Starting 9
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Robinson Cano
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
LF Johnny Damon
CF Bretty Gardner/Melky Cabrera
RF Xavier Nady
DH Hideki Matsui
C Jorge Posada
Bench
1B/OF Nick Swisher
C Jose Molina
UT Angel Berroa
OF Bretty Gardner/Melky Cabrera
Starting Rotation
CC Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
Chien-Ming Wang
Joba Chamberlain
Andy Pettitte
Bullpen
Mariano Rivera
Damaso Marte
Brian Bruney
Jose Veras
Edwar Ramirez
TBD
TBD
Scranton
Phil Hughes
Ian Kennedy
Now, of course, this can all change in a number of ways.
- Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher gets dealt prior to the season. As we've mentioned, we're against any such a move. Let Nady play out the year and get draft picks when you let him walk after the season. Don't talk to us about keeping payroll low.
- The Yankees decide to help limit Joba Chamberlain's innings by having him start the season in the bullpen. That would mean that Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, or Al Aceves would be in the starting rotation. We don't see the Yankees repeating their 2008 pattern.
- The bullpen spots are not guaranteed after Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte. Of course, Mo's status will depend how he responds to off-season shoulder surgery. He has yet to start throwing. Right now it appears that Marte will be the only lefty in the pen with Phil Coke starting the season in Scranton's rotation.
- It's a minor one, but the utility infielder could either be Angel Berroa, Cody Ransom, or a Spring Training invitee. Berroa is a better shortstop than Ransom and that will weigh heavily in his favor.
- Jorge Posada's health. Posada expects to be ready for the season, but if he's not ready to go, Jose Molina gets the starts, with either Kevin Cash or Francisco Cervelli backing him up.
16 Days
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A good summary. Unfortunately no one has really broken down the trade market for Swish or Nady. Sure, the reds, pirates, braves seem like good matches, but what would the yankees get in return? Can they get a top tier prospect? I doubt it. The yanks are gonna trade one and get poop in return. It's like watching a slow car crash i just know it's gonna happen i am waiting for the impact.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I love your blog. You want to do a link exchange? Http://scottstipoftheday.blogspot.com
Let me know!
I agree with you it is a minor thing, but I expect Ransom to be the utility guy over Berroa, simply because Ransom can play many positions, while Berroa is basically a SS. I believe Berroa will be in AAA though, just in case. I expect the Yankees to sign another established catcher to a minor league deal to further protect themselves in case Posada can't catch. Javier Valentin comes to mind. I think that Juan Cruz really could end up in the bullpen as well, but that may take some time to play out. Finally, I do think that the 5 guys you mention for the BP are virtual locks, but there are 2 spots left to fill, not just one. I expect one to be Aceves, with the other likely being Albaladejo, assuming he is healthy.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is Yankees are going to dominate this year
ReplyDeletealso Joba said in an interview he has 199 innings pitch limit but who knows if Cash and them will step in, he will probably be 5th but still he can be an ace in a year or 2 which is awesome to have an ace in our 5th spot
Quite a bit of your assumptions are off!
ReplyDeletethat is only 24 players
ReplyDeleteu should have two spots in the bullpen as TBD
I still think ,by the time spring training gets under way . Manny will be in a Yankee uniform. I still feel that Hank needs to put his monica on the situation. Just like George did with Sheff. With Posada a very big question mark,it might just happen.
ReplyDeleteyour "25" man roster only has 23 names and 1 tbd.. 23+1 =24!
ReplyDeleteYou forgot about Aceves and Phil Coke! These guys were fantatstic when they were called on at the end of last season!
ReplyDeleteYou have only 24 on this roster. Nine starters with four on bench, five in starting rotation and six in bull pen. You need to include Coke and Hughes.
ReplyDeleteNick Swisher /Melky Cabrera/Ian Kennedy
ReplyDeleteFor
Aaron Rowand and Jonathan Sanchez
I like how you're Opening Day 25-man roster includes 24 players.
ReplyDeleteNot to come off as the correction police, but your roster leaves two spots open in the 25 man rotation, not the one spot in the bullpen TBD.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, "Robert", the phrase is "put his monicker" not monica. FYI.
Good blog, keep up the good work.
PHIL HUGHES AND PHIL COKE, PLUS RAMSON FOR BERROE
ReplyDelete(RAMSON IS A LOT BETTER HITTER).
JFM
there are 2 spots in the bullpen open... presumably for Giese/Aceves and Alabadejo/Robinson
ReplyDeleteA bullpen spot will open up because the Yankees won't keep all those outfielders.
ReplyDeletePlus Edwar's spot is not really guaranteed.
Scott, I am really against trading either one of htem. It's not likely either is going to bring back major prospects either. So what do you get? Another reliever?
ReplyDeleteWhoa, lots of comments..
ReplyDeleteFirst off there are 24 names listed with one TBD in the pen. You have to count Gardner and Cabrera individually not as one. Yes, there will be a second opening in the bullpen, but not until a spot opens up..Matsui, Nady, Cabrera, Swisher, Gardner...one of them will not be there when the season starts.
Re: Phil Coke..the Yankees already said they are going to have Coke in the minors as a starter.
Re: Phil Hughes...no room in the rotation right now unless Joba ends up in the pen. Would you rather have him starting at Scranton or wasting away as a long man in the pen?
Re: Kennedy, Cabrera, Swisher for Rowand and Sanchez.
I don't see the Giants giving up a young arm like Sanchez, even if they want to dump Rowand's salary.
Drew needs to take a math refresher course. This roster includes 23 players and 1 tbd player (Gardner starting and Cabrera reserve or vice versa). I guess he thinks Yanks can do it short a player.
ReplyDeleteDrew, about a million people corrected you and you still counted wrong. You have 23 names plus one TBA. Print out the page and cross them off as you count them or something. The roster you listed leaves room for two more relievers, not one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, about this:
ReplyDelete"Re: Phil Coke..the Yankees already said they are going to have Coke in the minors as a starter."
And we all know how the Yankees always say exactly what they're going to do, right?
Coke in the major league bullpen makes too much sense to not happen.
I humbly agree,
ReplyDeleteit said 23.
Float like a butterfly,
Sting like a bee.
It now has 2 TBD
Go fk thee. :)
First off, Johanna, "quite a bit of your assumptions are off"? Elaborate, please. I think that his assumptions are pretty much general knowledge, if you ask me. Especially as far as the starters in the field are concerned. What are our other options here? Until Swisher or Nady or anybody else is traded, this is EXACTLY how is is going to shape up.
ReplyDeleteThe rotation order may be shuffled a bit, but who cares. Sabathia is definitely the ace. Wang and Burnett, IMO, could be reversed, but it wouldn't matter. Again, IMO, Joba is definitely the better pitcher than Pettite, but you could reverse these two, and it wouldn't matter. It would be completely stupid to waste Hughes in the bullpen...he needs to spend that time pitching in the minors and not watching from the bullpen. I could honestly see him taking Pettite's spot by the end of the year. And to argue about Coke is just looking for a place to find an argument. Drew is only going on what the Yankees have said. Maybe they will change their minds, but as of now, Coke is starting in the minors.
As for the utility infielder, Swisher will back up Tex, so that doesn't weigh into this equation, and I would say that Jeter is going to need the most time off of the three, so I would guess that they will go with the better shortstop. And Molina is the obvious choice to back up Posada.
So the only real questions are in the bullpen. And we know who our set-up men and closer is going to be. I don't look for our long relief guys to be as big an issue this year as it has been in the past, because of the strength of this rotation and it's ability to go deep into games. The question marks seem to be in an area that is going to be of least importance.