Right handed pitcher Adam Warren is in his sixth season as a Yankee. After working his way up the minors, he made his debut in 2012. For the 2015 playoff team, Warren started 17 games and came out of the bullpen in 26 others. In December 2015, he was sent to the Cubs for Starlin Castro, but he returned in July 2016 in the deal that sent Aroldis Chapman to Chicago. Warren pitched in 29 games for the Cubs team that won the World Series. He spoke with NY Sports Day the morning after the Yankees eight-run comeback against Baltimore.
NYSD: Have you been part of any game like that before?
Adam Warren: No. Not quite like that, no.
NYSD: What do you think the key has been to the team’s success so far this year?
AW: I think we’re doing a lot of things well. We’re pitching, hitting well but I think just staying loose, and I think we have that confidence to be down 9-1, and still don’t lose that fight, I think that’s really what’s been able to add runs late in the game and our bullpen’s been well. And our starters have been dominant It’s just like almost everything’s kind of clicking right now. Hopefully we can carry on because obviously things are going to struggle at some point. I think we can carry on is the confidence and the belief in our team.
NYSD: What is it like sharing a bullpen with Betances and Chapman?
AW: It’s great because you know if we can get the ball to them in the eighth and the ninth then the game is pretty much over. So, we have a lot of confidence in those guys and obviously they’re a lot of fun to watch when they hit triple digits and having nasty stuff. But it puts a lot of pressure on us just to make sure we get the lead to them and work the game close to possibly come back and have them close the game out. It’s a nice luxury to have.
NYSD: What’s it like watching them up close because you’re probably closer to them than most guys on the team.
AW: I think just day in and day out how they go about their business. It’s not like they have a good game and then a bad game. It’s like they’re consistently good and they’ve been consistently good, so I think just the work that they put in and just how they’re prepared to be at that dominant level every day.
NYSD: You’ve been a starter in the minors. How tough is it becoming a reliever and then doing this quasi starter/reliever role?
AW: I was the long guy the first year so that was kind of a good lead up to being a reliever. And then once I learned a routine for being a reliever, you kind of separate the two routines and you can kind of jump back and forth if you need to. I take pride in being flexible and I feel like that adds value for me, being able to just be ready for anything. Once I have those routines going it’s pretty easy to differentiate the two.
NYSD: Are you going to get a ring when you go to Chicago next week?
AW: I hope so (laughing). They haven’t told me anything, so we’ll see.