Cash: 5th Starter To Be Decided Soon

From Bryan Hoch:

With Ivan Nova seemingly in line for at least one of the spots after firing six hitless innings against the Orioles his last time out and Sergio Mitre heading for a long reliever role, it appears to be down to Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia for the last slot.

Both have outs in their contracts that could make them free agents, and it is unclear if both pitchers would accept assignments to the bullpen.

"I think we're going to have to make that [decision] sooner than later," Cashman said. "Ultimately, we have guys who have outs in their contracts with Garcia and Colon. We have to stretch guys out and start defining roles sooner than later."

2011 Spring Training Stats:

• Colon - 3.00 ERA, 9 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
• Garcia - 4.70 ERA, 7.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K ... (has also allowed 3 ER in 4 IP so far today vs. the Jays)

It always tough to base major decisions on small sample sizes, especially when those small samples come from spring training. The tough part is that they're most likely going to lose whichever pitcher they don't pick and there's always a chance you're saying goodbye to the better of the two. I know that before spring training started I felt that Garcia was the better pick, but based on their performances this spring it's going to be hard for them not to give Colon the job. He's clearly been the more effective pitcher of the two and at this point I think that's the direction the Yankees will go.

Put yourselves in the Yankees shoes, who is your fifth starter?