The Smell of Spring…
Spring Training is just around the corner, with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Tampa within the next ten days (no later than Tuesday, February 13th). First workout will be on Valentine’s Day. Yes, we love those pitchers and catchers, especially when they wear Pinstripes.
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| Photo Credit: Newsday (J Conrad Williams, Jr) |
Here is the complete list of the Yankees' 40-man roster plus non-roster invitees (identified below as “NR” in lieu of numbers). The numbers are according to the Yankees website through MLB.com. It appears that Austin Romine has taken Joe Girardi’s old number, thanks to his loss of #27. Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar have been given high numbers which means nothing will be handed to them, although, as it stands right now, both are projected to be on the MLB Roster on Opening Day or shortly thereafter.
PITCHERS
87 Albert Abreu
88 Domingo Acevedo
NR Chance Adams
68 Dellin Betances
NR Cody Carroll
NR Cale Coshow
85 Luis Cessa
54 Aroldis Chapman
NR Raynel Espinal
NR J.P. Feyereisen
62 Giovanny Gallegos
63 Domingo German
55 Sonny Gray
57 Chad Green
NR David Hale
61 Ben Heller
65 Jonathan Holder
48 Tommy Kahnle
NR Brady Lail
NR Wade LeBlanc
89 Jonathan Loaisiga
47 Jordan Montgomery
30 David Robertson
52 CC Sabathia
40 Luis Severino
NR Justus Sheffield
45 Chasen Shreve
19 Masahiro Tanaka
NR Dillon Tate
43 Adam Warren
NR Taylor Widener
CATCHERS
NR Francisco Diaz
38 Kyle Higashioka
NR Erik Kratz
NR Chace Numata
28 Austin Romine
NR Jorge Saez
24 Gary Sanchez
INFIELDERS
67 Miguel Andujar
26 Tyler Austin
33 Greg Bird
NR Danny Espinosa
90 Thairo Estrada
18 Didi Gregorius
NR Kyle Holder
NR Jace Peterson
NR Nick Solak
81 Gleyber Torres
74 Ronald Torreyes
39 Tyler Wade
OUTFIELDERS
66 Jabari Blash
70 Jake Cave
22 Jacob Ellsbury
NR Estevan Florial
77 Clint Frazier
11 Brett Gardner
31 Aaron Hicks
99 Aaron Judge
71 Billy McKinney
27 Giancarlo Stanton
There is still time for these 60 names to change and there probably will be some tweaks before camp actually opens. At any rate, it will be very exciting to see many of these players on the field in the not-so-distant future. Position players must report by Sunday, February 18th, with the first full workout scheduled for the next day. The Yankees open their Spring Schedule in 20 days against the Detroit Tigers at Steinbrenner Field (1:05 pm EST, February 23rd).
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| Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports, via Reuters (Kim Klement) |
It was sad to read this weekend that Matt Holliday, who would still like to play, has received no offers. Hopefully somebody gives him the opportunity for his Swan Song. He was a tremendous force on the Yankees last year until he was derailed by the Epstein-Barr virus. Unfortunately, I see no room for him on the Yankees but he’d be a tremendous player/coach/mentor for a team wiling to give him the opportunity.
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| Photo Credit: New York Post |
I won’t lie…there is a part of me that hopes the Yankees find a way to sign Yu Darvish. Bryan Van Dusen (@BryanV_TGP) posted the following question on Twitter this morning: “Does Yu Darvish want to be a Yankee so bad that he’s willing to wait as long as possible, just in case they free up enough money? Or is this a ridiculous question by a desperate #Yankees fan?” Logic tells me that it will never happen. Even if the Yankees freed up more salary space, there’s probably other areas of greater need than handing a multi-year contract averaging more than $20 million annually to a thirty-something pitcher. Plus, there are young, talented (and cheap) pitchers on the immediate horizon with Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu and others. But still, it’s nice to think about what Darvish would look like in the Yankees rotation. I have no problem with the Yankees getting “Greedy”. TGP, forever.
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| Photo Credit: Getty Images (Tim Bradbury) |
This weekend represents the official end to the NFL season with Super Bowl 52 on Sunday. Nothing against Tom Brady and his eventual path to the NFL Hall of Fame, but I’ll have to go with the underdog Philadelphia Eagles. I have no desire to back any team from Boston. It probably helps that I am not a New York Giants fan so I am not opposed to backing the Eagles. There’s probably a lot of truth in the statement that only Patriots and Giants fans want to see New England win (although I am sure there are a few Cowboys and Redskins fans in that category too). So, on Sunday, I’ll be cheering for Tommy Kahnle…
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| Photo Credit: MLB.com |
Go Yankees!
