Joba Coming Back to Pen

At least, he won't have to deal with this again.

When Joba comes off the DL next week, it is expected that he will be coming out of the pen. Is this a good or bad idea? Let's think. On a positive note, it saves his arm after such an injury, especially with the Yankees essentially out of contention. There seems to be no reason to push him back out there for no reason. He's the ace of the future, and he could get hurt if he's pushed back into starting so quickly. Too bad that it'll cost him the any chance at the Rookie of the Year Award.

On the flip side, if he's not healthy enough to return to the rotation, he probably should just be shut down. He may only get about 15-20 innings over the next month, which wouldn't be a whole lot, and he could just throw simulated games instead.

Also, he's only up to 89 IP for the season, and if you want to use the no more than 30 IP more than last season rule, then he shouldn't throw more than 120-130 next year (150 if he pitches from the bullpen in September). If you don't think that matters because he was a starter in the minors, than he only threw 106 the year before. Not pushing him to throw the 40 innings he could throw in September may not be a good thing. If he did, than he could throw around 160-170 innings next season. If they really want to count on him next season, they may want that total higher.

It depends on how you want to look at it. He could get hurt either way, but the bullpen would put less stress on his arm. These are the things that drive GM's crazy, and get them fired.