In this video, courtesy of MLB.com, Aaron Boone took the time to talk to about pitcher Luis Cessa, but does he really mean what he says?
Boone’s praise may come as a shock to Yankee fans. For the most part, fans believe that Cessa doesn’t have a large role in the team’s future. He hasn’t exactly wowed in his limited major league experience. According to Baseball Reference, in 27 games Cessa has pitched to a 4-7 record and a 4.49 ERA.
So why is Boone going out of his way to say that Cessa is a guy that is going to help the team? He could have just said that he thought Cessa looked good. Could it be that Boone truly does think Cessa is going to have a real role with the major league team? It’s possible.
Luis Cessa has actually looked pretty good this spring. The numbers haven’t backed that off but as Boone reported in that interview, the stuff is clearly there. He has a plus fastball and a good breaking ball but he struggles with his control. If he could improve command, he could turn into a solid bullpen weapon for the team this year.
Yankee fans should also be aware that Cessa came into camp this year in fantastic shape compared to his last few trips to Tampa. Maybe his slimming down will help him work on a more repeatable delivery. Maybe Boone is seeing something on the backfields that fans haven’t gotten to see yet.
Or maybe this is just a manager showing confidence in the ability of a player with good stuff and some big league experience. Either way, the Yankees will be just fine if Cessa is unable to put it all together this year and ecstatic if he can improve his command and become yet another strong bullpen weapon.
