Let The 40 Man Roster Crunch Begin

After the Yankees signed Brian Roberts and Matt Thornton yesterday, as well as still being unofficial with Carlos Beltran, they have 43 players by my unofficial count and only 40 roster spots. Let the 40 man roster crunch begin.

There are two solutions to clearing a sport for Beltran, cut Vernon Wells or designate Ramon Flores. The former obviously makes more sense and is more likely than the latter but both possibilities are there. Unless of course the Yankees move Brett Gardner or can move Ichiro Suzuki between then and now.

David Huff was always a non tender candidate and now that the Yankees have Thornton in the fold as well as Vidal Nuno and Cesar Cabral I think Huff gets the cut. He may come back on another minor league deal but I think he is definitely off the 40 man roster in the next week or two.

The last spot is a little less obvious than the other two as I am not 100% sure what the Yankees will do here. Roberts is an infielder so the obvious choice would be to cut or DFA'd are Eduardo Nunez. I think Nunez would probably clear waivers and if he didn't I don't think the Yankees have much confidence in him anyway.

A lot can happen between then and now, trades for example, but if you ask me right now this is what the Yankees will do to remedy their current 40 man roster crunch. I think it will be a mistake to let Nunez walk for nothing, he does have a minor league option, but you have to do what you have to do.