Editor’s note: Every Saturday, NESN.com Red Sox reporter Tony Lee will look at Boston’s competition in the AL East.
Who will emerge at the back end of the Yankees’ rotation?
Their master plan this offseason included signing both Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte. Along with CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett, they would’ve created a rotation on par with any in baseball.
Now, they’re preparing to audition several players in an old-fashioned battle for a rotation spot, or two.
Candidates include Sergio Mitre, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and Mark Prior. Garcia may be closest to being a sure thing, but even he is very average at this point in his career.
Regardless of which two guys emerge, it’s nearly certain that the Yankees will be very aggressive at the trade deadline. Keep an eye on struggling teams that have highly paid starting pitchers in contract years, guys that could be involved in textbook “salary dump” trades with a desperate team like the Yankees.
