What happens when the Yankees lose Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova and Chase Whitley? They are forced to go to the junk yard and recycle 36-year-old southpaw Chris Capuano.




This will be Capuano's first start of 2015. He's been out with a strained quad. Capuano was cut by Boston last year, signed a minor league with Colorado and then was dealt to the pitching-starved Yankees where he posted a losing record and 4.25 ERA.




The Yankees are the fifth organization Capuano has been with since 2011. The last time he was a regular part of a rotation - and not merely used as a five-inning stopgap measure - was 2012.




Now Capuano draws his first start - and faces the defending American League champions. The Royals are playing well again this season tied with Detroit for the second-best record in the AL. The Royals own the second-best home mark in the AL and have won 11 of their past 14 home contests when facing a lefty starter. They have a 60 percent winning percentage versus southpaws this season.




Royals starter Edinson Volquez posted a 1.91 ERA in four April starts. He's struggled in three starts this month, but this will be his second outing since recovering from a blister on his right thumb. I'm expecting his best performance of May.




Volquez is backed by the best relief trio in baseball - Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and closer Greg Holland.




The Yankees have been a nice story so far. They also have a strong bullpen. But Kansas City is the superior team, has a strong home field advantage and has the better starting pitching going.




The price is low enough to get involved with Kansas City.