Monday, October 6, 2014

Looking at the 40 man Roster for 2015 Help


When you take just a quick look at the 40 man roster you see that the New York Yankees could potentially fill more than one slot this season with homegrown talent from the minor leagues. This is not to say that I think the Yankees should fill these slots with these players this was more of a post to show that the lack of Yankees depth from the minor leagues may finally be over. Let's take a look.

Pitching:

Manny Banuelos seems healthy, stretched out, and finally rehabbed and ready to start pitching after his Tommy John surgery. While I think New York will give the lefty every chance in the world to be a starter the bullpen is always a viable backup option for the southpaw.

Bryan Mitchell falls into that same category as Banuelos as he can start or head to the bullpen. Mitchell did both for the Yankees in 2014 in limited opportunities and pitched extremely well when given the chance. Mitchell could be the next David Phelps, Shane Greene, or Adam Warren.

Chase Whitley finishes out the "could be a starter, could be a reliever" category as he also did both for the Triple-A team and the big league Yankees in 2014. Whitley was impressive as a starter for the Yankees before seemingly hitting an innings wall on his arm. Whitley will build arm strength all season long I'm sure and be back better in 2015.

Jose Ramirez is a relief pitcher only these days and has struggled to stay healthy in his minor league career but I remain optimistic that he will put it all together before long, maybe next season. Ramirez could become especially important if David Robertson leaves via free agency.



Infielders:

Francisco Cervelli/John Ryan Murphy/Austin Romine one of these three men will be the Yankees backup catcher for Brian McCann, one will head to Triple-A, and one is very likely to be traded. If I had to guess Cervelli would backup McCann, Romine would head to Scranton, and Murphy would be traded since he seemingly has the most value.

Jose Pirela is a minor league free agent but he could be back and in the major leagues after his short audition in the Bronx in September. Martin Prado's flexibility will give GM Brian Cashman plenty of options for the infield and Pirela may squeak into the fold with a strong spring training.



Outfielders:

Ramon Flores/Eury Perez/Antoan Richardson the Yankees will need a fourth outfielder, and even carried five in 2014, in 2015 and one of these three men could be good off the bench. All three have a lot of speed but the problem is none of them can hit much, Flores being the best hitter of the three by a lot. Flores does have the fact that he is left handed working against him in an already lefty heavy outfield.

All these spots could conceivably be filled from within and I didn't even mention the players off the 40 man roster in Jacob Lindgren, Tyler Webb, James Pazos, Danny Burawa, Kyle Roller, and Robert Refsnyder to name a few.


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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)