Manny Bañuelos just too far back on the depth chart
Yankees pitcher Manny Banuelos delivers against the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning of a game on June 12, 2022. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
Manny Bañuelos was more than just a good story.
Sure, he was definitely that — a highly touted Yankees phenom who fizzled out and traveled the world trying to reclaim a dream that looked so firmly in grasp at 16 but far more unlikely at 31. But when Bañuelos finally made his Yankees debut earlier this month, it wasn’t because Brian Cashman was test driving plots for the next version of “The Rookie.”
It was because he could pitch.
So when news came down Tuesday that he had been designated for assignment to make room for spot starter JP Sears, his pinstripe fairy tale likely over long before the closing credits, it was notable for a few reasons. First, the most obvious: People like Bañuelos. The Yankees like Bañuelos. And he represented that much-beloved sports archetype: the underdog who battles through setback and circumstance to will his way back into The Show, maybe years after others would have given up.
But it also further illustrated the incredible depth of a pitching staff that, going into their contest against the A’s, was the best in the American League and the second-best in baseball. They have so much depth, in fact, that Sears, who pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the Yankees' 2-1 win Tuesday and has a 0.00 ERA in his first four major-league outings, hasn't carved out a permanent spot for himself on this roster.
That’s pretty remarkable when you think about it. Everyone knows the Yankees are dominant — the best record in baseball will do that — but for them, it’s significant to be dominant in this way. Pitching depth was a real concern going into spring training, and it was certainly an issue last year, a season when they were often scrambling, using 15 different starters, only three of whom started in more than 20 games.
But the questions that confronted them in March seem a little passe at the moment. Will Luis Severino bounce back? (Yes.) How will Nestor Cortes fare? (Fans will come to the ballpark wearing “Nasty Nestor” T-shirts.) Could the bullpen work around the loss of Zack Britton? (Let me introduce you to a young man by the name of Clay Holmes.) Even when the injuries hit — Chad Green, Luis Gil, Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Loaisiga — the Yankees didn’t falter.
At the moment, their biggest non-issue is navigating an embarrassment of riches. Bañuelos managed to get into just four games during his nearly four weeks in major-league baseball, and despite a 2.16 ERA and 2.29 FIP in 8 1/3 innings, DFA’ing him was a logical step. Michael King, Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio are the only bullpen arms with options right now, though another possibility would be DFA’ing Albert Abreu.
“Difficult, but obviously a numbers game, a crunch,” Aaron Boone said about the Bañuelos decision. “We really think he can pitch, and he hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities, but that’s partially because we’ve pitched well to where he was always our protection every day to give us length and we just haven’t had a lot of situations for that.
“We certainly hope the best for Manny and selfishly, I hope he remains with us.”
These sorts of decisions are just going to get thornier as more players come back. Sears will likely be sent down after his start, but Chapman will take that spot when he returns from the injured list. Loaisiga is getting closer, with him throwing another bullpen Wednesday. And then the Yankees have to figure out what to do with Domingo German when his rehab assignment ends. Never mind that Sears has pitched well enough to be on a major-league roster, and so has Clarke Schmidt, for that matter.
We haven't even touched the fact that the Yankees could feasibly add a pitcher at the trade deadline, something everyone was reminded of Tuesday when they faced A's starter Frankie Montas. Montas is trade bait, and alluring trade bait at that.
All of which is to say that the Yankees are in a very good spot, even if that means parting ways with one of their better stories of this season.
Bañuelos should be OK, though. He could clear waivers and return to the team of his youth, or he could be picked up by any of a slew of other teams looking for bullpen help — the Blue Jays maybe, or the Twins.
After all, not everyone can have the same "problems" the Yankees do.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
