What Is Soriano's Role Now?

It's been a little over a week since Alfonso Soriano was removed from an everyday role in the lineup.  An 0-4 day against Oakland on June 14th bottomed his season slash line out at .224/.249/.388 and since then Soriano has gotten 6 plate appearances in the last 7 games.  3 of those 6 PA have come as a pinch hitter, 3 came in the lone start he got against Mark Buehrle last Wednesday, and in the other 3 games Soriano stayed glued to the bench.

Going back to the start of the month, when Soriano's slump was at its worst and his playing time started to decrease, he has now not played in the same number of games that he has played (10).  His production in June (.214/.214/.286, 12 K in 28 PA) is as unproductive as it's been all year, which raises the question of what, exactly, is Soriano's role at this point?  He's the de facto 4th outfielder with Ichiro starting and Beltran DH'ing, but Joe is never going to use him for defensive purposes.  And even though he does have 3 hits in his 6 PA since 6/14, all 3 of them have been singles, so he's not exactly filling the role of late-game masher option off the bench.

Soriano serves almost no purpose to Joe and the team right now with what he's contributing.  If and when Beltran is able to return to the field and get back in the outfield rotation, Soriano's usefulness will shrink even more.  He's been almost completely phased out as it is, and it may only be a matter of time before he's removed from the active roster completely.

What To Do With Cervelli When He's Ready To Be Activated?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

While daily updates on Shawn Kelley's back, Carlos Beltran's elbow, Mark Teixeira's wrist, and what impact level of treadmill CC is walking on have become a common part of the Yankee news cycle lately, Francisco Cervelli has been quietly working his way back from his April hamstring strain.  It started a few weeks ago when he began running the bases and taking BP at the team complex in Tampa and it's continued over the past week as he's played in a handful of MiL rehab games.  Cervelli is eligible to be activated off the 60-day disabled list this Saturday and Joe is going to have a tough decision to make on what to do with him.  On a team that has holes everywhere, there doesn't seem to be a clear way for Cervelli to come in and help.

Cash Explains The Murphy Decision

Via Chad Jennings:

“He’s the No. 1 catcher in Triple-A.  And we had a real need where, when McCan isn’t playing, he’s going to play. … Now that we’re in a situation where when the No. 1 catcher isn’t there, the backup is obviously the starter, we’re going to take the best player.”

Pretty cut and dry, and logically 100% right.  Murphy is the guy in Triple-A now, not Romine, and so he should get called up when the Major League club needs a backup catcher.  As much as playing every day in Triple-A might help him sharpen his skills, it's not like Murphy is not going to be playing at all as McCann's backup and it's not like he's not going to learn a ton and have the same opportunity to improve his skills working with and against better players and more experienced coaches.  Bring him up, let him get regular backup reps, and start to get an idea of what kind of Major League ceiling he has.  Makes perfect sense to me.

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.

Joe's Lineup Decisions Suggest Lessons Learned From Last Year

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

When you're coming off 2 straight losses to what was the worst team in MLB by a wide margin last year and you decide to sit your leadoff hitter, cleanup hitter, and starting third baseman in the 3rd game of the season, that's normally a decision that will draw some questions.  I certainly had a few in my head when I got a look at the lineup before last night's game.  I didn't understand why Joe would want to rest Brian McCann already when he's got a Friday night/Saturday afternoon setup this weekend in Toronto, and I really didn't understand why he felt the need to play the platoon matchup game with Kelly Johnson and a guy making his MLB debut in Yangervis Solarte when Johnson has a higher career OPS against lefties than righties.

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.

The Minor League Team To Watch In 2014 Has Been Found

The Yankees have put the finishing touches on their Opening Day 25-man roster over the past few days, but they aren't the only team setting rosters with a couple of days remaining before the start of the season.  The roster pictures for each MiL affiliate are starting to come into focus and, courtesy of Josh Norris, it looks like Low-A Charleston is going to be the team to follow:

Charleston will have Judge, Avelino, Andujar, Torrens, Severino, Rookie Davis, Brady Lail and Tyler Wade
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) March 29, 2014

In Aaron Judge, Abi Avelino, Miguel Andujar, Luis Torrens, and Luis Severino, the RiverDogs will open the season with 5 of the top 26 from the AB4AR Top 30 on their roster.  Davis, Lail, and Wade are also on the radar as guys with serious prospect potential, and once the season gets going there's a good chance we see Gosuke Katoh, Ian Clarkin, Jordan Cote, and maybe even Ty Hensley in Charleston at some point.

It's a lot of young, still tough to project talent, but all in all that's easily the most exciting group of prospects to watch this year.  The next wave, if you will.  It wouldn't shock me at all if half of next year's top 10 prospects came from this team.

Yanks Still Mining For Injured/Rehabbing Roster Gold

(Pass.  Courtesy of Howard Simmons/NY Daily News)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

In the never-ending quest to add more pitching depth, the Yankees were among several teams on hand to watch Johan Santana throw in Florida yesterday.  He's attempting to work his way back from a second shoulder capsule surgery in less than 3 years and the Yanks have been linked to him for months.  According to George King, Santana was sitting 77-78 MPH with his velocity and he maxed out at 81.  That is a far cry from the upper-80s he was throwing the last time he was on a Major League mound, and while King did say his changeup looked "impressive", I question whether Major League hitters would feel the same when it's coming at them at basically the same speed as his fastball.

Handicapping The Non-Roster Spring Training Invitees

(Steinbrenner Field.  Site of the only Yankee game action a lot of these players will see in 2014)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees announced their list of non-roster invites to spring camp yesterday, 26 in all.  As expected, all the recent MiL signings received an invite and an opportunity to compete for one of the last spots on the Opening Day roster.  There's also a decent-sized contingent of non 40-man prospects who got the nod, although one glaring omission was utility man Ronnier Mustelier.  Mustelier seemed like a lock to get invited again considering the need the Yankees have for right-handed power and a third base platoon partner for Kelly Johnson, but for whatever reason they decided to proceed without him.

While all of these 26 players technically have a non-zero chance of making the Opening Day roster, the reality is that only a few of them have an actual chance and the rest are just there to fill out workout groups and early spring split squad games.  Being the kind-hearted, generous blogger that I am, I took the liberty of creating this helpful handicap breakdown of the non-roster guys so everybody knows who to focus on when ST starts and who they can ignore.

Don't Think So, Vern

Vernon Wells was on MLB Network Radio on Thursday, talking about his future with the Yankees.  He said "hopefully I'll get one more year" with the team and that both he and his family "had so much fun" being a part of the Yankee organization in 2013.  Wells is still under contract with the team for the next season, albeit with none of his salary counting towards the payroll thanks to some nifty accounting when the Yanks traded for him last year.

I hate to break it to you, Vern, but I don't think you're getting that year and I don't think the team shares your enthusiasm about coming back.  You're the 6th outfielder on the Major League depth chart right now and contrary to your statement there is not "possibly one spot" up for grabs, at least not one that you have a realistic shot at.  You hit .233/.282/.349 this past season, .221/.294/.295 in the second half.  You didn't hit for any power after May, you can't play the outfield, and if it wasn't for Eduardo Nunez's existence you would have been the worst player on the team this year.

The Yankees still need to add Brian Roberts and Matt Thornton to the 40-man roster, and at some point they're going to add at least 1 more starting pitcher.  You're as good as gone, Vern, and to be honest that's for the best.  If you're getting any time in the Yankee outfield in 2014, something went terribly, horribly wrong.

Why Brett Marshall Got DFA'd

I have to say I was more than a little surprised when I saw that Brett Marshall was the 40-man roster casualty for Carlos Beltran yesterday.  He wasn't very good in Triple-A last year as a starter or in his handful of Major League relief appearances, but he's still just 23 years old with a good fastball and a plus changeup.  That seems like a commodity much more worthy of being held onto than a washed up 35-year-old outfielder who can't hit anymore.  But in looking at the projected starting rotations for the Yankees and the SWB RailRiders, it starts to make a little more sense.

Yankee Rotation: CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Free Agent Pitcher X, Winner of the Pineda/Phelps/Warren/Nuno ST competition (probably Pineda or Phelps)

RailRider Rotation: Manny Banuelos, Vidal Nuno, Jose Ramirez, Nik Turley, Shane Greene

With guys below him in Double-A having better years and moving up and ManBan being healthy again, Marshall's Triple-A rotation spot wasn't the sure thing it was last year.  And with Phelps and Warren already more established as Major League swingmen, Marshall wasn't going to beat them out for a spot on the 25-man roster.  His poor 2013 made him expendable and the Yankees probably felt they had enough MiL depth in Triple-A to cover for injuries.

It sucks for him and hopefully Marshall clears waivers and stays in the organization, because I do think he can develop into a decent pitcher, but that's life for a low-ceiling prospect on a team with constant 40-man roster issues.

Who's Next On The 40-Man Roster Hit List?

The Yankees appear to be making up for a slow Winter Meetings week with another flurry of signings early this week.  They've agreed to sign Brian Roberts to a 1-year deal as part of what looks more and more like a patchwork solution at second base.  And a few hours ago the Matt Thornton signing broke, giving them an MLB-proven option for the LOOGY role in next year's bullpen.  Add to that the still-not-official Carlos Beltran signing and the Yankees are looking at 43 players for 40 spots on the active roster right now.

So who gets the axe next?  Based on the positions of the players added, it only makes sense that Vernon Wells be the one to go for Beltran.  He serves little purpose as a 5th or 6th outfielder and the team can get better production out of the DH spot by rotating players through than they would have from Wells.  Lefty pitcher David Huff will probably also get future endeavored now that Thornton is in the 'pen.  No need to carry 3 lefty relief options when there's only 1 available spot.

The last one could be a little trickier.  Roberts' presence could signal the end for Eduardo Nunez.  But with Nunez and Dellin Betances both reportedly still having MiL options left, perhaps the Yankees will just take the easy way out and bump 1 or both of them down to clear space.  Another spot should open up when the A-Rod suspension decision comes down, for 50 games at least, and it makes sense to hold onto as many potential assets as you can when your projected starting lineup is as old, injury-risky, and platoon-heavy as the Yankees' appears it will be.

They don't have to make any decisions yet, but as physicals get completed and deals become official it will be interesting to see how they go about juggling 40-man spots for all these new players.

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.

Non-Tender Deadline Moves Won't Be The End Of The 40-Man Shuffle

(Listen to the bell, Vernon.  It tolls for thee.  Courtesy of Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The non-tender deadline was yesterday and the Yankees continued their onslaught of offseason activity with a flurry of moves.  They traded Chris Stewart to the Pirates for a PTBNL in the morning, reuniting him with his 2012 catching partner and clearing some of their new logjam at the catcher spot caused by the Brian McCann signing.  In the afternoon, they officially non-tendered Jayson Nix, Matt Daley, and David Adams, freeing up 3 40-man roster spots in the process.

Stewart's spot makes 4 but that will go to McCann when his signing is made official later this week.  With so many free agent feelers out right now and the Rule 5 Draft coming up next week, those 3 remaining spots will really come in handy.  You have to think the Yankees are unofficially reserving 1 for Robinson Cano, or whoever they sign to replace him in the unlikely event he signs elsewhere.  Another will be held for Hiroki Kuroda, to whom the Yankees have reportedly made another 1-year contract offer.  And based on the Yankees' recent history, it's high likely they will select a player - another unheralded bullpen arm is my guess - in the Rule 5, bringing them back to a full 40-man roster.

What About Third Base?

Regardless of you how you feel about how they're prioritizing this offseason and who they're going after, the Yankees have to be commended for the proactive approach they've taken.  Recognizing that this past season's penny pinching/washed up veteran reclamation project approach was not the right way to contend on a budget, they've wasted no time in identifying their primary and secondary free agent targets and appear to be making a strong effort to upgrade every major area of need on their roster.

Every area, that is, except for third base.  The Yankees used 9 different players at the hot corner in 2013, best among them Alex Rodriguez.  While they've stated that they are planning on having him around and at third next season, there's a very, very good chance that he ends up suspended for at least 50-100 games.  Even if he beats the odds and is free to play for the whole season, A-Rod no longer has the ability to be an everyday third baseman after years of injury problems and surgeries to both his hips.  Yet third base remains the one position the Yankees don't have a clear plan to address, at least not when compared to catcher, right field, and the starting rotation.

So what's the deal?  What do Cash and the rest of the front office have in mind to address this seemingly under-considered roster hole?

40-Man Moves Could Signal The End Of Nix, And Maybe Nunez

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

If you didn't get all jazzed up at the announcement of the 40-man roster moves on Wednesday, don't worry.  I didn't either.  It went almost exactly as expected, with the Yankees protecting Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, Shane Greene, Bryan Mitchell, and Jose Campos from next month's Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the roster and leaving their Rule 5 eligible relievers unprotected.

The one unforeseen move was made via trade, a small trade between the Yankees and the Padres for MiL utility infielder Dean Anna.  Anna is a 26-year-old lefty hitter who can play all over the infield and some of the outfield, with his primary positions being second base and shortstop.  He was hardly a prospect in the San Diego system, but the guy does appear to have some tools.  He hit .331/.410/.482 (.400 wOBA) in 582 Triple-A plate appearances last year, he's always had strong K and BB rates, and he's got enough gap power in his bat to conceivably be a useful bench player.  He came at the expense of High-A pitcher Ben Paullus, which is to say the Yanks basically got him for free, and his immediate addition to the 40-man is another harrowing sign for some of the Yankees' incumbent infielders.

Yanks Make 40-Man Roster Moves

Yesterday was the deadline for teams to reset their 40-man rosters before next month's Rule 5 Draft and as expected, the Yankees were very active in protecting some of their top eligible guys.  They added 6 players to the 40-man: Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, Bryan Mitchell, Shane Greene, Jose Campos, and newly acquired Triple-A infielder Dean Anna (more on him later).

The players left unprotected were relievers Tommy Kahnle, Dan Burawa, and Chase Whitley.  None of those decisions come as a surprise, although it is a bit of a bummer to not protect a strong Triple-A arm like Whitley.  There's a good chance at least 1 or all 3 of those guys get picked next month.  Luckily, hard-throwing bullpen arms are a source of major depth in the Yankee system.

There was one roster casualty yesterday, Tsecond baseman Corban Joseph.  He was outrighted off the roster and back to Triple-A after clearing waivers.  He struggled with a shoulder injury this past season and with Anna now on the 40-man his dwindling prospect status takes another hit.

40-Man Roster Crunch Could Be Coming

The move hasn't been made yet, but according to a report by Joel Sherman the Yankees are planning to add Double-A right-handers Bryan Mitchell and Shane Greene to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft.  Both guys are part of that gaggle of MiL players who will become Rule 5 eligible this offseason and with Slade Heathcott and Gary Sanchez sure bets to get added as well, that's 4 spots that will be taken up.

Between this, the spots reserved for arbitration-eligible players, and the anticipation of more spots being taken up by free agent signings, the 40-man could be set to suffer a few casualties before next spring camp.  That's bad news for guys like Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix, Joe favorites who offer little on-field value when compared to others at their respective positions.  Don't be surprised to see either or both of these guys get non-tendered to make room for the new 40-man spots.

The Yankees "Absolutely" Bringing Back Cervelli Has To Mean The End Of Chris Stewart ... Right?

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

With things heating up at the GM meetings and the Yankees being reported as the early favorites to land Brian McCann, Cash shed a little light on where the team's thoughts might be relative to the backup catcher position next year.  Talking to reporters yesterday, Cash said the Yankees will "absolutely" tender a contract to Francisco Cervelli this offseason.  Cervelli is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and MLBTR pegged him at an even $1 million for his projected salary next year, hardly a drop in the Yankee payroll bucket.

Whatever new deal the Yankees offer Cervelli will be in that range and Cash's stated commitment to make the offer should end any speculation about his future with the team after an injury and PED suspension-plagued 2013.  It should also come as a sign that the Chris Stewart era behind the plate is over, and regardless of what happens with McCann or any of the other free agent catchers on the market, that's great news.

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.