The previous time the Yankees were “forced” to demote Ron Marinaccio, the reliever was reportedly furious—as he should have been. He’d done nothing to deserve a downgrade. Still, it appeared that the Yankees would return to Marinaccio as soon as they had another reliever injury to deal with, playing the options game once more.
Until… they did not.
On Friday afternoon, the Yankees were forced to place hard-throwing reliever Nick Burdi on the Injured List due to hip discomfort for the second time this season. Burdi’s first IL appearance came on April 19, when he was on fire, striking out eight batters in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Since his comeback, he’s been a little more unsettled, with a 1.45 WHIP and nine walks in a potentially unsustainable 9 2/3 innings (1.86 ERA).
Marinacc — oop, nah, it’s Yoendrys Gomez, who’s been a starter in the minors, made a brief appearance last season, and will now have a chance to show the Yankees’ decision-makers that his raw stuff can play up in a bullpen.
The Yankees elevate Yoendrys Gomez to replace the injured Nick Burdi.
Burdi, particularly without Ian Hamilton, was playing a hybrid sixth/seventh inning role in which he was not the first choice but was frequently relied on to paint cheese and work out of jams. Will Gomez be given the same role from the beginning, or will he have to work his way into it? Marinaccio quickly made his way up the trust tree before apparently falling off. What will Gomez do in his stead?
Marinaccio’s ERA at Triple-A is 0.90 this season, so he’s still putting in the work.
The 24-year-old right-hander has a sweeper with incredible break, as well as a mid-90s fastball that may play faster with maximum effort. Bottom line? The Yankees are well aware of Marinaccio’s abilities and will undoubtedly turn to him later this season. A vacation to the west coast, along with a (unfortunately) foreseeable ailment to the famously bedridden Burdi, has allowed them to glimpse what an exciting Plan B would look like.
As midseason experiments go, this one may be pretty useful in the long term, especially as the Yankees try to learn more about the possibly expendable members of their 40-man roster.
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