What does Andrew Miller on DL mean for the Yankees?
Pitcher Andrew Miller heads to the DL for 10-14 days. What does it mean for the New York Yankees?
Having one of the best relief pitchers in the game is a luxury held by the New York Yankees. Or it was, until manager Joe Girardi announced that pitcher Andrew Miller was headed to the disabled list. Miller, who in 26 appearances has posted a 1.03 ERA and 17 saves, has a strained muscle in his left forearm.
After the team’s 5-4 loss in 11 innings to the Nationals on Wednesday, Girardi discussed the reason behind Miller’s assignment:
"“He told us after the game [Tuesday] night. I guess he’s been experiencing [the pain] for a little bit and he told us last night, so we had an MRI this morning, we got the results later today. He won’t throw the ball for 10 days to two weeks, and then you go from there.”"
The Yankees hope that resting Miller will alleviate any pain he is currently experiencing while also avoiding any future flare ups.
So what will the Yankees do without Miller in the lineup?
According to Girardi, Miller’s DL stint means little more than shuffling a few things around at the end of games.
“You think about just moving everyone back an inning, in a sense,” Girardi said. “Maybe mix and match a little more if we can, but we’re going to be without him.”
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Girardi will sit down with his staff to talk about the team’s options, but he anticipates using Dellin Betances as the closer. Thus far in 2015, Betances has posted a 4-0 record with an ERA of just 0.28 in 32.1 innings pitched. Judging by those numbers, he should be more than able to fill in for Miller.
The Yankees, who sit atop the AL East with a two-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays, would fare best resting Miller now, in June, rather than have him play through it and risk the pain flaring up later in the season. The division is tight, with only seven between the first place Yankees and last place Red Sox, so it is imperative that New York has Miller back for the crucial late innings at the end of the year.
Assuming Miller comes back on time and the strain is gone, the Yankees should be able to avoid falling down in the standings.
The Yankees may want to wake up those bats for some extra insurance runs, but Miller’s stint should not have a serious impact on the team moving forward. They have enough pieces to plug in for a relatively short DL stint.
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