The Yankees continue to proclaim they have faith in their young, inexperienced starting pitching, but that hasn’t kept them from keeping an eye on Cliff Lee.
But a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking said the Yankees were “just observers” as the left-hander made his first start for the Phillies on Monday night since returning from the disabled list with a strained tendon in his elbow.
Plenty of other teams may fall into a similar category after Lee’s ugly outing against the Giants, which followed a subpar final rehab start that the Yankees scouted. Against San Francisco, Lee gave up six runs in 5 ²/₃ innings in a 7-4 Phillies loss.
According to the source, Philadelphia was still asking for too much for Lee — who turns 36 next month — and not willing to take on enough of his remaining salary. Lee is due $25 million next season and would be due a buyout of $12.5 million if a team option for $27.5 million is not picked up in 2016.
But with CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova out for the year and Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda sidelined indefinitely, general manager Brian Cashman has made no secret of his desire to upgrade the rotation. It’s no longer certain Lee would even be that much of an upgrade after having been sidelined since May 18.
Lee, along with Tampa Bay’s David Price, could prove to be among the biggest prizes on the market as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
The Yankees will continue to scour the market, since they have Chase Whitley set to start Tuesday. After a surprisingly solid beginning to his major league career, the right-hander has faltered badly, going 0-3 with a 12.85 ERA in his last four starts.
“I still believe in our young starters,” Joe Girardi said before the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Rangers. “They’ve done a nice job for us overall.”
Brian McCann wasn’t in the starting lineup Monday after starting in the first three games following the All-Star break.
And while Girardi has been trying to get McCann going for much of the season, he’s now challenged with keeping him rested now that he’s been productive.
McCann didn’t get a full rest — he pinch-hit in the ninth and was hit by a pitch. Over his previous 14 games, the catcher is hitting .352 with an OPS of .842.
“You know you can’t kill him or you’ll wear him out,” Girardi said. “Then he won’t swing well.”
Girardi also pointed to Francisco Cervelli’s familiarity with Monday night’s starter, Shane Greene.
Cervelli has an OPS of .802 in 12 games since missing over two months with a strained right hamstring.
The manager also wouldn’t rule out the possibility McCann could see time at first base if Mark Teixeira’s left lat injury keeps him out for an extended period.
“It could be a number of people,” Girardi said. “I would not be afraid to put him there.”