TAMPA — Michael Pineda could be pitching for his Yankees roster spot tonight against the Phillies.
When Pineda was acquired from Seattle for hitting prospect Jesus Montero in January, such talk would have been met with raised eyebrows and considered nonsense.
Today?
Pineda likely needs his best outing of the exhibition season to be included in manager Joe Girardi’s five-man rotation.
When the Yankees made the deal they were seduced by the 97-mph fastball the 6-foot-7 right-hander featured across the first half of last season and ignored the dip in velocity during the final three months.
Pineda didn’t impress when he arrived in camp weighing 280 pounds, which was 10 more than he said he finished the 2011 season and 15 above what he is listed in the media guide.
The added weight didn’t translate into more velocity. As recently as Sunday, Pineda’s fastball was regularly clocked at 89-91 mph and reached 93 mph a few times. Scouts noticed he was cutting a lot of fastballs, either naturally or on purpose. WIth the Mariners, he didn’t feature a cut fastball.
Though the Yankees like the action on the change-up and slider, they are mystified about where the gas went and when/if it will return.
“These starts at the end are a lot more important than those before,’’ Girardi said. “I am not going to evaluate anything previous to his next start. I have looked at his starts and they have been pretty decent but I will evaluate it after the next start.’’
With CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda locked into the first two spots, Phil Hughes the likely No. 3 starter and Girardi strongly hinting Wednesday that Freddy Garcia’s experience, 2011 season and a strong spring, that has come with an increase in velocity, will land him in the rotation, the final spot could be between Ivan Nova and Pineda.
Nova could be shifted to the bullpen, but if Pineda finishes sixth in a five-arm race he will open the season in the minors. That would likely be in Tampa since the Yankees wouldn’t want to risk him trying to build arm strength in April’s damp and cold northeast weather.
Nova worked a solid 7 1/3 innings in a Triple-A game yesterday and a 16-win season a year ago counts in Girardi’s eyes.
Nova has experienced rough innings in five spring games that have inflated his 6.86 ERA. While Girardi takes that into account, he can’t forget 16 victories in a year when the Yankees sent Nova to Triple-A for a month so Hughes could return to the rotation.
“You look at everything but you look at his body of work last year, too,’’ Girardi said. “You can get caught up in judging people in spring training and sometimes it’s not always true with what you see during the course of a season. He was pretty good pretty much the whole time we had him.’’
As for Pineda tonight, Girardi stayed away from the velocity issue.
“I want to see how sharp he is and get some distance out of him,’’ Girardi said of the 23-year-old who makes his sixth start of the spring.
Girardi is sensitive the disappointment his decision is going to cause the loser. However, the manager knows where he works.
“In Yankee land it’s win,’’ Girardi said of the mantra that smothers the Yankees’ universe. “Obviously you are concerned about feelings but our bottom line is we have to do [what’s] best for this year.’’
If Pineda wants to be part of it from the beginning he has to impress tonight. And even then it may not be enough.