The Yankees may not have landed a starter to shore up their rotation yet, but they could be setting themselves up for a nice September call-up.
According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees have promoted their top pitching prospect, Manny Banuelos, to triple-A.
Banuelos, 20, had a 3.59 ERA in 95.1 innings in Double-A so far this season. His K/9 is 8.9 and his BB/9 is 4.9. He is closing in on his career high innings pitched of 109 back in 2009.
This seems like a move that is setting the Yankees up for life after the trade deadline if they don’t make a deal. Promote Banuelos to Triple-A, see if he can make it there, then promote him to the majors in September. There he can fill a rotation spot if needed or maybe could end up being a lefty reliever down the stretch.
If they don’t land a bat they could also promote Jesus Montero to the majors, finally. But no such move has been announced yet.
Good news. I hope he's in the rotation to start the 2012 campaign.