Yankees sign Silva

According to , the Yankees have signed recently-released righthander Carlos Silva to a minor league deal with an in-season opt-out (which Silva could exercise if he is not on the big league roster by a certain date).  Silva was released by the Cubs at the end of Spring Training, despite being owed over $11 million in 2011 with an option for 2012.  Silva had a solid season for the Cubs in 2010, going 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA (3.75 FIP) in 21 starts, but apparently the combination of a poor spring training and an altercation with was more than the Cubs’ ownership could take.  Silva’s 2010 k/9 (6.7) represented a career high, and his walk rate was an impressive 1.69 bb/9.

It’s unclear where Silva will fit into the Yankees’ rotation plans, but the timing of the signing may reflect concerns about ‘ health.  It may be too early to speculate as to whether Hughes’ velocity drop is the result of an injury, but the Yankees, for whatever reason, have acquired another potential back of the rotation option to go along with the recently-signed and long reliever .  The signing would reunite Silva with his former pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, so hopefully Rothschild is on board with the signing.  Various projection systems show Silva as anywhere between a 4.02 and a 4.50 FIP pitcher in 2011, a level of performance that the Yankees would definitely take from their 5th starter.

The timing of when Silva would be ready to make his Yankee debut is unclear, but I certainly can’t fault Cashman for bringing in another proven arm to compete for a potential rotation spot.  He was pretty good in 2010, and hopefully he would be able to continue that level of performance this season.  I will update this as more information comes out, but hopefully this signing doesn’t mean that bad news is pending.