Let The Roster Shakeup Commence! Yanks Make 2 Bullpen Moves

Well that's one way to make a statement about the recent poor play from the front office.  The Yankees announced 2 25-man roster moves in preparation for tonight's game.  Alfredo Aceves has been designated for assignment and replaced by lefty Wade LeBlanc, who was claimed off waivers yesterday.  Also removed from the Major League bullpen was Preston Claiborne, who was optioned down to Triple-A SWB while Jose Ramirez was called up.

The writing was on the wall for Aceves after the LeBlanc claim went through.  He had pitched terribly ever since his scoreless 5-inning first appearance and there was really no use for him anymore.  The Claiborne move comes as a bit more of a surprise.  It's not undeserved on his part.  He had given up 4 ER and 4 BB in his last 5 appearances.  But Ramirez has only recently come off the MiL DL and only has 7 relief appearances under his belt for the RailRiders.

Both good moves for the Yankees.  They remove 2 guys who had given up 21 ER in 37 IP and replace them with a versatile left-hander who can be LOOGY insurance for Thornton and a high-ceiling power arm who's been striking out over a batter per inning in Triple-A.  The fun part will be seeing if these are the only roster shakeup moves made.

The Implications Of The Murphy And Canzler Call-Ups

Brian Cashman said tonight that "weather permitting, Russ Canzler will probably get the call up" to join Yankees. Decision isn't final.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 15, 2014

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Bryan Hoch tweeted that out last night, after it was reported that John Ryan Murphy, and not Austin Romine, would get called up to replace Francisco Cervelli as the Major League backup catcher.  It has yet to be reported by any other beat guy or confirmed by the team itself, but I have to imagine this is the decision that will be made.  When the Yankees take the field tonight against the Cubs, they will be back to full strength.  Well, at least in terms of number of healthy bodies on the active roster.  That's better than where they were at on Sunday night.

While these moves provide the obvious benefit of getting the Yanks back to a standard 5-man bench/7-man 'pen roster breakdown and filling in the cracks on their injured infield, it's what's between the lines that is the real story here.  The decisions to call up Murphy and Canzler tell us a little bit about what else might be happening on the roster and in the front office.

Lots Of Sound Logic In Joe's Opening Day Roster Decisions

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

As the Yankees were coming down the home stretch of Spring Training last week, I thought I had Joe's final roster selections all figured out.  I thought he was going to go with the experience/performance combo and take Matt Daley for the final bullpen spot, which also would have allowed Vidal Nuno to stay stretched out as a starter in Triple-A and be ready to come up and spot start in case of an emergency.  When it came to the final bench spot, I thought Eduardo Nunez's tenure as a Yankee and familiarity with their system would give him the advantage over Yangervis Solarte and Joe would give him the nod based on loyalty.

In another shining example of why Joe and Cash have the jobs they have and I'm a cube monkey who blogs in his spare time, I was wrong on both accounts.  Joe didn't go on experience and he didn't go on loyalty.  He thought about what his team was going to need the most in the first few weeks of the season and made the 2 most logical choices to meet those needs.

Opening Day Roster Prediction

There are 5 days left until Opening Day, fewer ST games than that.  There's not much left to guess about at this point, so it's as good a time as any to make my official Opening Day 25-man roster prediction.  Without further ado, here's what I'm expecting to see:

Starting Lineup: Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Brian Roberts, Derek Jeter, Kelly Johnson, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano

Starting Rotation: CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda

Bullpen: David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, Matt Daley

Bench: Francisco Cervelli, Eduardo Nunez, Dean Anna, Ichiro Suzuki

Late Spring Training Winners And Losers

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Somebody cue the music because we've reached the final countdown.  We're now only a week away from Opening Day.  This time next week we won't be talking about who's going to make the bullpen or win the 5th starter competition or what the batting order should look like because all of that stuff will be decided.  That means the guys in camp still competing for roster spots or clearer roster definitions don't have much time left to prove their worth.  A little less than 3 weeks ago, I singled out some of the early winners and losers in Spring Training.  In the time since, the winner/loser landscape has almost completely changed, as it's wont to do when the sample sizes become a bit larger and roster cuts start being made.  With a handful of ST games remaining, here is the updated list for who's sitting pretty and who's not.

A Quick Look At The Current 25-Man Roster

There was no shortage of needs for the Yankees heading into the offseason, and there's been no shortage of activity on their part to address those needs.  In less than 3 weeks, they've spent $307 million to upgrade at catcher (Brian McCann), the outfield (Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran), the infield (Kelly Johnson, Brendan Ryan), and the rotation (Hiroki Kuroda).  Losing Robinson Cano to Seattle was a big blow to their rebuild plan, but they continue to move forward without him and try to find a way to replace his lost production.

With the Winter Meetings coming and passing without any new developments this week, it's as good a time as any to stop for a minute and evaluate what the Yankee 25-man roster would look like if the regular season started today.

A Look At The Current 2014 Roster

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

To further drive home the point that the Yankees have a ton of work to do this offseason, and to start to quell any high expectations you may still have for a bounce back season in 2014, here's what the 2014 Opening Day Roster could look like if it was comprised of only returning organizational players:

Lineup:

 C- Austin Romine
1B- Mark Teixeira
2B- David Adams
SS- Derek Jeter
3B- Eduardo Nunez
LF- Alfonso Soriano
CF- Brett Gardner
RF- Ichiro Suzuki
DH- Vernon Wells

Picking The Hypothetical Yankee Playoff Roster

The Yankees aren't going to be participating in the postseason this year.  It's only the second time we've been able to say that since 1994, and with the type of baseball we watched them play for the majority of the season it's probably for the best that they're on the outside looking in.  I've gotten so used to doing the end-of-year debate about the playoff roster that it's strange to not have to think about that this year.  Chances are the Yankees wouldn't get very far in the playoffs regardless of what 25 guys they took, but trying to predict the playoff roster is usually one of the more fun exercises of the year.  In the interest of trying to have a little fun, here's what my hypothetical 25-man playoff roster would look like.

Get Ready For More No-Name Roster Additions

Earlier today, Chad Jennings reported that both Josh Bell and Adonis Garcia were officially activated off the Triple-A disabled list.  Both players have spent the bulk of the MiL season out and just began their rehab work recently in the lower levels.  Even though neither are household names by any stretch of the imagination, they represent another opportunity for the Yankees to marginally upgrade their roster and add some desperately needed offensive options to their completely decimated and unproductive lineup.

Bell, 26, has played in the Majors before and offers a ton of flexibility, both at the plate as a switch hitter and in the field as a guy capable of playing both outfield and infield corners.  Garcia, also 26, was an unheralded international signing out of Cuba - one I've profiled before - and could stand to get his shot at reaching the show thanks to the Major League roster's offensive ineptitude and injuries to Ronnier Mustelier and Brennan Boesch.

It's highly unlikely that either of these guys will make much of an impact, but with their season and postseason hopes starting to crumble around them the Yankees need to do something.  The 3-man bench isn't working for them and there's little need for 8 guys in the bullpen.  I wouldn't be surprised to see another move or two made in next day or so.

Who's Next On The Active Roster Merry-Go-Round?

The Yanks will return to the diamond tonight after their last off-day before the All Star Break.  The expectation is that they will send Ivan Nova back down to Triple-A after his Sunday spot start and recall somebody from the Minors.  As much as a 13-man pitching staff might help against the Rangers and Orioles, a 3-man bench of Austin Romine, Alberto Gonzalez, and Vernon Wells is not an ideal scenario and Nova won't be able to pitch for at least a couple days.  Adding a position player is the right move to make here.  The question is who.

The players who would be ideal call-up options are either hurt (CoJo, Mustelier, Boesch) or ineligible (Neal), and the only other guy on the 40-man roster who could be called up is Ramon Flores.  The Yankees aren't going to make that jump, nor are they going to make a rush move and call up somebody like J.R. Murphy, so what's the play here?  Smart money would be on either the newly-acquired Brent Lillibridge, who can play literally every defensive position except catcher, or lefty swinger Dan Johnson.  Johnson has some power in his bat and would be a nice option to sub for the slumping Lyle Overbay, but I bet Lillibridge's extreme defensive flexibility and right-handedness gets him the nod.

We've already seen the Yankees give 219 combined plate appearances to 7 guys - David Adams, Thomas Neal, Zoilo Almonte, Corban Joseph, Chris Nelson, Reid Brignac, Alberto Gonzalez - that nobody expected to see on the field this season.  In a few hours, we should see number 8.

Who Gets The Axe Today? (Updated)

Mike Eder already beat me to the punch earlier today, but the Yankees have a 25-man roster decision to make today with Andy Pettitte set to come off the DL.  It'll arguably be the most difficult one they've had to make so far this season, because as Mike pointed out, there is a case to be made for cutting and keeping every player on the bubble.  The Yankees' still uneasy health footing with Teix and Youkilis makes it difficult to single out any of their excess infielders as the one who should go, and the last thing they want to do is get rid of somebody like Overbay and then watch Teix go back on the DL for season-ending wrist surgery.

That's why I think it'll be David Adams who gets taken off and optioned back to Triple-A.  He's cooled off with the bat and doesn't offer the defensive versatility of a Brignac or a Nix nor the first base experience of an Overbay.  Regular at-bats are still the thing he needs most and he won't get those with Youkilis back in the picture and the SS platoon around, so why not make the move that's in his best interests?  The Yankees were already starting to experiment with Adams at first and second base again before he was called up.  They can keep doing that again if they want to try to expand Adams' potential roles for the future.

You made a fan of me, Dave.  I'm officially on the bandwagon.  But I think you're gone in a few hours, buddy.

** UPDATE 1:47 PM- Jack Curry reporting that Lyle Overbay will get the start in right field tonight.  Honestly did not expect that.  Maybe that means it's Brennan Boesch who's getting sent down and Adams will stick. **

Joba Chamberlain Activated From The DL

I was starting to wonder if Joba Chamberlain was getting the same stall treatment I thought Ivan Nova was last week.  Thankfully this time the Yankees were nice enough to announce his activation from the DL before I wrote the post and made myself look like a double jackass.

The Yanks activated Joba this afternoon after a few MiL rehab assignments and I believe 2 comebackers that hit him during said assignments.  With the number of players still going down these days, it only makes sense to bring Joba back and have him get hit with a pitch in a Major League game.  David Huff was DFA'd to clear a spot on the active roster and in the suddenly chock full bullpen that has Mo, D-Rob, Logan, Claiborne, Kelley, Warren, Nova, and now Joba.  That's a lot of innings to go around.

As an added bonus, the Yankees have now opened up 2 spots on their 40-man roster.  They'll need them as the rest of the injured core continues to heal.  Now let's see where Joba fits back into the bullpen pecking order.  They certainly haven't been hurting without him.

Opening Day 25-Man Lineup Finalized

(The most 'blah' team $220 mil can buy?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

It's not what any of us likely had in mind when Spring Training started, and that was before Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter went down.  The Yankees still have to put 25 guys in uniform for Monday, and they've scrambled to fill those gaps in the past few weeks.  Yesterday they put the finishing touches on what will be the official 25-man roster when the regular season opens tomorrow.  It's not pretty, but you already knew that.  Have a look.

Opening Day 25-Man Roster Prediction

I've done some predictions for roster spot contenders, but nothing on the actual 25-man roster yet.  Good thing too because all of them would have been rendered meaningless after the injuries to C-Grand and Teix.  But with it being just two weeks from Opening Day and the ST roster getting cut down more and more every couple days, the outline of the real roster spot contenders is starting to become more clear.  We know who's not going to be ready (C-Grand, Teix, A-Rod), we know who is after this week of in-game appearances from Jeter, Mo, Andy, and CC, and there's one guy who's still not a guarantee one way or the other in Phil Hughes.  That's enough for me to make a pretty good educated guess, so here's the first attempt at predicting the 25-man roster we'll see on Opening Day.

Opening Day Roster Not Looking So Hot Right Now

(Time for the Ninja GM to start moving in the shadows)

It's still relatively early, the spots are all going to be filled eventually, and I totally get that this is going to be business as usual for the Yankees for the next 2 years as they make their push to get below the self-imposed payroll threshold.  But it's worth nothing that this sluggish start to the offseason comes during a year when there are more holes on the roster to fill than we've seen in the past few offseasons.  Here we are, on the week of Thanksgiving, and the Yankees are in a position where, if the season started tomorrow they would be in a pretty tough spot.  Take a look.

Yankee Postseason Roster Officially Unveiled

And it's got no surprises.  Via Bryan Hoch, the 25-man that the Bombers will carry into the ALDS against Baltimore will be exactly what everybody thought it would be yesterday once Andruw Jones announced he would not be included.  Brett Gardner, Jayson Nix, and Derek Lowe are in; Jones, Chris Dickerson, Cody Eppley, and Ivan Nova are out.

Final ALDS Roster-

Position Players: Martin, Stewart, Teixeira, Cano, Nix, Jeter, Nunez, A-Rod, Chavez, Swisher, Granderson, Ichiro, Gardner, Ibanez

Pitchers: Sabathia, Pettitte, Kuroda, Hughes, Soriano, D-Rob, Logan, Joba, Phelps, Rapada, Lowe

Why The Hell Is Freddy Garcia Still On The Roster?

(I think your time has come, fella.  Courtesy of The AP)

Real talk for a minute, why the hell is Freddy Garcia still a Yankee?  Can anybody explain it to me?  What's the point?  He's been equally useless as a starter and a reliever this season (5.56 FIP as starter, 4.50 as reliever) and currently brings no value to the table as a bullpen option.  Since being demoted after his start on April 28th, he's worked 9.1 innings in relief in 5 appearances.  He went 10 days in early May without seeing any game action, and currently hasn't pitched since May 21st.  None of his appearances have been in games where the Yankees were winning, and only 2 of them have been in games where they were within 3 runs.  Both of those times Garcia allowed more runs to score, effectively killing any real chance of a Yankee comeback in the 8th or 9th.  On the 12-man pitching staff, he's firmly entrenched in the 12th spot, and is damn close to being 13th.

Shuffling The 25-Man Deck To Make Room For Roster Reinforcements

Had to post that clip.  Too funny not to.

But on a more serious note, the Yankees are going to get a shot in the arm over the next handful of days with regards to their 25-man roster.  They are finally starting to get healthy, with Brett Gardner and Eric Chavez both scheduled to come off the DL either today or tomorrow, and some guy named Andy Pettitte is going to be added to the starting rotation on Sunday.  There's been a recent burst of roster shuffling activity to cover for the injuries to Chavez, Mo, and Swish's missed time, and the shuffling will continue this weekend.

Looking at the active roster, it's pretty clear who the 3 targets for 25-man termination are.  Cody Eppley, who was recalled last week to replace D.J. Mitchell in the bullpen, should get the boot from his low-leverage mop-up spot when David Phelps gets knocked back to the bullpen to make room for Andy.  In the field, Jayson Nix and Dewayne Wise will likely get axed for Gardner and Chavez.  It will be a shame to lose Wise, who doesn't have any options and would have to clear waivers before the Yankees could try to stash him in Triple-A again.  He has hit incredibly well since Spring Training and can play all 3 OF positions better than anybody else left on the Yankee bench, but there just isn't any way that he's getting the nod over the Joneses and Ibanezes of the world.

The Yankee roster has never been the complete 25-man version it was expected to be at the opening of spring camp, and it never will be with a few guys out for the season.  But with the return of Chavez, Gardner, and Pettitte, it will become deeper and have more depth of talent than it has in the past few weeks.

So NOW Is It Time To Call Up An Outfielder?

Via Mark Feinsand:

"We’re going to see where he’s at after today. We’re starting to get to a point where Thursday might be a little doubtful just because he has to go play a game or two.”- Girardi on Brett Gardner

So to review:

• Swish- Out for at least a week
• Gardner- Probably not coming back this week
• Jones- .326 wOBA (.211 vs. LHP); 30.0% K rate
• Ibanez- .313 wOBA (.306 vs. RHP); almost to the point of not being able to catch the proverbial cold in the field
• Nunez- Yeah, about that...

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Maybe it's time to bite the bullet and call up Dewayne Wise.  The schedule is getting a little easier, so the 13-man bullpen isn't as big a necessity, and this 2-man bench thing with multiple catchers in the lineup and guys with no business playing the outfield out there playing the outfield doesn't seem to be working.

Just a thought...

Roster Decision Roundup

Well I guess 23 out of 25 ain't bad, huh?  I thought I had it nailed down this morning, but the Yankees hit me (and I'm sure many others) with a few surprises today.  I covered some of this on the AB4AR Page earlier, but here's a quick recap of the day's roster events.

- David Phelps was named the long man out of the bullpen.  I preferred D.J. Mitchell but you really can't say this is a bad choice.  Phelps probably is a better pitcher than Mitchell and I always say bring your 25 best.

- Francisco Cervelli was NOT named the backup catcher.  Instead, he will be heading to Triple-A to replace Austin Romine while Romine recovers from his back injury.

- Replacing Cervelli on the 25-man will be former Snan Francisco Giant and Yankee MiL catcher Chris Stewart.  Stewart is an all-field/no-hit catcher if ever there was one, and he cost the Yankees George Kontos to get.  Kontos was possibly undervalued as a potential relief arm, but not a huge loss.

- OF Justin Maxwell was designated for assignment, a move that wasn't surprising but a bit disappointing considering what he brings to the table as bench insurance for Andruw Jones.  There's no chance he slips through the cracks like C-Dick did.  Even if he clears waivers, Maxwell can choose free agency over a Triple-A assignment.

- IF Bill Hall was granted his release.  He didn't have an out in his contract, but he requested it and the Yankees honored that request.  One less thing I'll have to complain about this season.

- 3 other guys on MiL deals- Doug Bernier, Jayson Nix, and Dewayne Wise- were not offered roster spots by other teams and so will be retained as emergency depth in Triple-A.