If the Yankees are going to baby 23-year old righty starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain then they should just return him to the bullpen where he pitched much, much better. Chamberlain has started 25 games this season for the Yanks and he is 8-4 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Chamberlain has been very hittable as a starting pitcher as he has allowed 136 hits in 133 2/3 innings this season while walking 65 batters and that’s way too many. His strikeouts are also way down as he has 115 this season (7.7 per 9 innings). Coming into this season Chamberlain pitched in 61 games (12 starts) for the Yankees and he was 6-3 with 1 save, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He only allowed 99 hits in 124 1/3 innings while whiffing 152 batters (11.0 per 9 innings). Chamberlain is better as a reliever and that’s not hard to see. The Yanks have more than enough cash to buy a starting rotation and end the game with Hughes, Chamberlain and Rivera and that’s what they should do next season.

23-year old righty pitcher Phil Hughes has excelled at his new role as a reliever. In 30 games out of the bullpen for the Yankees, Hughes is 2-1 with 1 save, a 1.18 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. In 38 innings as a reliever, Hughes has only allowed 22 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 48 showing how nasty his stuff has been. Overall, Hughes numbers look pretty good but it appears that the Yankees have found a home in the bullpen for Hughes. Hughes has now pitched in 37 games (7 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 5-3 with 1 save, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

The Yankees have designated 32-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Towers for assignment to make room on the roster for newly acquired Chad Gaudin. Towers pitched in 16 games (14 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 4-6 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has pitched in 137 games (112 starts) in his major league career and he is 45-55 with 1 save, a 4.96 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Chances are that Towers wouldn’t have pitched too well for the Yankees if given a chance this season.

The Yankees have acquired 26-year old righty starting pitcher Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a player to be named later. Gaudin pitched in 20 games (19 starts) for the Padres this season and he was 4-10 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 205 games (69 starts) in his major league career and he is 32-35 with 2 saves, a 4.58 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. This was a good trade for the Yankees as they need help at the back end of the rotation with Sergio Mitre throwing batting practice.

The Yankees have designated 33-year old righty swinging infielder Cody Ransom for assignment. Ransom played in 31 games this season for the Yanks and he was 15 for 79 (.190 avg, .585 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. In parts of two seasons with the Yankees, Ransom played in 64 games in which he was 28 for 122 (.230 avg) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if Ransom will accept a AAA assignment or if he will want to become a free agent.

The Yankees have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Russ Ortiz. Ortiz pitched in 23 games (13 starts) for the Astros earlier this season and he was 3-6 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He has now pitched in 305 games (266 starts) in his major league career and he is 113-88 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Yankees as Ortiz might get a chance to win the #5 starting job if he pitches well in the minors as Sergio Mitre has been stinking it up in that role.

UPDATE: Russ Ortiz has been released by the Yankees at his request. He started 3 games in AAA for the Yankees this season and he was 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

27-year old righty swinging Jorge Alberto Vazquez was not considered a legit major league prospect coming into this season but he has been opening some eyes in AA ball this year. Vazquez has played in 57 games in AA-ball this season and he is 74 for 225 (.329 avg, .935 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 13 homers and 56 RBIs. It’s doubtful that Vazquez can keep up that batting average as he has only walked 8 times this season. It will be interesting to see if the Yanks call him up when rosters expand on September 1st if he continues to hit the ball like he is right now.

The Yankees are a little reluctant to remove Alfredo Aceves or Phillip Hughes from the bullpen right now as that’s where they are needed the most. But, the #5 spot in the starting rotation is beginning to be a huge problem for the Yankees. Chien Ming-Wang is out for the season and that might be a good thing based on how he pitched this season. Wang pitched in 12 games (9 starts) for the Yankees this season and he was 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He allowed a stunning 66 hits in only 42 innings before being shut down for the season. Righty Sergio Mitre is the current #3 starter for the Yanks and he has also been awful. He has started 3 games for the Yankees and he is 1-0 with a 7.90 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. The Yankees will likely be hunting for a veteran starting pitcher in August if they can somehow get one to slide through waivers. That’s because the AAA team has a lot more pitchers like Mitre (failed veterans).