25 Chasing 28: The 2011 New York Yankees Roster & Sergio Mitre

Name: Sergio Armando Mitre, Pitcher

DOB: 02/16/81

Contract Status: 1 year/$0.9M (2011)

2010 stats: 0-3, 3.33 ERA, 4.69 FIP, 0.0 WAR

2010 In Review: In many ways, Mitre pitched better in 2010 than he ever had in his seven-year career. In 27 games, including three starts, he posted the best ERA, ERA+ (129), WHIP (1.093) and hits per nine innings (7.2) of his career.

The Good: All of those stats above. Every staff needs a long man, a guy who can chew up some innings and pitch respectably when the manager doesn't want to burn the primary relievers in his bullpen. Mitre can do that.

The Bad: The Yankees are, at least on paper, considering Mitre for a spot in their starting rotation. Mitre has a 13-29 career record, and after two seasons with the Yankees we have seen that he is not a quality big-league starter. In three starts last season he went 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA and hitters batted .291 against him. As a reliever, he had a 2.45 ERA in 24 appearances and hitters averaged just .196

2011 Outlook: Bill James forecasts a 3-3 record and 5.27 ERA for Mitre. I can't imagine that he actually wins a regular spot in the rotation, but Mitre pitched for manager Joe Girardi in Florida and Girardi seems to like him. Much like the past couple of seasons, Mitre will likely be around but won't be that important. Some mop-up, some spot starts. That is what he is, pretty much the last guy on the staff. We should not expect more.