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.

Yankees Add Pen Depth With Kelley

With Rafael Soriano gone, Mariano Rivera coming back from a major injury, and the inconsistent pitching of Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees added some depth to their bullpen by acquiring Shawn Kelley from the Seattle Mariners.   Outfield prospect Abe Almonte, who had recently re-upped with the Yankees on a new minor league deal, was sent to Seattle.

Kelley put up pretty good numbers in the 120 appearances he made with Seattle in his four year career. He was designated for assignment last week when Seattle added free agent catcher Kelly Shoppach to their 40 man roster.

After a season in which he struck out better than a batter an inning, Kelley had avoided arbitration when he and the Mariners agreed on a one year, $935K deal. He'll compete with the likes of former Mariners teammate David Aardsma in the Yankees pen.

The 23-yr old Almonte was a second baseman when he started out as a 17-yr old prospect in the Dominican Summer League before shifting to the outfield. He can play all three outfield positions and is good for 30 stolen bases a year.

Yankees To Still Go to Mo

Mariano Rivera vowed he would be back to pitch for the Yankees in 2013 shortly after he underwent surgery to repair the knee he tore up shagging fly balls back on May 3.  Recent rumors, however, were that Mo was having second thoughts about a comeback.  Fret no more.

The greatest closer in baseball history has informed GM Brian Cashman that he intends on pitching in 2013. When Rafael Soriano opted out of his contract, it left the Yankees 40-man roster without a proven closer, with the exception of David Aardsma, who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Now the Yankees can (hopefully) count on Rivera to stay healthy and close out games in 2013 while they make plans to transition the role to Aardsma, David Robertson, or someone else in 2014.

The man with the famous cutter had surgery to repair the ACL in his right knee in July and is said to be in good condition. Cashman will work with agent Fern Cuza on a new contract, and will likely ask Rivera to take a cut from the $16mm he earned last season.