Now that the Yanks have nearly wrapped up their internal unfinished business this off-season, they can turn their attention to the team’s other holes. Right now, those holes begin and end with pitching. While the Johan Santana sweepstakes have yet to heat up, the Yanks are looking at Ron Mahay as a potential lefty arm.
Mahay, a well-traveled 36-year-old, has played 11 seasons of a decent enough career for a lefty. He’s spent time on six different teams, compiling a 3.87 ERA but a 1.40 WHIP. He doesn’t give up too many run, but he puts a lot of guys on base. In other words, he’s a perfect fit for a Yankee pen that perennially cannot locate the strike zone. Let’s sign him.
Last season, Mahay made $1.25 million and split his time between Texas and Atlanta. He finished the year with a 2.55 ERA despite pitching to a whip of 1.33. He certainly enjoyed his fair share of luck. Looking at his splits, we see a pitcher who was quite effective against lefties. They hit just .189/.250/.292 against him last year, and Mahay struck out 27 lefties while working just 8. On the other side, righties hit .242/.377/.379 with 28 strike outs and 29 walks. I’d say this guy’s a lefty specialist.
Considering the recent southpaws the Yanks have trotted out — Ron Villone, Mike Myers, Sean Henn, Felix Heredia — the Yanks could do a lot worse than Mahay. I’d probably offer him a $1.5-$2 million, one-year deal and hope he lands in the Bronx. He’s among the best of what’s around really.
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