New York Yankees: Bullpen Takes Another Blow with Joba Chamberlain Landing on DL
June 8, 2011 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Before the season started, people viewed the Yankees bullpen as a strength of the team.
This year, the Yankees bullpen has been one that has been injured a lot.
Pedro Feliciano has been out all season after being brought over from the New York Mets.
Damaso Marte has also been out all season and could be out until the end of the summer, if not the rest of the season.
Rafael Soriano, who was brought from the Tampa Bay Rays to be the setup man, has been on the disabled list for a few weeks now.
On Wednesday, it just got even worse.
As announced by Mike Francesa of WFAN, Joba Chamberlain, who had taken over the setup role for Soriano, has been put on the disabled list with a strained elbow muscle in his right elbow and is expected to miss around three weeks with the injury.
The Yankees recalled Amauri Sanit from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in AAA, and they also sent Hector Noesi back to AAA following his six-inning performance on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox.
Chamberlain was 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 28.2 innings with 24 strikeouts in 2011 for the Yankees and was pitching very well, so this comes as a major blow to the Yankees bullpen.
It appears likely that David Robertson will slide into the setup role now that both Chamberlain and Soriano are both on the DL with injuries.
Robertson is 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 innings with 38 strikeouts in 2011. Robertson is pitching extremely well for the Yankees and his role in the bullpen only increases even more now being the setup man.
With Chamberlain out, it also means that Boone Logan and Luis Ayala’s roles in the bullpen will increase.
The Yankees also claimed right-handed reliever Jeff Marquez off waivers from the Chicago White Sox. He will be put into the bullpen on Wednesday night.
Marquez was a part of the trade that saw the Yankees acquire Nick Swisher before the 2009 season.
The Yankees are doing everything they can to find arms and use in-house options from the minor leagues to help the depleted bullpen, but if this trend of injuries continues, the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman are going to have no other choice but to make a deal this summer.
Yankee fans can only hope that both Soriano and Chamberlain recover quickly because they are key parts to the bullpen and if the Yankees want to contend for October, they need both guys back healthy.
The loss of Chamberlain is a tough one right now. With a bullpen full of injuries, it’s a really bad one to have.
For Yankees universe, they can only hope it’s just a short stint on the disabled list for their right-hander.
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