Possible 40 Man Cuts for the Yankees

We looked at the Yankees Rule 5 Draft eligible players that will need to be protected by being added to the 40 man rosters and we looked at potential impact players off the 40 man roster but we haven't mentioned the players that could be non-tendered contracts or ultimately cut,released, or designated for assignment off the 40 man roster. Until today, anyway.

I believe Ivan Nova will start the season on the 60 day DL as he continues to rehab his Tommy John surgery so there is an immediate open roster spot until at least May or June at the best.

Preston Claiborne struggled in 2014 and fell out of Joe Girardi's circle of trust. He also missed much of the 2014 season battling a shoulder injury. He will be there for the Yankees if a batter option does not present itself but could easily be one of the first to go if the team decided to break camp with a Tyler Webb or Jacob Lindgren. Esmil Rogers and David Huff fall into the same category as Claiborne in my opinion although Rogers comes with a much heftier price tag than Claiborne does.

With the Yankees carrying five catchers on their 40 man roster and Gary Sanchez sniffing Triple-A one of the catchers is likely to be moved or traded. When I say I moved I mean, for example, moving Austin Romine to first base to act as a backup for Mark Teixeira. Obviously he or John Ryan Murphy could be traded as well as Francisco Cervelli. I cannot see a scenario where the Yankees carry five catchers again with such a 40 man roster crunch this season.

Zelous Wheeler seemed like a lock to at least attend spring training with the Yankees in 2015 before Jose Pirela made an immediate impact in the majors. Now Wheeler could easily be released for DFA'd to make room for the soon to be minor league free agent Pirela.

Eury Perez, Antoan Richardson, and Ramon Flores all fall into the light hitting speedy outfielder that come into games to steal bases and play defense category. Why keep all three? Or any of them to be honest? We have Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner and could retain Ichiro Suzuki if we chose to. I don't personally see a need, or not a bigger need than a right handed power bat off the bench.