Yankees Replace Pedro Feliciano With Luis Ayala

18 Responses to Yankees Replace Pedro Feliciano With Luis Ayala

1. Moshe Mandel says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:15 pm

   I don’t really mind it. He was good in ST, and if anything, I think letting vets win that last spot in ST has a goodwill effect with future guys considering joining you in camp.

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   EJ Fagan Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 1:38 pm

   I don’t know – if he’s going to be good, he’ll succeed at Triple-A. And by adding him to the 25-man, the Yankees have to put him on waivers to send him down to Triple-A.

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   A Navarro Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 1:50 pm

   he dont succeed in spring trainig?

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   EJ Fagan Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 3:36 pm

   *he’ll succeed at Triple-A. My bad.

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2. A Navarro says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm

   I think he is better than Alfredo Aceves by far, and he has a real shot to be the next joakim soria. Here in mexico already is the best reliever.
   S.T. NUMBERS:
   ERA
   Ivan Nova, 1.80 (for those with more than 12 innings)
   Luis Ayala, 0.79 (for those with more than five innings)

   EL CHICOTE (whip) had nine strikeouts and no walks, and he lead the team in appearances and saves.

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3. Brads says:

   March 30, 2011 at 1:36 pm

   I suspect Mitre left him the negatives.

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4. woainidepigu says:

   March 30, 2011 at 2:26 pm

   I’d like to think he was added to the roster because his name would sound awesome if announced by Bob Sheppard. Sadly, this will never come to pass.

   I wish that Higashioka could’ve gotten announced by The Voice of God. What a name.

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5. Tom Swift says:

   March 30, 2011 at 2:31 pm

   If a guy does really well in ST, why not reward him. He may have to be waived, but then he has a shot to be picked up by someone else. One way or another, the odds are long that he will play for the Yankees beyond April, so why not do him a favor.

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6. UYF1950 says:

   March 30, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   E.J. – If like you said Ayala isn’t likely to pitch much anyway why not give him a shot. No harm, no foul. He pitched well in spring training and if teams don’t intend to give the guy’s that do well there a shot why even have them go to spring training and perform anyway. I think he pitched well and even if he only gets one or two shots at pitching he deserves it. Who knows he might just surprise.

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   EJ Fagan Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 3:39 pm

   Its not like the Yankees aren’t giving players chances out of Spring. The Yankees added veterans (and Luis is 33) Eric Chavez, Bartolo Colon, and Freddy Garcia out of spring training. They even traded Mitre to make it happen.

   I think there’s more to gain by promoting someone whom the Yankees will benefit from by giving him some experience (Pope), or at least someone who could be marginally useful in the right situation (Golson).

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   TJ Saint Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 4:14 pm

   Yes but keep in mind these guys didn’t all get jobs they truly earned. Colon deserved to be in the rotation over Garcia by far. Also, Mitre was traded mainly because the Yankees brought in Kevin Milwood and wanted to trade depth for a need. I think someone like Golson would be the best option however, I have no problem with Ayala in the pen.

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   UYF1950 Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 5:25 pm

   EJ to be fair I don’t think your comparisons of Ayala to Chavez, Colon and Garcia are fair. Chavez provides the Yankees with something other players in camp didn’t. The ability to back up both 1st and 3rd base not to say anything about his lights out performance for roughly the 5 weeks of spring training offensively. Yes, they could have taken Vazquez but he was/is only a 1st base back up. Colon clearly outperformed Mitre. Garcia brings valuable experience and the ability to eat innings that Mitre did not. So they were logical choices to keep over Mitre. None of the other “so called” options to Ayala performed any better then he did this spring in fact they didn’t produce nearly as good. The guy deserves the opportunity regardless how short.

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   EJ Fagan Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 5:55 pm

   Why put much emphasis at all on Ayala’s spring training? Yeah, he was good. But besides those few spring inings, Ayala has been really bad for the better part of the decade. I see no reason to believe that he’s all of the sudden turned it around at age 33.

   I’m not too sure if he makes the team better at this point. And I know that if Feliciano (who now might be out longer, so this could be less important) returns, the Yankees are either going to have to cut someone else, or lose Ayala. Sending him to Triple-A to see what he’s got seems like a much better solution. If he’s really turned a corner, they can add him later.

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   UYF1950 Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 6:19 pm

   EJ, I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree on Ayala.

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   TJ Saint Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 6:54 pm

   I see your point EJ. I would prefer having a guy like Golson on the roster. He provides a solid base stealing threat and would make a great pinch runner. He can also play some defense and could provide great value to the club. However, whether or not you think Ayala has turned it around, he won the battle in spring training and he earned it fair in square. So do I think it’s the greatest decision? No, but I don’t blame the yankees for making the move either. But I couldn’t agree more. I think Golson is the best option for the ball club.

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   UYF1950 Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 7:26 pm

   Guy’s how many reserve outfielders do the Yankees need on the roster. With Granderson scheduled to play. They have as regulars Gardner, Granderson and Swisher. If they added Golson what do they do with Dickerson who they just traded for? If they kept Golson instead of Ayala that would give the Yankees 3 reserve outfielders (Jones, Dickerson and Golson) by my count that’s at least one to many. Besides I’m not sure what Golson brings to the party that Dickerson doesn’t. Just my opinion.

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   Moshe Mandel Reply:
   March 30th, 2011 at 7:36 pm

   Dickerson didn’t make the club. So EJ is suggesting Golson instead of Ayala, but Im sure he’d be fine with Dickerson over Ayala.
7. TJ Saint says:

   March 30, 2011 at 3:27 pm

   I don’t mind this decision. I think it’s good to give him a shot. Plus if he pitches well, the Yankees are going to get rid of him. However, if he is pitching poorly, it won’t really matter if the Yankees release him to waivers.

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