Yankees sign pair of lefties

The Yankees have agreed to deals with left-handed pitchers Neal Cotts and Daniel Martinez. They are very different pitchers: Cotts is a 30 year old lefty reliever while Martinez is a 20 year old pitcher who has both started games and relieved. Cotts has a chance to make an impact as the second lefty in the Yankee bullpen (since Damaso Marte is hurt), while Martinez is a long-term project.

Cotts, who will turn 31 in March, missed all of 2010 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. However, when healthy, he's can be very effective. Cotts was a second round pick by the Athletics in 2001, but was traded to the White Sox in 2003. After a brief cup of coffee in '03 as a starter, Cotts was converted to a reliever. Although he struggled his way a 5.65 ERA in '04, Cotts was incredible in '05, posting a 1.94 ERA and 58 K's in 69 relief appearances, and in typical lefty specialist fashion, just 60 IP. But, he posted just a 5.17 ERA in '06 and was traded to the Cubs. In '07, Cotts spent most of the year in the minors, but posted a 4.86 ERA in the majors in 16 appearances. But, he was back on track in '08, posting a 4.29 ERA and 43 K's in 50 appearances but just 35.2 IP. Cotts posted a 7.36 ERA in '09 in 19 appearances, but that was probably because of his elbow injury that would require surgery. Cotts has struck out a lot of batters throughout his career (8.3 per 9 innings), but he has walked too many guys (4.6 BB/9). For his career, Cotts has just a 1.79 K/BB ratio. But, when Cotts posted a 2.00 K/BB or better, he had his 2 best seasons, '05 and '08. Cotts certainly isn't a great player, but if healthy, he could potentially be a nice complement to Boone Logan in the bullpen.

Martinez has yet to harness his potential. He was signed by the Reds in 2007, but he never left Rookie ball. The reason was his terrible walk rate. Martinez has a 3.89 career ERA in the minors and a 7.7 K/9, but he has posted a 5.7 BB/9. He was so bad in '10, posting a decent 4.32 ERA but walking 18 against 16 K's, that the Reds released him. He's a long shot to reach the majors, but if Nardi Contreras (Yankees minor league pitching coordinator) or somebody can teach him some control, he could be a good pitcher.