The Yankees have been scouring the market for a starting pitcher, but so far that search has turned up a lot of bad pitchers. Apparently they are looking into another—Jeremy Bonderman, according to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.
Bonderman, 28, has spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. His career ERA-plus is just 90. His career strikeout rate of 7.1 isn’t bad, but he hasn’t come close to that number in years, putting up just a 5.9 K/9 in 2010 and a 4.4 K/9 in 2009.
This is a guy the Yankees should avoid like the plague. While he may technically be low risk, there is almost no reward. He’s only had two seasons with an ERA-plus above 100 and out of those two season only 2006 where he had a 112 ERA-plus (14-8, 4.08 ERA) was he even remotely impressive.
Since 2006, he hasn’t been at all impressive. He has dealt with elbow problems and hasn’t thrown 200 innings since putting up a 5.19 ERA since that time.
It’s really hard to imagine that he would be better than any of the minor leaguers that they could call up. If he would consider a minor league deal and would be willing to pitch in Triple-A Scranton to see if his strikeout numbers could come close to his career mark of 7.1 K/9, then maybe the Yankees should give him a shot.
If he could then maybe he could be 2011′s Dustin Moseley. That seems like a best case scenario. Otherwise they should just pass.
What do you think? Should the Yankees bank on Bonderman recapturing his 2006 form? Or would he just be meat for the Red Sox to feast on?
Most Commented Posts
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com