Despite the fact Jose Contreras dominated over his four shutout innings yesterday, Joe Torre has no plans to move Contreras into the Yankees’ struggling rotation.
Instead, Torre saw further evidence that Contreras can make a significant impact out of the pen.
“I’d like to get him in a spot out of the bullpen that will be meaningful,” Torre said after the Yankees lost again, 5-2, to the Blue Jays yesterday.
Perhaps the Yankees won’t have to make a trade for a setup man. Maybe the more confident Contreras can be a dominant force in the seventh and eighth inning.
After starting his whole career in Cuba, he feels more comfortable now coming out of the pen; especially after finding his precision during his recent trip to the minors.
“I thought it would be an easier adjustment,” the 31-year-old Contreras said. “It wasn’t as easy as I thought it was. Now, I’m finally coming around to getting comfortable in that role.”
Yesterday, Contreras entered in the sixth with men on the corners and none out. He struck out Josh Phelps and forced Orlando Hudson to hit into a double play.
In Contreras’ four overpowering innings, he allowed a hit and a walk, while striking out four. Of his 52 pitches, 34 were strikes.
The best example of Contreras’ domination came in the eighth when he split the intimidating Carlos Delgado’s bat into a toothpick.
The scene almost looked cartoonish as a Contreras’ fastball shattered Delgado’s wood, causing a meek groundout to third. Contreras outsmarted Delgado, who was looking breaking ball.
Contreras looked as dominating as he did on Thursday night when he threw a perfect, two-strikeout ninth.
John Flaherty, who caught Contreras yesterday and Thursday, said he sees a noticeable difference in Contreras’ control, velocity and confidence.
“You can see it in his face,” Flaherty said.
Since returning from the minors, the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder has had two good outings and one bad. In his initial opportunity, he fell short at Fenway, allowing five earned runs in 11/3 innings, helping to transform what easily could’ve been a win into a loss.
