New York Yankees’ Freddy Garcia Likely to DL, so How Will Rotation Be Affected?
August 19, 2011 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Freddy Garcia has been an absolute bargain for the Yankees in 2011.
It’s a shame that he’ll likely be out now for them.
Because of a cut he sustained on the index finger of his right hand, rendering him unable to throw his split-finger pitch in a bullpen session, it looks like Garcia will be headed to the disabled list, according to George King of the New York Post.
Garcia was 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA in 22 starts for the Yankees in 2011 and had a possibility of being a big part of the Yankees postseason rotation.
But what was called a kitchen mishap for Garcia at his home last week is going to cost Garcia important starts for the Yankees.
With the injury, Garcia could be put on the DL retro-actively so he could come off on Tuesday since he has not pitched since August 7 against the Red Sox.
Garcia was originally scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, but if Garcia can’t go and is put on the DL, then Ivan Nova would take Garcia’s place in that start.
Currently, the Yankees are using a six-man rotation for the time being and were debating whether or not to bump Phil Hughes or A.J. Burnett, but if Garcia does in fact land on the DL, then it looks like neither will get bumped from the rotation.
More importantly, if Garcia does miss time and is able to return, how effective will he be if he does return?
Could the cut on his finger tamper with his grip and not give Garcia a good feel for the ball and cause him to start throwing poorly?
If the cut were on Garcia’s non-throwing hand, it wouldn’t be an issue at all and Garcia would likely still be in the rotation and starting.
But with a cut to a throwing hand and especially the index finger, Garcia can’t throw his pitches well when he’s in bullpen sessions.
So for now, if Garcia is in fact out for some period of time, can the Yankees now turn to Burnett and Hughes and try to trust them to do the job down the stretch for the Yankees?
If not, the Yankees still have about 12 days if they want to make a waiver claim for another team’s pitcher and work out a trade.
Garcia getting hurt is not a good sign for the Yankees because if he can’t be effective the rest of the way, then it makes the Yankees already questionable rotation an even bigger question mark.
Yankees fans can only hope Garcia is only out a short time and returns with the same form he has had all season.
But that’s being optimistic. If anything, Garcia could be ineffective the rest of the way.
Only time will tell how Garcia can be for the Yankees if he does come back.
Either way, right now, it’s still a tough loss for the Yankees rotation.
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tnx for info!!…