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 It's been well documented how beaten up the Yankees bullpen has been in 2011.
New York lost Joba Chamberlain for the season with a torn muscle in his elbow, which required Tommy John surgery. Rafael Soriano has been on the 60-day disabled list with a right elbow injury. Damaso Marte and Pedro Feliciano have both been out of the beginning of the season and it's unlikely to see either one in 2011. Marte and Feliciano were supposed to be big parts of the bullpen because they were good left-handers who got people out. With Marte and Feliciano out, it left Boone Logan as the only lefty in the bullpen for the Yankees in 2011. While his overall numbers for 2011 aren't terrible, the job the Yankees really need him to do has not gotten done. He is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 16 innings and 24 appearances. Left-handed hitters are hitting .324 against Logan, allowing 11 hits, three runs, four walks and a 1.80 WHIP. Not good numbers for the lone lefty in the bullpen. The Yankees have made several changes to the bullpen, calling up guys like Hector Noesi, Jeff Marquez and Cory Wade—all right-handed pitchers, but no lefties. The Yankees just can't keep sending Logan out there when clearly, he's not getting left-handed hitters out. Something needs to change, and one possible option could be out there now. On Thursday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that they designated left-handed reliever J.C. Romero for assignment. The Phillies will have 10 days to trade Romero. If nobody trades for him, the Phillies can then just release him. Romero is 0-0 with a 3.86 in 16.1 innings and 24 appearances in 2011. Left-handed hitters are hitting .208 against Romero. The reason why his ERA is that high is because the Phillies have used him against right-handed hitters, who are hitting .294 against him and Romero's ERA is 5.19 against right-handers. If the Yankees have a chance to go after this guy, they should take a chance on him for the bullpen. While it is good to see guys like Hector Noesi and Cory Wade have effective innings for the Yankees, they are still right-handers and the Yankees need lefties. The Yankees need a lefty to send up against guys like David Ortiz, Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn or any other strong-hitting lefty the Yankees could face during the season. Before the 2011 season, the Phillies signed him to a $1.35 million deal, so money wouldn't be an issue for the Yankees. Romero did spend time on the disabled list back in April with a calf injury, but has remained healthy for the Phillies until being designated for Vance Worely on Thursday. Aside from being a lefty, Romero has playoff experience, pitching for both the Twins and the Phillies in those situations. Romero was in fact the winning pitcher of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series when the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays. We know Brian Cashman has been exploring the trade market for relievers and we know it became more of a concern when Chamberlain went down for the season. If he can be had, the Yankees should look into trying to add Romero for a bullpen that needs all the help it can get.
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