn’t too concerned Pineda’s shoulder woes will surface and the pitcher said when he is on the hill the shoulder is a non-issue.
“I don’t think about the shoulder, just get outs,’’ Pineda said.
Warren and Phelps have more big league experience, but the Yankees went with Pineda hoping the shoulder holds up and the maturity level continues to increase.