Time to Take a Look at the Yankees Bank Account

With the addition of Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann, and the return of Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees purse strings have tightened up a bit.

So far this is roughly the impact of the players under contract on the luxury tax:

Derek Jeter: $12.81MM
Alex Rodriguez: $27.5MM
Mark Teixeira: $22.5MM
Alfonso Soriano $4MM
Vernon Wells: $0
Brian McCann: $17MM
Jacoby Ellsbury: $21.857MM
Carlos Beltran: $15MM
Hiroki Kuroda: $16MM
Ichiro Suzuki: $6.5MM
CC Sabathia: $24.4MM
Kelly Johnson: $3MM
Brendan Ryan: $1.6667MM

Add in about $11MM for insurance and the Yankees total, with A-Rod, is $183.233MM. Suddenly the luxury tax limit of $189MM is crushing. Since there is no immediate resolution to A-Rod's appeal hearing the Yankees have no choice but to operate as if the lightning rod will be part of the 25 man roster in 2014.

That means that if the Yankees have less than $6MM to spend and need 12 more players on the roster. Which is the reason the Yankees are shopping Ichiro Suzuki and Brett Gardner. The big ticket free agent signings are over for this year and the Yankees will now need to look to trades, from within the organization, and minor free agents to fill out the roster. Should one or both outfielders get dealt it could create an opening for Zoilo Almonte, who had impressed the Yankees the last two spring trainings and in 34 big league games.

Among the players still to be added to the roster are:

Ivan Nova
David Robertson
Shawn Kelley
Brett Gardner or a replacement if dealt.
Francisco Cervelli or Austin Romine
A left-handed reliever (possibly Cesar Cabral)
A 4th and 5th starter - one of which may come from David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno, or Michael Pineda. If Pineda is healthy he would be the ideal choice.

That would still leave four roster spots, five if they release Wells even though he has no luxury tax impact. If Ichiro is dealt, probably for low level prospects/non-prospects, that would take $6.5MM off the books. Gardner is arbitration eligible and would like get $3.5MM - $4MM.

The Rumor Mill

A report came out on Monday that the Yankees were looking into Twins free agent and ex-Met starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey. To say the reaction from the fans was pure rage would be an understatement. Letting Phil Hughes walk and replacing him with Pelfrey would be utter nonsense. (I'm keeping it clean)

The Indians are reportedly shopping Justin Masterson who made over $5.6MM last season and is arbitration eligible. Masterson made his first All-Star appearance this past season and you can expect he'll get a healthy increase, one that would be out of the Yankees range of spending.

Yankees Need A Year Without A-Rod To Re-Boot

Whether you support, condemn, or are indifferent about Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees would be better off without the controversial slugger and the millions he is owed for 2014. Because of the Steinbrenner's initiative to get the 2014 salary below the new $189MM luxury tax max, the Yankees won't have a lot of wiggle room to construct next year's squad with or without A-Rod.

With Derek Jeter's recent one-year, $12MM deal, the Yankees have about $80MM (You have to include approximately $11MM for insurance and other associated costs - costs) to fill out the remainder of the roster for next season. That's not much money to bolster the starting pitching, get an upgrade at catcher, get a starting outfielder, and strengthen the bench. Imagine how much easier it will be to accomplish that feat if A-Rod's luxury tax impact was reduced to $2.5MM from its current $27.5MM.

Below are the seven Yankees under contract with their current adjusted salaries based on the amount used to calculate the luxury tax. Even though Vernon Wells is owed approximately $2.4MM by the Yankees, nothing goes towards the luxury tax since the Angels are picking up over $18MM of his 2014 salary. Which should also make it easier to move the one-time All-Star somewhere else. 

The luxury tax impact of the seven signed players is $97.71MM.

Derek Jeter $12.81MM
Alex Rodriguez $27.5MM
Mark Teixeira $22.5MM
Alfonso Soriano $4MM
Vernon Wells $0
Ichiro Suzuki $6.5MM
CC Sabathia $24.4MM

I'll now construct the rest of the team with the assumption that A-Rod will not be part of the 2014 squad. That means that I have about $107.5MM to work with.

The other elephant in the room besides A-Rod is Robinson Cano, the topper in this year's free agent class. The front office is reportedly interested in free agent second baseman Omar Infante as a possible substitute should they lose their best player and it's also been reported that they have initially "kicked the tires" on Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips. (When a rumor spread about two weeks ago that Phillips might be on the trading block, I knew it was just a matter of time before we would all hear the Yankees might be interested.)

The Yankees have to do their due diligence in case they do lose Cano to another team, but they are also trying to send out a little scare to the Dominican native that they might go elsewhere if the free agent's asking price is too high.

10 years and $300MM is what Cano is supposed to want; he won't get it from the Yankees or any other team. 7 years? That's a possibility, but it's still unlikely to be at $30MM annually.  That being said, it is not likely that another team signs Cano, so I'll go with the notion that his 2014 paychecks will add up to $27.5MM and will be paid for by the bank of Steinbrenner.

Just like that, I am back to the $80MM figure and seven players on the 25 man roster. Time to add some players, so I'll hand out new one year deals to the following players (Amounts are guesstimated):

Brett Gardner $3.5MM (arb eligible - made $2.85MM in 2013)
Ivan Nova $625K (pre-arb eligible - made $575.6K in 2013)
David Robertson $5MM (arb eligible - made $3.1MM in 2013)
Shawn Kelley $2MM (arb eligible - made $935K in 2013)

That leaves about $68.875MM in the company's vaults. With A-Rod out of the picture, I sign Mark Reynolds to a one-year, $5MM (2nd year option for $7.5MM with a $2MM buyout) to play third base and to back up Mark Teixeira at first base. $63.875 left in payroll and I haven't addressed the starting rotation or catcher spot yet. (The Yankees are also considering the possibility of bringing back Eric Chavez, who spent last season with the Diamondbacks.)

Austin Romine looked good in the second half of the season and will hopefully be fully recovered from the concussion he suffered in September.  He's my backup catcher and will make the league minimum of $500K. That's a $10K increase from 2013 as laid out in the collective bargaining agreement and 13 players on the 25-man roster.

As for the starting catcher position, I’m cutting ties with Francisco Cervelli. Youngsters John Murphy, Gary Sanchez, etc. aren't ready for the big leagues yet, so the Yankees need a veteran catcher. There are three primary free agent catchers that will garner the most attention. Atlanta's Brian McCann, Chicago White Sox' A.J. Pierzynski, and the Boston Red Sox Jarrod Saltalamacchia. None of the three are necessarily the answer to the Yankees' needs.

McCann and Saltalamacchia will be looking for long term deals, while the soon-to-be 37-year old Pierzynski would be more of a stop gap measure. McCann is by far the best hitter of the trio. He has 20 or more home runs for six straight seasons and averaged 21 over the last eight years. McCann has an .823 lifetime OPS, but was under .700 two years ago and a tad under .800 this past season. 

He had surgery in October, 2012 for a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that impacted the 2012 season and didn't return until early May this year. Having made $12MM last year, McCann will most certainly looking for a 3-5-year deal that averages out to that amount or higher. The Yankees shouldn't commit to that.

Saltalamacchia had a career best .804 OPS in 2013 for the World Champion Red Sox, but prior to that was a below average hitter with some power (25 HR in '12). He's a decent game caller, but base runners go wild on him - opponents stole 89 bases in 110 tries when Salty was catching last season. His bat is too unreliable to give him multiple years.

The Yankees reportedly have concerns about Pierzynski's overall defense and a player who has thrown out 25% of runners for his career isn't going to get better as he approaches 40-years of age. Pierzynski's timing was perfect in 2012 when he had one of the best offensive seasons of his career (tops in HR, OPS, and RBI), but nonetheless he had to settle for a one-year deal. His OPS nosedived more than 100 points in his first season with Texas this past season, most of it due to a precipitous drop in slugging pct.

I would also avoid another free agent, Carlos Ruiz. The Phillies catcher had the best year of his career offensively in 2012, but then was suspended 25 games to start the 2013 season for amphetamine use. He'll be 35 when the season starts and will be looking for an increase over the $5MM he made in '13.

So if the Yankees don't go with one of the main three, where do they turn? The Yankees should look short term/stop gap and they can look at someone who formerly donned the Pinstripes, Dioner Navarro. The Venezuela native will turn 30 shortly before Spring Training and is coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career (13 HR, .300/.365.492 split). The free agent made $1.75MM last year with the Cubs, and could be had for $2.5MM - $3M annually. Navarro is average at throwing out base runners, but at that price, go for it. He'll come a lot cheaper than Pierzynski, though I'll keep the veteran on the back burner as "Plan B".

With the $3MM I am generously giving to Navarro that leaves $60.375MM as I turn my attention to the starting rotation.

Where does the rest of the starting rotation come from? A lot will depend on whether or not Hiroki Kuroda decides to return. He made $15MM last year and was the ace of the staff, save for the month of September when he ran out of gas. Kuroda already turned down the Yankees qualifying offer of $14.1MM and general manager Brian Cashman has stated he has had no indication whether Kuroda wants to play in the Major Leagues in 2014.

With the qualifier turned down, Kuroda will be looking for more than the $15MM he earned last season. The Yankees are reportedly willing to give a minimal increase, so I'll sign Kuroda for $16.5MM for 2014. (I would rather let him walk at that price, but I see the Yankees getting that type of deal done.)

All right, that leaves $43.875MM in the coffers and two rotation spots yet to fill. There have been several reports that the Yankees are going to go all out to get Japanese native Masahiro Tanaka. First, MLB and the Japanese Baseball League have to work out some things with the posting system. According to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, MLB is trying to lower the amount of money sent to Japan. As you would expect, the new strategy has been met with much resistance.

Whenever an agreement is reached, the bid on Tanaka is supposed to be higher than that of current star Yu Darvish and former Red Sox World Series champion Daisuke Matsuzaka. The good news is that whatever system they came up with, the posting bid will NOT count against the luxury tax. So let's say the Yankees win the bid to negotiate a contract with the 25-year old. Darvish's deal with Texas paid him $5.5MM in 2012, $9.5MM in 2013, $10MM for the next three years and $11MM in the final year of the six year deal.

I'll say the Yankees create a similar deal that will pay Tanaka $7.5MM in 2014, $10.5 in 2015, etc. We really don't care about the (likely) three years to follow that.  That's four pitchers in the rotation and $36.375MM with one starter still needed.

The Yankees could go with Michael Pineda for the final spot, with competition from David Phelps and Adam Warren.  Manny Banuelos could provide competition at some point, though it's not likely he'll be guns blazing in Spring Training after having gone through Tommy John surgery in October, 2012. I am going to assume that it's all systems go with Pineda and give him $550,000 to lower what's left to $35.825.

Should the Yankees not bring back Kuroda and/or lose out on Tanaka, they are rumored to be interested in free agent Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a 1.82 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 84 second half innings in 2013.

Before I go anything further, since there's no luxury tax impact, I am going to get rid of Vernon Wells while I can. His tank keeps getting lower and lower to the point that the needle is just about completely on "E".

Okay back the bullpen, which currently has Robertson and Kelley, Phelps, Warren, and lefty Cesar Cabral gives the team five decent to very good pitchers. The combined salary for the latter trio is $1.525MM

What to do with Eduardo Nunez? The average bat, great speed, can't-keep-his-helmet-on, stone-handed fielder suddenly looked like an All-Star when he manned third base for 13 games in September. He had his best month at the plate with an .808 OPS and committed two errors in 120 innings. However, he still was under .700 for total season OPS. He turns 27 in the middle of next season, but he should be wearing a different uniform at the time.

So who does back up the infield? Brendan Ryan, that's who. Until you see a guy every day you just can't appreciate how well they can or cannot play. In Ryan's case, his fielding was even better than advertised when the Yankees picked him up last season. He has tremendous range, great footwork, and a hell of an arm. The drawback, of course, is that he cannot hit. I mean he really can't hit. His lifetime .619 OPS looks like a mistake, but in this case, you think it would be lower. But the Yankees don't need him to hit; they need him to get every baseball to his left or right or right at him and throw a runner out. A two year deal at $2.5MM per year should do it. (He made over $3MM in 2013, but that ain't happening while I am GM....)

I'm down to $40.59MM and need two outfielders. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reported earlier today that the Yankees have their radar aimed squarely on Carlos Beltran. The 36-year old has been a post-season phenomenon and hasn't been too bad during the regular season either. Beltran made $13MM each of the last two seasons. If the Yankees land him, it will take (IMHO) $15MM per year for two guaranteed years. The biggest question will be if Beltran wants to return to the city that he had his ups and downs across town?

The Yankees also have an interest in Shin-Soo Choo, but different sources have his agent, Scott Boras, seeking to top Hunter Pence's 5-year, $90MM deal or Jayson Werth's 7-year, $126MM contract. The latter is absurd, as was Werth's deal, so I wouldn't count on seeing Choo in a Yankees uniform.

Therefore, Carlos Beltran, I give you this check for $15MM and lower my checkbook balance to $25.5M. We got our starting infield - Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Reynolds; our starting outfield - Soriano, Gardner, Beltran; a veteran catcher, five starting pitchers, five relievers, and a bench of Ryan, Ichiro, and Romine.

I'm going to add Zoilo Almonte to the outfield mix at the Major League minimum, and that leaves three spots open. D-Rob is a great reliever, an even better person, but I don't have the faith in his durability to make him the closer. His arm doesn't respond well to back to back outings, so I am going after another free agent to close. The closer I have in mind is Joe Nathan, who turned down the Texas Rangers option to become a free agent. I highly prefer him over another free agent, Fernando Rodney, despite the latter's success the last two years.

Nathan made $7MM annually the last two seasons with Texas. I am going to hand him a 2-year, $20MM deal, possibly containing an optional third year/buyout.  Plan 'B' would be to try to reacquire Rafael Soriano from the Washington Nationals.

I've got about $17MM to fill the last two spots on the team - another guy for the bullpen and another player for the bench.

There you have it. In my fantasy baseball payroll I even get to go home with extra money.

Nuno and Nova Hop on the Scranton Shuttle

Much to my surprise it was two pitchers that were removed from the 25-man roster to make room for the return of Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira this evening.

I figured that Vidal Nuno would be sent down upon the return of Andy Pettitte, but with Nuno unavailable after a six inning outing on Thursday night, he became the logical choice for one of the demotions. Nova threw five-plus innings of relief on Wednesday, so he too would be unavailable and the move allows Brian Cashman more time to project a long term plan.

Both players can throw on a regular day at Scranton rather than shorten the Yankees bench by remaining in the Major Leagues.

Are Ichiro's Hours in the Bronx Numbered?

With Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis set to return to the Yankees lineup tonight two players will need to be removed from the 25-man roster. One is likely to be rookie David Adams, who has started at third base in 13 of the 14 games he's appeared in since his recall from the minor leagues on May 15. But who will be the second player?

There has been speculation that there is no room for Lyle Overbay since he is strictly a first baseman. But how do you jettison someone who has been so clutch through the first 53 games of the season. Overbay's numbers were even comparable to the Teixeira's at the same point last year.

One candidate to be let go/traded/designated for assignment is Ichiro Suzuki. I was against bringing back the one time great hitter, because he only had 1 1/2 good months last season. So many Yankees fans ascribe to the "What have you done lately?" theorem that they overlook what Ichiro did in the first four and one-half months of last season.

Prior to the trade deadline deal, Ichiro had a career low .642 OPS. He's only at .626 so far this season. Ichiro went on a tear the last 45 days of the 2012 season, especially those days that fell in September when he hit .385 with a .916 OPS.

While the 39-year old can still play right field as if he invented the position and can steal a base here or there, his bat has gone back to looking like he's trying to hit a baseball with a whiffle ball bat.  He's produced just nine extra-base hits in 168 at-bats, which has led to the aforementioned horrendous OPS. He's also walked just nine times.

Granted, or more precisely, Grandy, Ichiro would not have played as much this season had Curtis Granderson not been injured or Ben Francisco had been productive. Even though it would leave the Yankees temporarily short-handed in the outfield, it may be time to cut ties with Ichiro.

Sending Out An SOS: Yankees Need the Cavalry

Teams lose to other teams. Some of those other teams might not be as good as the losing team. It happens - well Suzyn, you can't predict baseball, etc.  The Yankees lost four straight to the Mets after Thursday night's 3-1 debacle (at least the game was quick) and have dropped five straight overall as they head into a much more important series with the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

Vidal Nuno pitched beautifully for six innings, but allowed a 2-run home run to Marlon Byrd in the early going. That's about one or two runs more than the Yankees can handle these days. The bats are coming back to Earth, which means the Friday arrival of Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis is coming just in the nick of time.

The Mets starter for Thursday night was Dillon Gee. The 27-year old Texan had made 10 starts this season prior to the finale with the Yankees. In those 10 games, Gee allowed less than three earned runs just three times and recorded an out in the 7th inning just once. So tonight Gee and his 6.34 ERA threw 7.1 innings and struck out 12 Yankees. His season high had been six strikeouts, which he accomplished twice. The only blemish on his stat line was a solo home run served up to Robinson Cano.

The Yankees hitting a brick wall was not unexpected; it's about the only thing they can hit right now. There were signs of this earlier in the season, but the lineup bounced back. Not so in the series with their crosstown rivals. So Brian Cashman has some decisions to finalize tonight. With two everyday players returning, room needs to be made on the 25-man roster, and for Teixeira, on the 40-man roster as well.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cashman was quite frank when he spoke Tuesday to ESPN radio's Don LaGreca concerning the future of first baseman Lyle Overbay. Though the 36-year old has done a marvelous job (The YES Network showed a graphic prior to tonight's game that showed Overbay's numbers after 50 games were very similar to Teixeira's first 50 games in 2012.), his position limitation does not make him an ideal candidate for the everyday roster. Things are even more complicated when you consider Travis Hafner cannot play a position at all.

Letting Overbay go with no return would be a terrible mistake (he certainly would not pass through waivers without being claimed), but he's the logical choice to be removed from the roster.

The second player is likely to be David Adams who has been seeing most of the playing time at third base since he was recalled from Triple-A on May 15. Despite the organization's love of his bat, Adams should be sent back to Scranton to play every day.  Another less likely option would be to get rid of recently acquired Reid Brignac, but the Yankees don't have another infielder besides Jayson Nix that can handle shortstop.

The Yankees also announced that Andy Pettitte would be returning to start Monday's game against Cleveland. Thursday's starter Vidal Nuno would be the logical choice to go back to Scranton.

Francisco Out in a Huff: Gets DFA'ed for Bullpen Help

According to WFAN's Sweeny Murti, Ben Francisco's days as a Yankee are no longer numbered. The outfielder has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40 and 25 man rosters for pitcher David Huff. The Yankees claimed Huff off waivers from the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

Francisco was a nice pick up as a reserve outfielder, but lack of playing time and lack of production (which came first, the chicken or the egg?) made him dispensable. The right-handed hitter had just five hits in 44 at-bats (.114) with a home run also his only RBI.

Huff was a part of the Indians rotation in 2009 and 2010 without much success. His 11 wins his rookie year was despite an ERA over 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.558. He bounced between the minor and Major leagues the last few years and has been used more in relief of late.

After he allowed five earned runs in three innings over three appearances, the Indians decided to free up some space on their 40-man roster. He gives the Yankees another left-handed option out of the pen.

Aardsma Released As We Get Down to the Wire

Joe Girardi's lukewarm praise of David Aardsma- "He's been good"- was an omen that Aardsma's days in Yankees camp were numbered. Aardsma's number was up today as the Yankees designated him for assignment.

Among those sent to the minors were Vidal Nuno, the left-hander who was named as the winner of the James P. Dawson Award for the best rook in camp. I really thought Nuno would make the squad, but perhaps Brian Cashman would rather see him starting games every five days for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders rather than throwing parts of an inning here and there at the Major League level.

Also reassigned to the minor leagues were outfielder Melky Mesa and pitcher Jim Miller, both of whom had legitimate chances to make the squad. Pitcher Sam Demel, picked up on waivers yesterday, was sent outright to Scranton, while pitchers Preston Claiborne, Branden Pinder, Juan Cedeno, Josh Spence,  catcher Bobby Wilson, infielders Dan Johnson, Jose Pirela, Gil Velazquez and outfielders Thomas Neal were sent to the minor league camp.

The Yankees added Jayson Nix and Ben Francisco to the Major League roster and re-signed infielder David Adams to a minor league contract. Adams had been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

So, he says, who is going north now?

C -  Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart
1B - Lyle Overbay
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Eduardo Nunez
3B - Kevin Youkilis
LF - Vernon Wells
CF - Brett Gardner
RF - Ichiro Suzuki
UT - Jayson Nix
OF - Ben Francisco, Brennan Boesch
DH - Travis Hafner
SP - CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, David Phelps, Ivan Nova
RP - Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, Shawn Kelley, Cody Eppley

That leaves one one pitcher's spot open. It's possible it will be Adam Warren, who will get the start against the West Point. If not Warren, it likely would be a pitcher not currently on the 40-man roster.

Also, though there is no room on the 25-man squad, Ronnier Mustelier has not been shuttled someone where else as of yet. As I mentioned before I would love to see him get some big league AB's early, but a banged up knee has not helped his cause.

Ramon Hernandez was released by the Rockies today. The veteran catcher stands to make $3.2MM this year. II would get a deal done in a heartbeat if Colorado was willing to include $2MM. Then we could say good bye to Chris Stewart and his overrated defensive game.

YCN: Nova-Phelps Among the Few Battles in Yankees Camp

My newest column for Yahoo:

I previously wrote that the Yankees off-season was quite different than in years past, but one thing has remained constant, there's not much competition to earn starting or back up jobs.

That's what happens when you have a roster filled with aging and/or established stars at nearly every position. Four-fifths of the starting rotation is set - CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes man the one through four sports - leaving the fifth and final opening as the lone opportunity for any would-be starters.

The two names at the forefront of said competition are Ivan Nova and David Phelps. One would think the Yankees would like Nova to re-establish himself with Phelps ready to step in if an injury occurs. The 26-year old Nova burst on to the scene in 2011 when he went 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA. He even added a post-season victory when he finished out Game 1 of the ALDS.

Though he won 60% of his decisions (12-8) in 2012, Nova was not close to the effective pitcher he was the prior year. His ERA ballooned to 5.02, he went from allowing less than a hit per inning to 1.5 per inning, and his WAR dipped from 3.0 to 0.4.¹

To make matters worse, Nova had some inflammation in his rotator cuff in August. He had also suffered from a sore arm in his short start in the final game of the 2011 division series with Detroit. You can bet Joe Girardi is more concerned if Nova's confidence will rebound from his off year than if his arm is completely healthy.

Phelps did a nice job as the long man out of the pen, and had some success in his 11 starts. (3.76 ERA, 1.256 WHIP, 8.5 K's per 9 innings). He faltered a bit in September and didn't look good in the post-season, but the Yankees have high hopes for the University of Notre Dame product.

The Yankees would better off with Nova reverting to his 2011 form and Phelps working either as a long man or pitching every fifth day for Scranton in Triple-A. The Yankees have a lot of confidence in Phelps' "stuff" and he could step in a starting role next year when it is likely that either Kuroda and/or Pettitte retire. (Phil Hughes could also walk as a free agent). The Yankees also hope that Michael Pineda, who missed all of last year with shoulder surgery, could be a factor in the last quarter of this season.

Just like the rotation, the starting infield is set with Kevin Youkilis, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Mark Teixeira manning their positions from left to right. Jeter, of course, is counting on the ankle he broke during the post-season to be completely ship-shape by opening day.

Continue reading the remainder of this free article at Yahoo by clicking here.

The Post-Season Numbers Game

With a month left in the season it's time to do some speculation on the make up of the Yankees 25-man roster for the post-season. The opponent will likely either be the Detroit Tigers or the Texas Rangers, though either should have little impact on who makes the roster and who doesn't.

Most of the roster spots are obvious, but there are still a few spots up for grabs. Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod, Gardner, Granderson, Swisher, Martin, Cervelli, Nunez, Chavez, Jones are the 12 hitters/fielders that are a given.

The pitching staff has Sabathia, Nova, Garcia, Colon, Rivera, Robertson, Soriano, Logan, and Wade for a total of 9.

That's 21 rosters spots taken with four opening to be filled. The Yankees have their four starters, so there's no reason that A.J. Burnett should be on the post-season roster. Phil Hughes could be added as a righty specialist. Perhaps Luis Ayala, the team's current long man might be added to eat innings in case of a blow out. But I think the big surprise here is that Hector Noesi is added over the three of them. The dark horse could be Raul Valdes, a journeyman lefty that was recalled by the Yankees today and will get a chance in September to prove the team needs a second lefty in addition to Logan.

You normally carry 12 pitchers during the regular season, but there's really no reason to go with more than 10, 11 at the most in the post-season, especially in a short series.

On offense Jorge Posada is not a given due to his lack of production. If Jesus Montero shows any thing at all, he'll be on the roster. The Yankees are likely to add another infielder (Ramiro Pena) and another outfielder, likely Chris Dickerson.

Requiem For A Heavyweight

The Oakland A's Eric Chavez had established himself as one of the best players in baseball during the period of 2000-2006. He was good for 25-30 home runs and 90-100 RBI nearly year in and year out. His defense was stellar and led him to six straight Gold Gloves (2001-2006) and helped lead the A's to five playoff appearances.

Chavez was as the top of his game until everything fell apart, literally. Chavez began having serious shoulder, back and other injuries (a broken right hand in 2004) that led to more time on the DL than in the field. Chavez had played in just 90 games in 2007 when he was DL'ed in July due to a lower back strain. A little more than a month later he underwent season ending surgery...on the torn labrum in his right shoulder that had bothered him since 2005. In October, Chavez went under the knife again to repair a bulging disk in his back. But wait, Chavez would undergo yet another surgery in November to remove "non-living" tissue that accumulated in his left shoulder as well as repair a tear that had caused pain during off-season workouts. Mr. Durable had become Mr. Hospital Gown.

Chavez reported to spring training to ready himself for the 2008 season, but lower back inflammation required two epidurals (in Feb., Apr.), and the 3rd baseman started the season on the DL. Chavez missed nearly two months of the season before he returned in late May. He played in 23 games, but had trouble finding his stroke (.688 OPS, two home runs). After going 0-3 on July 1, Chavez was placed on the disabled list once more. In mid-August his season ended prematurely again after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder. The face of the franchise was becoming a footnote.

Spring training was slow going in 2009, but Chavez was in the Opening Day lineup on April 6. He played in nine games over a 2 1/2 week span and had just three hits in 30 at-bats before the disabled list came calling again on May 1. This time his right elbow was sore and he was diagnosed with a forearm strain. Less than two weeks after being shelved Chavez started experiencing back spasms and was found to have a pair of bulging disks. In June he underwent season ending and a second career threatening back surgery. Chavez was down, but not out.

The long-time 3rd baseman saw some time across the infield to 1st base in the hopes that it would relieve some of the stress on his 32-yr old back. As it turned out he played just one game at 1st base, but DH'ed for 29 games. Then came May and the end of Chavez's season. Bulging disks in his neck were the cause this time. For the first time Chavez openly wondered if his career was over.

Each spring training is a time of renewal; the weather gets warmer, the birds come back north, and the sound of bat hitting ball can be heard throughout Florida and Arizona. With Opening Day just around the corner, Eric Chavez has once again made the journey through spring training. His facial hair is gone, he's not donning green and gold any more, but Eric Chavez's name will be announced on Opening Day. This time it will be in the Bronx and Chavez will be wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees when they take the field to play the Detroit Tigers.

The Yankees took a chance this past winter in the hopes Chavez could spell Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base and Mark Teixeira across the diamond. After endless hours of surgery, therapy, and doctor's visits, Chavez hoped that a change of scenery would also mean a change of luck. It's already gained him a $1.5MM contract and another opportunity to play Major League baseball.

Chavez made the team by being healthy and hitting the cover off the ball (.421). He put a cherry on the top of his spring training sundae with a home run, fittingly, on Sunday. He may not play in a large number of games this season, but if Eric Chavez gets to wear his uniform for 162 games he will be more than happy.

Colon Seals The Deal- Joins The Band of 25

Photo Courtesy of AP - Look how happy this guy is!

Barring an unforeseen injury, a Tonya Harding-eque incident, or something of that nature, Bartolo Colon put his stamp on the #5 or #4 spot (depending on Joe Girardi's preference) in the rotation last night with an impressive outing against the Tampa Bay Rays. What this means is that Freddy Garcia will be given his release at week's end and will likely catch on with another team (perhaps the Mets?).

There also hasn't been an announcement concerning the final piece of the rotation puzzle, but Ivan Nova has clearly pitched above and beyond and will get the spot.

While the Rays lineup last night wouldn't intimidate anyone, that didn't keep you from taking notice of Colon's performance. He allowed just two hits over six innings, a solo home run to Kelly Shoppach, didn't walk a batter and struck out five.

Colon needed just 64 pitches to get it done and even showed some remarkable quickness, coming off the mound to cover a 1st base on a tapper to the right side. (Yes, somewhere, someone said, "He moves quick for a big man".) Garcia has already said he wouldn't accept a trip to the minors, and though he said he would willingly work as the long man out of the pen, Girardi (for reasons still unclear to me and just about everyone) prefers Sergio Mitre for that role. (Is Mitre Latin for "blackmail the manager"?)

Manny Banuelos came back to Earth last night and showed the crazies that he's not quite ready for the Majors just yet. Man-Ban gave up a pair of runs in two innings of work and took the loss. He allowed a solo home run to Dan Johnson in the 8th inning for a bit of insurance.

Setting the 25-man

While the rotation should be set, the bullpen that heads north is not there yet. Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Mitre, and David Robertson are all set. But there's a good chance, Joba Chamberlain and Pedro Feliciano will start the season on the DL. Chamberlain was having a decent spring when he strained an oblique and was shut down. He'll be back on the mound today though against the Orioles and has a chance to prove he's healthy. Feliciano, who has been workhorse in his career has suffered from a dead arm and not thrown much. He did have a 15 pitch bullpen session on Saturday and a 25 pitch session on Monday. He's hoping to get into a game this weekend, but it would be ridiculous to rush him. Of the two, Chamberlain is more likely to head north with the club.

Eric Chavez will miss a few days with calf spasms, but appears to have locked up a backup corner infield position. Eduardo Nunez looks to be a lock for the utility infielder role over the much better gloved, but much weaker hitting Ramiro Pena. Nunez also saw some, albeit somewhat shaky, time in the outfield and would be an emergency fifth outfielder.

Andruw Jones is set to back the triumvirate of Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher and occasionally DH to give Jorge Posada a rest. With Francisco Cervelli DL'ed, the battle for back up to Russell Martin will go down to the wire between Jesus Montero and Austin Romine (Be sure to read Jack Curry's touching story about the loss of Romine's cousin in Afghanistan recently). The Yankees need to decide which they are better served by- Romine's superior defensive skills or giving Montero a chance to show he should stay in the Majors. Of course, how much chance Montero will get remains to be seen with Martin catching, Posada locked in at DH, and Mark Teixeira at 1st base. The feeling here is that Montero will get a look see and will possibly be replaced when Cervelli gets healthy.

Nine days until opening day. Mmmmmm.

Opening Night Eve

Written for Baseball Digest:

With the final out in today’s New York Yankees vs. Future Stars game, the Yankees packed up their belongings in preparation for the trip north to Boston for tomorrow night’s opener with the Red Sox.

Joe Girardi and the Yankees fans got a good look at the future in players like Jesus Montero and Slade Heathcott and ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte in the unique intrasquad game. The Yankees, whose lineup featured minor leaguers on both sides by the time the game concluded, topped their future (hey, at least they didn’t destroy their future) 9-6.

With the regular season starting Sunday night, that also means it was time for the Yankees to pare down the roster. The 25-man roster to start the season looks like this:

Pitchers:

CC Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
Andy Pettitte
Javier Vazquez
Phil Hughes
Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
Sergio Mitre
Damaso Marte
Alfredo Aceves
David Robertson
Chan Ho Park

Catchers

Jorge Posada
Francisco Cervelli

Infielders

Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Robinson Cano
Mark Teixeira
Ramiro Pena
Nick Johnson

Outfielders

Curtis Granderson
Nick Swisher
Brett Gardner
Randy Winn
Marcus Thames

Manager Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman opted to go with Sergio Mitre as a long man in the pen rather than keep either Royce Ring or Boone Logan as a second left-hander in the bullpen. Either could still be called up quicky if Damaso Marte’s cranky shoulder proves detrimental to the team as it did last season.

There was a big change in the team’s catching depth as well. With Jorge Posada bothered by a stiff neck and Francisco Cervelli slowed by a sore hamstring, there was speculation that veteran catcher Mike Rivera might make the squad out of Tampa.

Not only didn’t Rivera make the team, he was on the verge of being released. Rivera became expendable after former Yankee Chad Moeller was released by the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees quickly scooped him up as well former Diamondbacks catcher Robbie Hammock, and signed the pair to minor league deals. Meanwhile Cervelli’s hamstring felt good enough for him to travel with the big squad.