Brendan Ryan Only One Setback Away from Opening the Door for Jose Pirela

Last spring training Brendan Ryan battled a neck injury that caused him to miss Opening Day and not break camp with the New York Yankees. Instead Dean Anna made the Opening Day roster and made a new for himself hitting his first major league home run before being designated for assignment and latching on with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time around Ryan is battling a back injury that he suffered from before even entering camp and has yet to do more than very limited baseball activities. With another setback or two we could be in for Groundhog Day part two and that could open the door for a new utility man, Jose Pirela.

Pirela’s biggest flaw and Ryan’s greatest strength to the team is the ability to play the shortstop position if Didi Gregorius proves that he cannot hit major league pitching or get injured but having Stephen Drew on the roster gives the Yankees some insurance and depth. In the case of a potential Gregorius issue or injury the Yankees could easily put Pirela at second base and Drew at shortstop and not skip a beat defensively.

That scenario begs my next question, if Drew can back up shortstop and Pirela and/or Robert Refsnyder can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield including second base then why is Ryan even on the roster? That one, my friends, may be the hardest question to answer.