Fans voted in my latest poll that the Yankees shouldn’t worry about what happened to Joba Chamberlain when they consider whom to call up in the coming weeks. The big names in Triple-A are Manny Banuelos and — after a promotion just yesterday — Dellin Betances.
I’m a little surprised by the results but I still think it makes for good banter. By calling up one of those two studs, they risk infecting him with I-Don’t-Know-My-Role syndrome, which we all know Joba has suffered from (he’s rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery right now). On the other hand, who doesn’t remember how valuable Joba was down the stretch in 2007?
I’m not sure if Banuelos or Betances have the electric stuff Joba had (notice the ‘d’ at the end of that last word, not ‘s’), but I know that both are pegged to be big-time starting pitchers and work in the mid-90s. Banuelos is a short lefty, Betances is a tall righty, and both have had successful minor league careers. I also know that Banuelos was born almost a year after me (I’m starting to feel old).
We’ll see what the Yankees choose to do in the near future, and it should be even more interesting with their current “excess pitching” problem. Here’s a fun idea I want to leave you with:
2013 rotation
1. CC Sabathia
2. Phil Hughes (if cured)
3. Banuelos
4. Betances
5. Colon? Why not.
