If the Yankees are going to baby 23-year old righty starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain then they should just return him to the bullpen where he pitched much, much better. Chamberlain has started 25 games this season for the Yanks and he is 8-4 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Chamberlain has been very hittable as a starting pitcher as he has allowed 136 hits in 133 2/3 innings this season while walking 65 batters and that’s way too many. His strikeouts are also way down as he has 115 this season (7.7 per 9 innings). Coming into this season Chamberlain pitched in 61 games (12 starts) for the Yankees and he was 6-3 with 1 save, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He only allowed 99 hits in 124 1/3 innings while whiffing 152 batters (11.0 per 9 innings). Chamberlain is better as a reliever and that’s not hard to see. The Yanks have more than enough cash to buy a starting rotation and end the game with Hughes, Chamberlain and Rivera and that’s what they should do next season.

23-year old righty pitcher Phil Hughes has excelled at his new role as a reliever. In 30 games out of the bullpen for the Yankees, Hughes is 2-1 with 1 save, a 1.18 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. In 38 innings as a reliever, Hughes has only allowed 22 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 48 showing how nasty his stuff has been. Overall, Hughes numbers look pretty good but it appears that the Yankees have found a home in the bullpen for Hughes. Hughes has now pitched in 37 games (7 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 5-3 with 1 save, a 3.22 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

The Yankees have designated 32-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Towers for assignment to make room on the roster for newly acquired Chad Gaudin. Towers pitched in 16 games (14 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 4-6 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has pitched in 137 games (112 starts) in his major league career and he is 45-55 with 1 save, a 4.96 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Chances are that Towers wouldn’t have pitched too well for the Yankees if given a chance this season.

The Yankees have acquired 26-year old righty starting pitcher Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a player to be named later. Gaudin pitched in 20 games (19 starts) for the Padres this season and he was 4-10 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has now pitched in 205 games (69 starts) in his major league career and he is 32-35 with 2 saves, a 4.58 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. This was a good trade for the Yankees as they need help at the back end of the rotation with Sergio Mitre throwing batting practice.

The Yankees have designated 33-year old righty swinging infielder Cody Ransom for assignment. Ransom played in 31 games this season for the Yanks and he was 15 for 79 (.190 avg, .585 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. In parts of two seasons with the Yankees, Ransom played in 64 games in which he was 28 for 122 (.230 avg) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if Ransom will accept a AAA assignment or if he will want to become a free agent.