Joe Girardi has not lost confidence. The New York Yankees are in survival mode at the moment as the team deals with more injuries at the All-Star break. The team has lost four starting pitchers from their original rotation leaving them incredibly short-handed in the depth department. After starting rookie Shane Greene against the Baltimore Orioles and sitting five games back in the standings, the Yankees' manager has confidence the team will be in contention come October.
"With everything we have had gone wrong, we are still in it," Joe Girardi said, via ESPN.com. "That's the big thing. We have to take advantage of that when we get back to work on Friday."
As of right now, the Yankees have yet to replace Tanaka. He remains as a "TBD" under Sunday night's pitching probables. The Yankees have some options they can test out before resorting to a trade in the coming weeks as the deadline quickly approaches. Greene could be a solid player with enough time. He looked strong in two starts. Newly acquired Jeff Francis could help out, but he has not pitched since July 2 and only tossed 14 pitches. If the Yankees are lucky, they get 40 out of him. Chase Whitley is another option, but Girardi is not sold on the idea.
Masahiro Tanka will not return for at least six weeks after injuring his elbow. New York cannot wait that long. New York has not missed the postseason in back-to-back seasons in over two decades. The trade market is their only option to acquire a player that can help ease the pain of losing Tanaka. Girardi remains certain that Tanaka only needs rehab to heal the injury, but Yankees will likely look to Mets' pitcher Matt Harvey as a warning for what can happen if a pitcher opts out of surgery. They miss more time than expected because surgery ends up being the final option.
FOX Sports links the Yankees to several options given their willingness to spend. A trade for Cole Hamels might be the favored option. However, the Philadelphia Phillies are not sold with letting him go as Cliff Lee struggles during this stretch of the season. He would be financially the smarter option. If New York wants to be in contention, they could target a pitcher like Max Scherzer or Jon Lester who are both approaching the final months of their contract and have denied all offers to this point. The Yankees might be content with holding out with depth for the time being, but that might not be enough later in the season.
