This long shot could be Yankees’ closer by end of the season, ESPN insider says

Forgive Yankees fans if they feel a little squeamish about their closer. After all, they watched Mariano Rivera, the best there ever was, save 652 games over 19 seasons. Ninth innings were automatic.

The Yankees’ present closer, Clay Holmes has been effective but also erratic — and he’s basically an unknown who came here from the Pirates, found a new pitch and suddenly is Trevor Hoffman in pinstripes. Meanwhile fans and analysts wonder: Will the magic wear off?

Because it did once before: Last season, after Holmes had a 0.47 ERA in his first 37 outings, he suddenly lost it. He blew three saves in a row in August, forcing the Yankees to close by committee. Holmes eventually regained his effectiveness, but that out-of-nowhere collapse still haunts.

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And that led ESPN’s Jeff Passan to provide this advice to fantasy baseball managers: “Steal Ron Marinacciolate in the draft and hope he can vulture a few saves — and maybe even wind up as closer, with Clay Holmes’ grasp on the job tenuous. If Marinaccio can bring his walk rate closer to minor league levels (3.5 per nine) than where it was last season (4.9), his elite strikeout rate and ERA will play even better in deep leagues.”

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Marinaccio — a Toms River, N.J. native — was one of the best relievers in baseball for a stretch last summer, allowing only one earned run in 27.1 innings in a three-month span. Leaning on his changeup and indestructible confidence, Marinaccio finished his rookie season with a 2.05 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 44 innings.

“He’s a little bit of a killer,” manager Aaron Boone said this week. “This guy’s not afraid and he proved that all year long. Like whatever situation, whether he had success — which he had a lot of — or whether he had an outing where he struggled with it, it didn’t affect him.”

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