MLB

Vidal Nuno likely pitching to stay in rotation

Vidal Nuno is on target to make his next start for the Yankees on Saturday. His future after that is far from certain.

The lefty has been wildly inconsistent and terrible at home. He also took a beating in Oakland in his last outing.

General manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi haven’t shied away from questions about the possibility of moving Adam Warren from the bullpen and into the rotation, but Girardi isn’t thrilled by the prospect of losing Warren as a reliever after he pitched two more scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 7-3 win over the Blue Jays.

“I know there’s a lot of talk about him starting, but this is a guy who’s been pivotal in our bullpen and has given us distance,” Girardi said. “Right now we’re going to stick with what we’ve got.”

When asked if Nuno needed to pitch well Saturday to keep his spot, Girardi balked.

“I don’t ever put that type of pressure on people,” Girardi said. “I don’t think it’s fair to put him out there with that because a lot of times you can say that in every rotation. … They understand what’s on the line every day and understand this is a performance-based business and they have to go out and perform.”

Nuno said he has had a hard time with his cutter recently and that has been the main reason he has struggled. He thought the new grip he worked on Wednesday might have fixed the problem.

Warren said he hadn’t been told anything by the team and after falling short of the fifth starter’s spot in spring training, has focused on his bullpen role.


CC Sabathia threw his second bullpen session Wednesday in his comeback from the stem-cell injection he underwent in May and said it was trouble-free.

Sabathia threw sliders Wednesday after sticking to fastballs and changeups on Monday. He is scheduled for another session Saturday.

Cashman said the Yankees will be cautious with Michael Pineda, who is supposed to play catch on Saturday.

“His rehab failed the first time, starting with the 10-day rest,” Cashman said. “Target dates somewhere early August is a fair area to start thinking about.”


Cashman said the Yankees were never interested in signing free agent Kendrys Morales, who ended up with the Twins.

“We were not involved with Kendrys Morales in any way, shape or form,” said Cashman, adding he hadn’t talked to Morales’ agent, Scott Boras, about him since spring training. “He didn’t fit then and he didn’t fit when he signed, despite his name being attached to us. … I’ve got a DH and I’ve got a first baseman, so where do you play him? He’s not going to sign here to sit on the bench.”

Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff