New York Yankees: Can John Maine Ressurect His Career with the Bombers?
May 30, 2012 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
One of the things New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman likes to get involved in is a good reclamation project.
He did it with Jon Lieber in 2004, Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon in 2005 and Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon in 2011.
Cashman is at it again with another project as he signed former Mets pitcher John Maine to a minor league deal, and he will report to the minors for an extended spring training.
Maine last pitched in the majors in 2010 with the New York Mets before he ran into shoulder troubles. He had surgery in July of that year to repair the damage.
Maine tried to get back in the majors with the Rockies in 2011, but he didn’t pitch well and eventually left the team.
Maine signed with the Red Sox this year but was released on May 10 by Boston before finally being picked up by the Yankees a few weeks later.
And now, Maine will look to get his career back on track while in the minors for the Yankees, but the question is: can he do it?
Maine’s best season was back 2007 when he went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 32 starts. He recorded 180 strikeouts in 190 innings.
Since then, Maine’s had his share of bad luck with injuries, but after being away from the game for a while, a shot with the Yankees may motivate him.
Right now, the Yankees’ rotation has been up and down, and it could use another arm for insurance, especially if Phil Hughes has a couple more poor starts like he did on Monday night against the Angels.
But if Maine can stay healthy and resemble close to his 2007 form, he could be an asset to the Yankees’ pitching staff.
Let’s be realistic, this may, in fact, be Maine’s last chance.
He didn’t make it with the Rockies last year and didn’t make it with the Red Sox in the spring.
If he can’t make it with the Yankees, who right now can use all the pitching insurance they can get, Maine’s career may never get back on track.
Maine’s first start for the Yankees hasn’t been announced yet, but the Yankees will be monitoring his status very closely to see if he can help the Yankees like he did for the Mets back in 2006.
Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.
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