Photo by: Gabe Rodriguez/LOD
Update: March 31st, 2:35 pm
During the Yankees/Cardinals game on Thursday, Yes Network interviewed Yankees manager Joe Girardi and he announced that Luis Cessa will break camp with team and soon make his major league debut.
At this time, Cessa will start the season in the bullpen, but after what he showed during spring training, don’t be surprised if the Yankees use him at times in a spot start.
Congrats to Luis Cessa on making the Major League club.
Original Post: March 30th
The 2015 season was about the top prospects joining the major league ranks and showing quickly that they belonged. But 2016 is shaping up to be the year where minor league players not considered major league ready options, are surprising even the critics and showing that hard work pays off.
On Monday the Astros awarded their first base job to a player who was taken in the 33rd round of the 2013 amateur draft, and if all remains the same, Yankees prospect Luis Cessa will be on the verge of leaving spring camp with the big club with his debut imminent.
Cessa originally signed with the New York Mets as an international free agent in 2009 and was supposed to be an infielder. But after multiple injuries to his left shoulder, he was shut down and then the decision came to change him into a pitcher.
That decision would prove to be exactly what Cessa needed to keep him on the right path towards the big leagues.
Last summer Cessa was traded by the Mets to the Detroit Tigers for Yoenis Cespedes. After finishing the season with the Tigers AAA squad, he was then shipped during the off-season to the Yankees in a trade that sent Justin Wilson to Detroit.
Photo By: Gabe Rodriguez
The Yankees were looking to shore up their pitching in the minors with a possibility that Cessa could make a spot start during the season.
Well so far it looks to like he may be in the running to make the team straight out of camp, as he has appeared in five games, sporting a 2.70 ERA, and 10 K’s in 10 innings.
Actually, the Mexican native only had one game in which he gave up runs, a March 18th game against the Baltimore Orioles where he gave up three runs on six hits in two innings. But on March 23rd he rebounded with one scoreless inning in relief and then started against the Detroit Tigers on March 28th and tossed three flawless innings, allowing just one hit, no runs and struck out four. What was impressive is that he faced the heart of the Tigers big league lineup and shut them down.
Yanks skipper Joe Girardi offered up his opinion to the media on Cessa’s spring:
“There are tough decisions we have to make and obviously he [Cessa] is in the running. He has pitched well here. We have seen it for the most part all spring from him.’’
“We’re not ruling Cessa out as a (big league) bullpen guy, either. We know that he’s been a starter in the past, but we’re trying to put what we feel is the best chance to win today, tomorrow, the next day, and that sort of thing. We’re looking at different roles for him, too.”
A well deserved opportunity for a pitcher that has landed with the right team for what he brings to the table. A solid starter who can also pitch out of the pen.
Youth is on the Yanks side once again.
David Conde
David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.
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