Yankees’ Bryan Mitchell seems to have nailed down swingman job

DUNEDIN, Fla. — In recent years, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman routinely has received calls from opposing teams about Bryan Mitchell, and the righthander again displayed why this spring.

Mitchell, who features a mid-to-high-90s fastball and sharp breaking stuff, continued his dominant exhibition season Saturday with four shutout innings in the Yankees’ 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

Mitchell allowed one hit and struck out four in lowering his ERA to 0.61 in five outings, three of them starts.

“That was pretty freakin’ good,” catcher Austin Romine said. “His fastball was live, his curveball was nasty, we were throwing cutters to both sides of the plate. Got some changeups . . . it’s just really good stuff. His curveball, I haven’t caught a curveball like that in a long time.”

Mark Teixeira watched, impressed, from first base. “We know he’s got a great arm,” he said. “His stuff is some of the best that we have on this team.”

The overall performance has all but sealed a bullpen spot for the 24-year-old, likely the swingman role occupied so effectively by Adam Warren last season. “I think he’s capable of doing that,” Joe Girardi said before the game. “If he pitches like he can, yes.”

There has been little to dislike about Mitchell, drafted in the 16th round by the Yankees in 2009, and his repertoire has impressed opposing team executives and talent evaluators.

“Effortless,” one opposing team scout said of Saturday’s outing. “Sky’s the limit with this guy.”

Another talent evaluator compared Mitchell to one of the National League’s best pitchers of the last few seasons.

“For me, he’s got a little bit of Shelby Miller in him,” the evaluator said, mentioning the highly regarded 25-year-old Diamondbacks righthander, who is 32-35 but has a 3.22 ERA in four big-league seasons with the Cardinals and Braves. “Fastball, curveball . . . everything. No way you don’t take that arm out of camp.”

After Saturday’s start, Girardi strongly indicated that Mitchell, whose fastball sat at 94 to 97 mph all afternoon, will be a Yankee when the club breaks camp at the end of next week.

“He’s performed really well,” Girardi said. “We’ve talked about some different roles that he could possibly fill. He’s doing everything he needs to do.”

Warren, dealt to the Cubs in the Starlin Castro trade during the offseason, posted a 3.29 ERA in 43 games (17 starts) last season. It was an important job that Girardi has said often went “underappreciated,” though not by the Yankees. Finding someone to fill that role was a spring training priority, and Mitchell — who served as a swingman in a limited capacity last season and discussed the job with Warren while they were teammates — seems to have done enough to earn it.

“My goal coming into spring training was to make this team in any role, and I feel like I’ve put myself in a good position to do that,” Mitchell said.

He went 0-2 with a 6.37 ERA in 20 games last season (two starts). He made the latter start Aug. 17 against the Twins, when former teammate Eduardo Nuñez fractured his nose with a line drive. Mitchell posted a 12.46 ERA in 10 games after returning from the DL but has said the poor performance had more to do with confidence than a residual effect of the injury.

Romine, who also caught Mitchell in the minors, said confidence doesn’t seem to be a problem. “When he’s confident in his pitches and his curveball’s working, I don’t see too many people getting hits off him,” he said. “With the confidence level he’s got and the trust of his stuff, I see any role that he goes into, him being ready to go. I think he’s in that mindset, too.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.