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“Melancon and Cox should be ready for Opening Day” and other news
Chad Jennings has the info from his conversation with minor league director Mark Newman on his fantastic blog,.
No big surprise, but Newman said Mark Melancon and J.B. Cox should be ready for the start of the season. Humberto Sanchez (left) will not be. All three are coming back from elbow surgery.
Melancon is a former University of Arizona closer who has already started pitching in instructional camp. Cox is a former University of Texas closer who was terrific in Trenton last season. Newman said, even if both are ready for opening day, there’s a good chance they will both start in Tampa to avoid the cold weather of Trenton or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Sanchez was the key to the Gary Sheffield trade but had Tommy John last year.
This is great news, as both players seem to be making good progress in their respective rehabs from elbow surgery. It seems like a smart decision on the Yankees’ part to ease the two of them into pitching to live batters again by having them start out in high-A Tampa, where the weather is warm and the level of competition is lower.
In other news, Jennings also reports that Juan Miranda will be starting the season in AAA, platooning at 1B and DH with Eric Duncan. They are promoting Miranda aggressively, but he showed this season in Tampa, Trenton and Arizona that he can handle it. I think they would like to see if he can contribute to the team this season. This promotion seems to show a lack of confidence in Eric Duncan, but hopefully this will motivate him to get his act together and start hitting again.
Newman also told Jennings that any minor league pitcher would be eligible to pitch in the big league bullpen this season if called upon to do so, including Alan Horne and Jeff Marquez. He also said that some minor league starters might get a chance to win a bullpen spot in spring training. This seems like a smart decision, as the market for relievers is mediocre and overpriced, and the Yanks have plenty of talent within that could fill bullpen spots.
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18 Responses to ““Melancon and Cox should be ready for Opening Day” and other news”
December 19th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Great news. We hadn’t heard much about Cox, and that was starting to worry me. Don’t count on Melancon being any where near the bigs in 2008, but Cox could be up fairly quickly.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:20 am
I’m very excited about the news on Melancon and Cox, Cox especially as he was so effective in 2006 at Trenton. I think Cox, when healthy, could ultimately set up for Rivera. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that he’ll be Joba Chamberlain, Cox is about location, location, location. Needless to say I think he can get the job done.
The Miranda move makes alot of sense to me, being that the Yankees are shopping Hideki Matsui. Let me first say I am against trading Matsui for a pitcher like Noah Lowry: Lowry had a terrible WHIP in a pitcher-friendly NL west, he will get hammered in the AL East. Matsui has value, if we’re going to move him we should at least get a quality prospect in return. But moving Matsui would allow Giambi to DH full time (opposed to 1B). That leaves 1B basically to Shelly Duncan, with Phillips gone and Mientkiewicz unlikely to come back. I think the idea is to see how Miranda fares at AAA, and possibly platoon him at first with Shelley (righty/lefty) if promoted. Of course it might light a fire under Eric Duncan’s behind, but I’ve all but given up on Eric at this point. Obviously his numbers are ugly, but I just don’t think he has the right attitude.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:06 am
I’d say there’s a great chance one or two of Melancon, Cox, Robertson, Horne, Whelan get a shot in the bullpen
December 19th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Watch out for Robertson and Patterson getting a shot in the bullpen out of the gate.
Also, does anyone know how Garcia’s rehab is comming along?
December 19th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I’m glad to see Miranda at AAA, since it seems like he could be abusing major league right handers for us this season. Still, I do have one concern:
Maybe Miranda is destined to be a platoon guy who can only hit righties. That’s not the end of the world if he hits them as hard as he did last year. But it would be nice if he could learn to deal with lefties. He certainly won’t learn if he doesn’t have a chance. Once he hits the majors, if he’s still struggling, Girardi isn’t going to give him at-bats just for the learning experience - he has games to win. And without the at-bats against lefties, there’s no way he can learn to hit them.
Will this platoon basically extend that problem down to AAA? If Duncan gets the starts against lefties this spring, won’t that pretty much end any chance of Miranda ever becoming a well-rounded player?
December 19th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
NC Saint, I’m not sure if I understand your concern. There are plenty of successful Major Leaguers that aren’t capable of hitting left-handers as well as they hit right-handers. If Miranda produces, then there is no reason to keep him from the Majors, and he should be used in the capacity most conducive to winning games.
Some of you might disagree, but there is not much left for Miranda to “develop” into. What we see now is what we’re going to get at the MLB level, much as it is with Shelley Duncan. That isn’t a bad thing at all, but I think that his upside is ultimately lower than that of Eric Duncan (whose results to date leave much to be desired). I see Miranda as more of a “high floor, low ceiling” kind of prospect.
Besides, we’ve yet to see both of them this Spring and this season. They’re both going to see consistent at-bats against lefties as 1B and DH interchangeably. I really wouldn’t be concerned about one getting the lion’s share, or anything like that. Not to mention the fact that, as it stands, Giambi and Betemit are blocking Miranda from the Majors anyway.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I don´t see the promotion of Miranda to AAA as a lack of confidence in Eric Duncan. What else should they do with Miranda? He showed he was good enough for Trenton, so there is no reason to keep him in AA. He is also not really young for a prospect. AAA seems to be the only logical destination for him.
I too think, that Cox and Melancon could contribute in the Bronx bullpen next season. If I remember correctly, they both had their TJ surgery in the end of 2006, while Sanchez had his after spring training. So they should be ready to pitch a lot earlier.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Insightful comment by Newman that pretty much chrystalizes exactly what the case is with relievers. “And the relief pitching market at the major league level is not a real good one,” Newman said. “It’s real easy to pay a lot of money and not get a lot of predictability out of the guys you sign.” Lots of fans want to sign free agent relievers and give up draft picks. This is the first interview with him that I can recall, but Newman seems super-bright.
One question, E.J. We’ve heard a lot of conflicting reports regarding Miranda’s defense (or lack thereof). Do you have a reliable scouting report or statistical analysis of his d? I think that’s the big issue. DH is full at the M.L. level. He’s almost useless if he can’t play first.
December 19th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
He’s bad, but not as bad as Giambi.
NCSaint - Both Duncan and Miranda will play almost every day. They’ll be splitting time at DH/1st base. The way that I read that article, “platoon” was just misused.
If you guys think that Melancon can contribute before September at the earliest, remember that he has no minor league experience. You don’t go right from college to the bigs, especially after Tommy John.
Yoss - I love what Newman is saying. Great stuff.
On Miranda - Its worth pointing out that lefties absolutely hammered Miranda at both Tampa and Trenton this season. His ceiling depends on his role - but he and Shelley should make a good platoon fairly soon. If he figures lefties out - which is absolutely a possibility once he plays against more of them - he could actually be very good. At Trenton, he hit .244/.306/.311 against lefties despite a .344 BABIP. He hit .272/.360/.530 against righties with a .306 BABIP.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Melancon did dominate SI but your point stands.
I would look for a Robertson type rise with the stuff to back up the numbers.
I have a feeling our 2009 pen is going to be really dominant.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Nothing is dominating if its less than 10 innings long
December 19th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Can someone tell me if Beam, Desalvo, Phillips, Sardina and Rasner have cleared waivers or been picked up by another organization. I still think Sardina and Beam could help them if they clear waivers.
EJ/Eric,
Any thoughts? I’m probably wrong but Sardina interests me a little with his ability to play short, third and outfield. Granted we have Betemit but I like to see home grown guys get a shot. I really liked Beam 2 years ago but injuries seem to have got him this past year. It’s funny that they seem to keep cutting guys that Torre and Mattingly liked. I remember Mattingly talking highly of Sardina in the spring.
Great stuff guys.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Phillips and Bronson cleared waivers. The rest were non-tendered, so there was no waiver-clearing to be had. Beam was signed by the Pirates last week. The rest of them are free agents, but the Yanks are supposedly trying to re-sign Sardinha and Rasner to minor-league deals. DeSalvo and Phillips are likely gone for good.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Tabata starts at AA right? Or a little of Tampa and then if he’s going well a rather quick promotion?
December 19th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Joe - Sardinha was really bad at short and 3rd. Like, abysmal. And he only hit well at AAA for one third of a season a year ago.
These guys are pretty much gone. Rasner is back, and it wouldn’t shock me for DeSalvo to sign a minor league deal. Phillips would be smart to try another organization.
Its sad to see Beam go. I think that he’s actually going to be pretty good in Pittsburgh. But we’ve got a lot of decent relievers, so he got lost.
Tabata probably starts at AA, but you never know. He could come into spring training out of shape and piss off the Yankees. I’d put my money on AA.
December 20th, 2007 at 1:12 am
That’s great news about Miranda. I wouldn’t worry to much about his splits in the long term. He never looked over-matched against LHP’s he just doesn’t have the same consistency yet. I think he’ll start to make the adjustment soon and start putting together more of a balance line.
I really think the guy has a lot of untapped power left in his bat. I really think he could become a masher in the next couple years. I’ve heard comps with Delgado and the more I think about it he could become very similar. I would give him another year in the minors just to get more comfortable at first base. That’s one thing I don’t like about this move. He split time at first in AA and now again at AAA. He really needs to be out there everyday at this point, IMO
I really get the feeling that the Yankees are surprised with his potential. Most of the scouts loved this guy in the AFL.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Man, I love a stacked farm system. While everyone else is running around, overpaying to fill pitching spots, we can sit back as an organization and relax. Farm systems like ours can only develop under the patience of a smart front office. They can’t be bought overnight, and that’s what makes this so exciting.
It’s gonna be a good year.
December 24th, 2007 at 12:54 am
I pick Horn and McCutchen to make the Bigs out of spring training. He did say minor league starters and those would be my two picks
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