Cashman said that he's exploring all options when it comes to who will be closing out games for the Yankees next season. Joe Girardi will be having to ball off to someone new in the 9th inning for the first time next season after Rivera retired this offseason.
David Robertson is expected to be the first one in line to get the closing gig after spending the last few years being a very solid 8th inning pitcher, setting up the bridge to Mariano in the 9th.
Cashman said, though, that he's not sure Robertson is ready to fill the shoes of baseball's greatest closer, and that's why he could be looking at bringing someone else in.
“I’m not sure Robertson is capable yet." he said. "He’s never done that before. I think he’s earned the right to take a shot at it. And he very well may be the guy. But we're not anointing him the guy. We'll wait and see how our winter plays out, and then how our spring training works out. Then Joe [Girardi] and Larry [Rothschild] will determine at some point at the end of spring training who our closer is.”
Cashman was asked if experienced closers like Joe Nathan and Grant Balfour are the types of pitchers that the team is targeting.
“I’ve heard from their agents. I’m going to explore every option out there. again, our team has a lot of areas to fill. And the bullpen, as a collective, is weakened now with the loss of Mariano Rivera and the loss of, currently, Boone Logan, who is a free agent. So we need to improve in that area. So whether it’s big names or small names, I need to look at all of them.”
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