TAMPA — David Phelps will be in the battle for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation with the likes of Michael Pineda, Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno — which is exactly where he wants to be.
“I would love to be a starter,” the right-hander said Wednesday at the team’s minor league facility. “I think I’m capable, but I will do anything they want me to do to help this team win another championship. I just have to go out and show what I’m capable of doing. If it’s not that, I don’t have a problem pitching out of the bullpen.
“I do want to start, though, that’s what I’ve done my whole career up until the last couple of years.”
Phelps, 27, was 6-5 in 2013 with a 4.98 ERA over 22 games, including 12 starts, before suffering a flexor strain in his right forearm.
“Everything has been taken care of — I feel great now,” Phelps said. “Every year we’ve been up against it. In 2012, we traded for Pineda, signed [Hiroki] Kuroda. We came into spring training with six starters. It’s good for our team, though.
“It’s always good to be having somebody pushing you. That’s great guys to be out there with. We’re not going to root against each other. If we all do well, our team does better.”