The New York Yankees will have some tough decisions to make over the next couple of weeks about what they want to do with their postseason roster, and not even strictly based on which players are going to make it or not. The Yankees have multiple arms in their starting rotation who have a chance to be moved to the bullpen.
The hope that everybody is healthy come playoff time, which would give the Yankees one of the best starting rotations in Major League Baseball. Regarding what they might do with the bullpen, a guy like Will Warren seems bound to be moved to it. Warren has primarily been a starter throughout his career with the Yankees, starting in 65 of the 68 games that he's pitched in.
He's also thrown the baseball at a somewhat high level, at least in terms of a fourth or fifth starter in a rotation. Not that he's been great, but Warren has above-average stuff, and there's something to be said about that.
The hope that the Yankees can get him to be good in a different role than what we're used to seeing.
Speaking about that during Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies, a game in which Warren threw six innings and allowed just one run and struck out four, former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi believes that he can come in and really do a lot of good out of the bullpen.
“I believe if he’s strictly coming out of the bullpen, his fastball is going to tick up a little more, and it should make everything a little bit better, the change-up, the sweeper, the ride on the four-seamer,” Girardi said on the YES Network broadcast.
“I think he’s really strong mentally and I think [coming out of the pen] is something he can adjust to and handle.”
Speaking to reporters about it back in the middle of the summer, Warren also stated that as a starter he has a completely different mindset than if he were working out of the bullpen. These comments don't come as much of a surprise because a lot of guys throw this way, but it's interesting to think about what he could be in the Yankees bullpen come October.
“As a starter, I feel like I’m being crafty and pitching a little more than just the blacked-out adrenaline, throwing as hard as I can in the 9th,” Warren told Meredith Marakovits in July, per NJ.com.
