Do the Yankees need to trade for another bullpen arm?

The Yankee bullpen was a big strength for the team in 2009. No reliever who appeared in 40 or more game posted an ERA over 4.50. It has certainly been a different story in '10. Excluding Mariano Rivera, who has a miniscule 1.05 ERA, no Yankee reliever who has appeared in 13 or more games has posted an ERA under 4.08. Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, and Chan Ho Park have posted 5.79, 5.48, and 6.18 ERA's respectively. What's going on with the Yankee bullpen? Let's go through the stats of each current member of the bullpen individually.

Rivera has gone 2-1 with a 1.05 ERA, 20 saves, and 33 K's in 34 relief appearances and 34.1 IP. He has given up just 16 hits on the year for a tiny 4.2 H/9 ratio. That's less than 1 hit every 2 innings! He has walked just 6 batters on the year, or 1.6 per 9 innings. He has struck out 8.7 batters per 9 inning. Also, Rivera has given up just 1 homer all year, the grand slam to Kubel. He has been amazing and nearly untouchable.

Joba has gone 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA, 18 holds, 2 saves, and 40 K's in 39 relief appearances and 37.1 IP. He has a great 9.6 K/9 and a decent 3.4 BB/9, but what's been bad for Joba has been the amount of hits he has given up. He has given up 42 hits, more than a hit per inning, for a 10.1 H/9 ratio. It's all about the amount of hits given up. He's has struck out more than enough batters, and walked few enough batters, but he's just given up too many hits. More problems with Joba include a .293 BA against him by righties compared to a .269 BA by lefties, and allowing batters to hit .348 against him with runners in scoring position. But, all hope is not lost for Joba. He has been incredibly unlucky. Batters are hitting a ridiculous .370 on balls in play against him. That's .70 over the MLB average! Batters are even hitting .333 against him on ground balls! Hopefully that will turn around soon and Joba will end the year with a repectable 4.00 ERA. But, can Joe Girardi wait for Joba's luck to change? Joba has a critical role in the bridge to Rivera as the setup man. Should the Yankees acquire another reliever to be setup man? I think yes. The Yankees should acquire a player such as Octavio Dotel that can step into the setup role so Joba can straighten himself out in situation with less pressure. Then, when Joba does straighten himself out, he can move back into the setup role, while that acquired reliever remains an important part of the bullpen assuming he does well. Joba hasn't been good so far, but he's had bad luck on balls in play and his luck will eventually turn around.

Robertson has gone 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA, 6 holds, and 32 K's in 31 relief appearances and 29.2 IP. He has posted a great 9.7 K/9, but a below-average 5.2 BB/9. Also, just like Joba, he has given up 36 hits for a bad 10.9 H/9. Robertson has just allowed too many base runners. He has allowed nearly 2 base runners per inning. He has also allowed a .316 BAA against righties and a .283 BAA against lefties. Robertson has been even more unlucky than Joba, allowing an improbable .398 BA on balls in play. He has allowed a crazy .343 BAA on ground balls, a .357 BAA on fly balls, and even a .500 BA on bunts But, despite the extra base runners, Robertson has a better ERA than Joba. He has allowed a better .303 BA with runners in scoring position. I think Robertson will also straighten things out by season's end. With better luck, he could have had a 3.50 ERA or better. An acquired reliever would allow Robertson to appear in some situations with less pressure. Just like Joba, Robertson has had terrible luck that has led to his bad performance, and his luck will eventually turn around.

Chan Ho Park has gone 1-1 with a 6.18 ERA, a terrible 0 holds, and 22 K's in 21 relief appearances and 27.2 IP. He struck out a decent 7.2 batters per 9 innings, and posted a great 2.3 BB/9 ratio. But, the continued theme is too many hits allowed per9 innings. Park has allowed a completely terrible 11.1 H/9 ratio. Park has been a bit unlucky, allowing a .326 BAA on balls in play, but the real reason he has a 6.18 ERA is because he has allowed 2.0 homers per 9 innings. That's more homers than Rivera, Chamberlain, and Robertson have allowed per 9 innings COMBINED. He has just been terrible. I don't think there's anything the Yankees can do with him. They should designate him for assigment.

Damaso Marte has gone 0-0 with a 4.08 ERA, 9 holds, and 12 K's in 30 relief appearances and 17.2 IP. He has struck out 6.1 batters per 9 innings, but walked a bad 5.6 per 9 innings. He has allowed only 5.1 hits per 9 innings, so he has been hard to hit. Unlike Joba, Robertson, and Park, he has been incredibly lucky. Batters have hit just .161 against him on balls in play. He has a 4.08 ERA because of his 5.6 BB/9 and because he has allowed exactly 1 homer per 9 innings. He has been pretty good.

With Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre hurt, and Boone Logan and others sent down to the minors, the only other active Yankee reliever is Dustin Moseley. He has gone 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 2 games. I hope he can keep that kind of ERA going.

So, the Yankees do need another reliever. Joba and Robertson are still waiting for their luck to change, and Park is just a complete disaster. Another reliever could help every reliever in the bullpen be comfortable, and play well.

Yanks call up Dustin Moseley

The Yankees have called up pitcher Dustin Moseley to the majors for Friday's game. Who is Dustin Moseley?

Dustin Moseley was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds with the 34th pick of the 2000 MLB draft. His 1st pro season was 2001 with the Low-A Dayton Dragons. He went 10-8 with a 4.20 ERA and 108 K's in 25 starts and 148 IP. He had a 6.6 K/9 and a 2.6 BB/9. In '02, Mosley was promoted to the High-A Stockton Ports. He went 6-3 at Stockton with a 2.74 ERA and 80 K's in 14 starts (2 complete games) and 88.2 IP before being promoted to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts. He didn't as well for Chattanooga, as he went 5-6 with a 4.13 ERA and 52 K's in 13 starts and 80.2 IP. Overall on the year, he went 11-9 with a 3.40 ERA and 132 K's in 27 starts and 169.1 IP. He posted a 7.0 K/9 and a 3.1 BB/9. Despite the letdown at Double-A, '02 was still an improvement for Moseley.

In '03, Moseley returned to Chattanooga. Once again, Moseley posted a 5-6 record, but this time with a 3.83 ERA and 73 K's in 18 starts and 112.2 IP. He was then promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats, and he showed a lot more improvement. He went 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 27 K's in 8 starts and 50 IP. Overall in '03, he posted just a 7-9 record, but a 3.49 ERA and 100 K's in 26 starts and 162.2 IP. He posted a 5.5 K/9 and a 2.3 BB/9. In '04, the Reds sent Moseley back to Chattanooga. It doesn't seem to make that much sense, but Moseley's K/9 went down from 5.8 to 4.9 between Double-A and Triple-A in '02, and his ERA went up from 2.2 to 2.5. That's the only explanation I can come up with. In '04 in Chattanooga, Moseley went 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 40 K's in 8 starts and 47.1 IP. His K/9 shot up to 7.6, and his BB/9 went down to 1.9. Then, he was promoted to Triple-A Louisville again. But this time, he didn't do nearly as well as he did there in '03. He had his worse stint in the minors to this point, going 2-4 with a 4.65 ERA and 48 K's in 12 starts and 71.2 IP. His K/9 was still a good 6.0, but his BB/9 went all the way up to 4.3. At that point, the Reds gave up on him. They traded him to the Angels for Russ Ortiz.

In '05, Moseley was assigned to the Angel's Triple-A franchise, the Salt Lake Stingers. He went 4-6 with a 5.03 ERA and 38 K's in 17 starts and 82.1 IP. His K/9 went down to 4.2 and his BB/9 was 3.3. It was obviously a disappointing season for him. In '06, Moseley returned to Salt Lake. He went 13-8 with a 4.69 ERA and 114 K's in 26 starts and 149.2 IP. His K/9 went back up to 6.9, in his BB/9 was 3.1. It wasn't a great season, but he definitely showed improvement. He actually made his major league debut on July 17th for the Angels, going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 10 hits while striking out 2 and walking none. It was a decent start, but it was an emergency start, and he was promptly sent right back down to the minors. He resurfaced in September, throwing 2 scoreless innings in relief on September 16th of that year. He didn't pitch again until October 1st, 2 weeks later, and he was very rusty when he started that day. He pitched 4 innings and gave up 7 runs on 10 hits that day, while striking out and walking 1.

In '07, Moseley finally spent his first full season in the majors. He went 4-3 with a 4.40 ERA and 50 K's in 8 starts, 38 relief appearances, and 92 IP. He posted a 4.9 K/9 and a 2.6 BB/9. It was a decent year. In '08, Moseley started the season in the Angels' rotation, but he went 1-3 with a 7.85 ERA in 6 starts and 1 relief appearance in April and early May, and was sent back down to the minors. He posted a 7-10 record and a 6.73 ERA in 21 minor league starts between High-A and Triple-A. He returned to the majors briefly in July, going 5.1 innings in a start and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking 1. Still, he was sent back down to the minors where he continued to struggle. He returned to the majors again in September, and after one bad start during which he gave up 4 runs in 1.1 IP, he went 1-0 with a 4.20 ERA and 12 K's in three 5-inning starts to end the year. Moseley started '09 in the Angels rotation, and went 1-0 with a 4.30 ERA and 8 K's in 3 starts and 14.2 IP before landing on the DL with tightness in his elbow. He then suffered a nerve injury while rehabbing in extended spring training. He missed the rest of the year.

After the year in December, the Angels didn't offer him a contract, and he became a free agent. The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract in February. Part of the contract was that Moseley could opt out of his contract if he wasn't called up by July 1st. In '10 with the Yankees' Triple-A franchise, the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees, Moseley went 4-4 with a 4.21 ERA and 55 K's in 12 starts and 72.2 IP. He posted a 6.8 K/9 and just a 2.2 BB/9. The Yankees thought that was good enough and have called him up to the majors for Friday's game with the Blue Jays. A corresponding roster move will designate either Chad Gaudin or Chan Ho Park for assignment. Moseley seems to be at least a decent player. I hope he succeeds as part of the Yankee bullpen.