TAMPA, Fla. — Throughout his tenure as the general manager of the Yankees, Brian Cashman has been almost obsessed with big, hulking pitchers, men who stand tall or round, or both, and look daunting from 60 feet 6 inches away.

That infatuation caused him to sign, or re-sign, behemoths like David Wells and Bartolo Colon, or more elongated body types represented by Randy Johnson and Andrew Brackman, who are each listed at 6-10.

But this year Cashman, who is 5-7, 160 pounds, has outdone himself. In assembling a starting rotation so massive, so imposing in height and weight that no one in these parts can remember one so large, he appears intent on bringing the baseball Giants back to New York. In fact, most of the pitchers could also qualify as linemen for the football Giants.

Across the front line is C. C. Sabathia, who is listed at 6-7 and said he came into camp weighing roughly 290 pounds. His new locker partner and fellow leviathan is Michael Pineda, who also checks in at 6-7 and said he weighs 280. Ivan Nova is listed at 6-4, 225; Phil Hughes is 6-5, 240; Freddy Garcia, whose broad shoulders and boxlike frame seem to fill up the doorway, is listed at 6-4, 250.