Welcome to September baseball where teams really begin their playoff pushes and rosters expand from 25 man rosters all the way to 40 man rosters. This is an exciting day for any prospect follower or "prospect humper" alike, myself included. Here is a list of the guys that I think the Yankees will call up to help with the playoff push and our mission to catch one of the wild card slots.
Dellin Betances has pitched his butt off since being converted into a relief pitcher. With Dellin out of options after this season the Yankees have a decision to make this coming off season and this may be Dealin' Dellin's first audition for the 2014 bullpen.
Preston Claiborne probably should not have been sent down when he was a few weeks back but Joba Chamberlain has pitched well since then so that makes the decision a little easier. Now with rosters expanding Claiborne should be the first man to get a call on Monday when the Tampa Yankees season is over.
Brett Marshall has pitched well lately down the stretch and does not look like he is headed to the playoffs so why not call him up. He could easily be a mop up man or just get a feeling for the majors and all that like Derek Jeter did in 1995. He is on the 40 man roster and not going to the playoffs so at this point I can't think of a good reason not to bring up Marshall.
David Adams has already been up with the Yankees a couple times this season and, excluding his explosion onto the scene, struggled mightily at the plate all year. Still I expect the Yankees to bring up Adams if anything for a late inning defensive replacement or pinch runner for guys like Alex Rodriguez.
Travis Hafner is standing in the background screaming "hey did you guys forget about me?" Well yeah, Travis, most of us did and for good reason. You have struggled at the plate for most of the season and even when you were hitting you never had the power numbers that we expected or signed you for. Still I can see us bringing him up as a left handed power bat off the bench if the shoulder is healthy.
JR Murphy has been a sight for sore eyes when it comes to productive Yankees positional prospects especially one who plays behind the dish. The Yankees seemingly have a love affair with calling up a third catcher for September and JR seems like the obvious choice. Also to add this may be the end of Chris Stewart because when the season is over Francisco Cervelli's suspension would be over and we would have four catchers on the 40 man roster and Stewart seems like the obvious choice to go.
Chris Bootcheck had a quick cup of coffee with the Yankees this season before clearing waivers and heading back down to the Scranton RailRiders where he will finish his season. Bootcheck pitched well in AAA as a starter posting a 10-7 record with a 3.69 ERA while striking out 97. With experience both in starting and as a reliever he could be the right handed compliment to David Huff that is currently on the roster. I was originally on the fence with Bootcheck only because I cannot see him fitting into the 2014 MLB Yankees plans and he would be a waste of a 40 man roster spot but I think the Yankees will go all in and try and make the playoffs this season and Bootcheck helps them do that.
Cesar Cabral has probably been the most forgotten Yankees pitcher stashed away in the minor leagues this system. As a quick update we all know that Cabral was claimed in the Rule 5 draft and almost made the Yankees bullpen in 2012 before a stress fracture in his left throwing elbow ended his 2012 and half of his 2013 season. When he came back and went through his rehab assignment he cleared waivers and was stashed in the minors where he has pitched to a combined 5.40 ERA with the Tampa Yankees, Trenton Thunder, and Scranton RailRiders. Obviously the stats are not as sexy as you would want them he could give the Yankees that second left handed option that they seemingly have fallen in love with the last two or three seasons. Also Cabral figures to at least be in the discussion for the 2014 bullpen with Boone Logan's impending free agency so this could serve as his first audition for that role.
Obviously the final three guys here in Murphy, Bootcheck, and Cabral are not on the 40 man roster and would require a roster move to be a Setpember call up but that may not be as hard to do as you would think. Vidal Nuno could be transferred to the 60 day DL retroactive to June 8th since he has hoped of rehabbing his groin injury and returning some time in September to the big leagues. Also Corban Joseph could be transferred to the 60 day DL as his season is over with a shoulder injury. Even with a roster crunch the Yankees have a little bit of wiggle room that they could work with to bring up the guys they need to complete this playoff push. It also doesn't hurt that Cabral and Murphy were probably going to get added to the 40 man roster before next season anyway.
Here's my list, what's yours?
