It's Decision Time For The New York Yankees and Luis Cessa
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 18: Luis Cessa #85 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game on July 18, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Do the New York Yankees really see a future with Luis Cessa or are they just stringing him along the big guns in the minors are ready?

Luis Cessa has been one of those guys who’s been shuffled back and forth from Triple-A to the New York Yankees during the past few seasons. Cessa, who has bounced around with different organizations, has finally found a home with the Yankees.

Or has he?

Cessa has spent much of his two seasons in the big leagues serving as a spot starter, never quite breaking the rotation. Of course, the Yankees have seasoned veterans in CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka manning the helm. Cessa was a prized prospect but, besides a few starts for injured pitchers, he never really got the opportunity like his fellow prospect Luis Severino.

He showed some promise but his numbers aren’t stellar in the majors. Cessa has a combined 4-7 record between 2016 and 2017 with an ERA of 4.50. He’s also allowed 21 home runs in 26 games, which he struggled a lot with last season.

This season alone, he is 0-3 with a 4.75 ERA. While he put together a solid performance last night against the crosstown rival New York Mets (4.1 innings, five hits, two runs), he still allowed two home runs and exited the game due to an injury.

So, what now? Clearly, the Yankees had a lot of hope for Cessa as a starter but he just doesn’t seem to be panning out right now. They’ve given him multiple chances and he has seemingly squandered the majority of them.

The Yankees continue to keep the faith. He is one of the first they choose for a spot start, despite his shaky stats. But why? Aren’t there options out there that have fared better in the majors, like Bryan Mitchell or even Chad Green?

The starts keep going to Cessa, no matter what his statistics look like. And while it’s nice to see him develop in the major leagues, enough is enough.

The Yankees are giving Cessa chances because they hope he’ll become a pitcher of Severino-esque nature. Now it’s time to make a decision about whether or not this experiment can continue.

You’ve got a plethora of starting pitchers rising through the ranks in the minors in the form of Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield, among others. Will they choose to continue working with Cessa until these guys are ready? Has he simply been a filler while they are anticipating the arrival of their hot prospects?

That’s what it seems at least. While Cessa hasn’t been horrific by any means, the Yankees are still giving him shot after shot when they have given up on other young pitchers quickly. Maybe they’re expecting him to fill the void until their younger prospects can make it.

But they can’t continue to do this any longer. They either have to package him in a trade deal for an opportunity to be a full-time starter or give him that opportunity himself.

He’s 25 years old. There are several young prospects on his tail, ready to make waves in the majors. Cessa will not be the first choice when they come up. The Yankees can’t continue to string him along just because their prospects aren’t ready.

My advice? Give Cessa a chance with another team. The Bombers have shown that while they like Cessa, they don’t have a spot for him, between the veterans and the up-and-coming flamethrowers in the minors.

Now that he’s injured, the Yankees have to make a decision on whether to keep him for next year or let him fly. Is it really fair to keep a young pitcher in a part-time role when he could be something more for another team?


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.