The Daily Dozen - July 26, 2014

THE DAILY  DOZEN
(Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game - July 26th, 2014)

1. What's with Jeter hitting the ball to left lately?  I mean...heck it's good that he is, but isn't he supposed to only hit away since he's 40?  Jeter went 2 for 4 today with a walk and now has 3,416 hits on his career resume for those counting at home.

2. Capuano shut out the Blue Jays for 4 innings.  In those 4 innings he only gave up 2 hits but sprinkled in a scary first inning.  I'm sure the crowd at Yankee Stadium was getting uneasy having the bases loaded in his Pinstripe debut. He recorded the first two outs before plunking JoeyBats, giving up a shallow single, and then a walk to the power hitter known as Steve Tolleson.

3. Remember Wayne Tolleson?  He was a utility player for the Yankees from 1986 to 1990 batting .223.  He also wore the #2.  "Now batting...#2...Wayne Tolleson...#2..."  Well, his boy batted better than .223 today and had a key sacrifice fly in the 5th to tie the game.  I wonder if he's going to be sad that his number is being retired?

Nice mustache!

4. The only hit through 3 innings was to Dioner Navarro, a former Yankee.  Enter the former Yankee curse.  Of course, Navarro only played in 5 games for the Yanks back in 2004.  Since then he has played for six other big league teams.

5. The Yankees have a 37% chance of making the playoffs.  According to MLB.com's Postseason Probabilities Chart, on June 6th the Blue Jays had a 84% chance of making followed by the Yankees at 34% and Orioles at 19%.  As of June 25th, those numbers are 69% Baltimore, 37% New York, and 29% Toronto...wow have the Blue Jays fallen off a cliff.  Interestingly, the defending World Series Champs have a 2% chance of making it.  I guess Ellsbury made the right choice!

The Yankees holding steady at 37%. (Source: MLB.com)

6. Ellsbury's Defense.  That is all.

7. Acquisitions in the offseason and during this last month did just about everything in the 4th.  Ellsbury made a spectacular play on defense, Beltran walked, McCann jacked a 2-run bomb, and Headley got a single.  Maybe Cashman is a genius?

8. The Melk-man delivereth.  Enter the curse of Past Yankees 2.  In the 5th, Melky got the Blue Jays on the board with a double scoring good ol' JoeyBats.  Cabrera has 12 home runs and 52 RBI, which would easily lead the Yankees outfield if he was still a Yankee.  But hell, that was a LONG time ago and I definitely prefer Gardner over PED-boy.  Since the 5 year stint with NY, Melky has played for 4 teams in 5 seasons...ouch.

"Man...Canada really sucks..." (Source: Yahoo Sports)

9. Whitley the Reliever << Whitley the Starter.  Chase has been great over the past few starts for the Yankees.  His first opportunity as a reliever was an absolute stinkfest!

10. Hindsight is 20-20.  Anyone think the Binder would have preferred to keep Capuano in after Kelley, and Thornton, Whitley, and Francis gave up 4 runs out of the bullpen?  I believe I have come up with a new dictionary term by the way called Thorntoned.

11. Toronto had lost 17 in a row at the Stadium prior to today.  That streak went all the way back to August 29, 2012.  Man that was a long time ago...wait...no it wasn't...oh that's right...they play each other 18 or 19 times a season.  Still that's a pretty impressive streak.  And Beltran got the Yankees close to extending it in the 9th.

12. Dan Johnson played the role of Yankee Killer this afternoon.  He was 2 for 5 with a home run and 4 RBI.  Coming into the game he was batting .217 with 0 HR and 3 RBI.  Only in Baseball.

Bullpen Struggles in 6-4 Loss to Blue Jays

Since the All Star Break concluded, the Yankees' bullpen has been pretty dominant.

The 8-man group, arguably the best in baseball, had given up just 2 earned runs in the last eight games going into today, a big reason why the team's gone 7-1 during that stretch.

Nonetheless, they do have bad performances every once in a while, something that unfortunetaly happened this afternoon, with Shawn Kelley, Chase Whitley, and Jeff Francis surrendering four trips around the bases as the Yanks fell to the Blue Jays 6-4.

In this one's seventh inning, after Chris Capuano impressively threw 6 frames of two-run ball, the aforementioned Kelley loaded the bases with just one out, causing him to be removed in place of Matt Thornton. 

In his outing, surprisingly, Thornton did throw the ball well, but due to a bloop infield single by Dan Johnson one of the runners he inherited found a way home, breaking a 2-2 tie.

On that play, Yanks' Second Baseman Brian Roberts originally looked like he was going to catch it, a perception proved incorrect when the flare ended up dropping in the grass, letting Melky Cabrera come in from third while putting Kelley in line for the loss and Jays' Starter Drew Hutchison (6 2/3 IP, 2 ER) for the win.

No, Kelley probably didn't deserve to take the fall, but after the Whitley/Francis duo combined to allow three more runs in the top of the ninth he did, with a late two-run home run from Carlos Beltran in the last frame and another one in the fourth from Brian McCann being all New York would get from their offense on the day. 

Yes, Derek Jeter picked up a pair of singles and Chase Headley once reached on a shift-beating bunt, although considering none of those knocks affected how the contest played out they don't really matter, an unfortunate truth.

Keeping Up With The Teams In Front Of Us

The August trade deadline is today and I wanted to take the opportunity to look at what the teams we are chasing in the AL East and both wild card races are doing to improve while we are seemingly standing pat again. Now obviously we can make trades all the way through the end of the season but no one acquired after August 31st is eligible for the post season. With that said let's take a look at how the teams in front of us are stacking their rosters before it's too late.

The Cleveland Indians have traded for Jason Kubel after the Arizona Diamondbacks designated him for assignment. Cleveland just gave up a player to be named later in exchange for Kubel after he and his production fell off the table this season. Kubel fell off so much the D Backs are going to pay roughly $2,000,000 of his $2,270,000 left on his contract for this season.

The Oakland Athletics acquired catcher, and former A's player, Kurt Suzuki from the Washington Nationals to bolster their back stops. 

The Baltimore Orioles finally got their designated hitter when they acquired Mike Morse for Xavier Avery from the Seattle Mariners yesterday. They also claimed Josh Willingham, Kendrys Morales, and signed Dan Johnson from the Yankees. 

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired both Wesley Wright, Delmon Young, and David DeJesus in separate waiver deals this August. 

The Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox swapped Quinton Berry to Boston for Clayton Mortenson to KC. The Red Sox did not have to do much anyway to stay on top of the division. 

The Yankees lost first base depth in Dan Johnson, lost infield depth while releasing Luis Cruz, lost outfield depth when they let Thomas Neal walk, and swapped power for average, defense, and more strike outs when they signed Mark Reynolds. It seems like all the teams ahead of the Yankees are looking to improve and give their team the best shot to make the playoffs where the Yankees are simply making the same mistake twice by standing pat with what we have. We quickly learned this season that this was not the best decision we made in the off season and it seems like we may be making the same mistake twice and I cannot say that I agree with it.

The Orioles Are Picking Up The Yankees Scraps Again

Remember last year when it seemed like every single guy that the New York Yankees released the Baltimore Orioles picked up a week later? Well it's happening again with the Orioles signing of Dan Johnson today. We reported last night that the Yankees released Dan Johnson after he had spent the entire season down in AAA with the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders and today he has already found a new set of teammates in Baltimore. I am a bit surprised because I figured the Yankees released him with the thought process of giving Johnson a shot at a September call up with rosters expanding but the Orioles signed him to a minor league deal so who knows. I guess we will find out just what Baltimore's way of thinking was regarding this deal on Sunday.

New York Yankees Release Dan Johnson

The New York Yankees signed Dan Johnson in the off season before the 2013 season and have had him stashed in AAA with the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders until today when they released him. Johnson put up a .253/.379/.447 in 559 plate appearances this season playing a pretty good first base in his age 34 season.

Lars Anderson Was Just Released By Chicago

Remember when Lars Anderson was the next big thing for the Boston Red Sox only to be traded away and never to be heard from again? Well he has resurfaced after the Chicago White Sox released him from their AAA team yesterday making him a free agent. I know the Yankees have Dan Johnson in Scranton but he is yet another old left handed first basemen that we have plenty of in stock. Lars Anderson, even with his .194/.302/.251 triple slash this season, is still only 25 years old and probably still too young to give up on in my opinion. Lars showed some flashes of talent from 2010 to 2012 with the Boston Red Sox in limited time in the majors and if I had to choose between an old left handed first basemen in Dan Johnson or a 25 year old left handed first basemen in Lars Anderson I may be inclined to go with Lars. What say you?

Flurry Of Roster Moves Before The Season Starts

The Yankees have announced that they have sent outfielder Melky Mesa and pitcher Sam Demel to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees have reassigned Jim Miller, Preston Claiborne, Brandon Pinder, Juan Cedeno, Vidal Nuno, Josh Spence, Bobby Wilson, Dan Johnson, Jose Pirela, Gil Velazquez, and Thomas Neal to minor league camps.

The Yankees have officially added Ben Francisco and Jayson Nix to the 40 man roster so they both apparently have made the team.

Yankees Talking With Derrek Lee

According to a story by The Sports XChange at Yahoo Sports, the Yankees have spoken with Derrek Lee about coming out of retirement. Lee hasn't played since 2011, when he hit .267 with 19 home runs in 113 games.

The Yankees have been using Juan Rivera at 1B, and are looking at others such as Dan Johnson and even Travis Hafner. There is a chance the team could use Ronnier Mustelier at third base, where he's playing again in today's exhibition game, and move Kevin Youkilis to first base. 

I'm leaning towards endorsing the move of Mustelier to 3B and Youk to 1B, but I'm not sure due to the fact that the defense on the left side of the infield would be pretty sketchy. It would be nice if I heard more reports on Ronnier's defense, as I guess it's gotten better since he came from Cuba.

Predicting The 25 Man Roster Two Weeks Into Spring

I have proven by my Free Agency Prediction post that I should not be buying any lottery tickets any time soon but two weeks into Spring Training I wanted to take a stab at predicting the 25 man roster. We have a general idea of what is going to happen after seeing who Joe Girardi has been using and where Joe Girardi has been playing them. This is obviously subject to change.

C - Francisco Cervelli

1B - Mark Teixeira

2B - Robinson Cano

SS - Derek Jeter

3B Kevin Youkilis

LF - Melky Mesa

CF - Brett Gardner

RF - Ichiro Suzuki

DH - Travis Hafner

BN - Chris Stewart

BN - Dan Johnson

BN - Jayson Nix

BN - Juan Rivera

SP - CC Sabathia

SP - Hiroki Kuroda

SP - Andy Pettitte

SP - Phil Hughes

SP - Ivan Nova

LR - David Phelps

MR - David Aardsma

MR - Joba Chamberlain

MR - Boone Logan

MR - Clay Rapada

SU - David Robertson

CL - Mariano Rivera

Obviously Melky Mesa would not be listed if Curtis Granderson was not injured and set to miss the first month of the season. Mesa has proven he can play all three outfield positions, has enough defense and speed to suffice, and can hit and drive the ball for power. It is going to be a close competition between him and Zoilo Almonte to be honest but I like Mesa more in this situation.

Obviously Eduardo Nunez was not on this list and he originally was until I heard he was working on a new throwing motion. When teams do things like this to players with minor league options it almost always seems like they are destined for the minor leagues. Dan Johnson will be the 2013 version of Eric Chavez being a left handed hitter that can fill in at third base and first base when needed.

The pitching should be no surprise but I ALMOST put Jim Miller in instead of Clay Rapada after a strong start to the spring. Joe Girardi seems like he has a sort of obsession with having a second lefty in the bullpen though especially considering all the miles that are on Boone Logan's arm lately.

Juan Rivera seems to be outshining Matt Diaz in the 4th outfielder competition so I put him in there as the early winner. He is seeing the ball better and hitting the ball better and is not a slouch out in the field. I really like Matt Diaz especially considering that I live in Atlanta, Georgia and have been watching him for years but he is just not getting it done right now.

It is still really early in spring and all of this is still scheduled to change obviously but if I am Joe Girardi this is what I am penciling in for Opening Day.

New York Yankees Spring Training Notes 2/23

In just a few hours the Yankees will play their first Spring Training game as they open their Grapefuit League schedule against the Atlanta Braves at 1:00 pm ET. We have a few notes to share with you before David Phelps takes the mound.

Nick Goody has been shut down after he hurt and sprained his ankle in an apparent car accident. He will be shut down for a while and that is a shame because he was looking to be a fast mover through the Yankees system this season.

Dan Johnson will play third base again today as he looks to be this year's version of Eric Chavez, a left handed third base and first basemen bench player.

There will be more for the game and after the game so stay tuned to TGP!

New York Yankees Spring Training Notes 2/21

The Yankees and Joe Girardi were playing mind games with us today as they played alternating outfielders during pop fly drills today. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and Ichiro Suzuki all saw time at all three outfield positions and alternated position every few pop flies. Long story short we still do not know if Gardner will be our center fielder this season or if it will be Curtis Granderson. When Girardi was asked who would start in center in the Grapefruit League opener to try and get a hint of what is to come Girardi reported that it would be Melky Mesa... so much for that.

Girardi touched on the schedule of players and the World Baseball Classic as well today when talking to reporters. Girardi reported that Robinson Cano would play in six of the first eight Yankees Spring Training games before leaving for the WBC and Mark Teixeira will play in five of the first eight games. Melky Mesa will see some early playing time as he is committed to the Dominican Republic team for the WBC and Francisco Rondon and Gil Velasquez should also get early playing time before leaving camp for the WBC.

Mark Montgomery came through his work out today with no problems or set backs and still is scheduled to throw a bullpen side session tomorrow. Phil Hughes back also is said to be feeling good so the Yankees back injuries seem to be minor and progressing so good news all around.

Girardi announced that Vidal Nuno will start the third game of the spring because the regular starting pitchers
will not see action until March. I figured it would be Nik Turley or Brett Marshall because they have already faced live hitting but Nuno works too.

Dan Johnson, continuing his quest to be this years Eric Chavez, took drills at third base for the third straight day. Speaking of third base Yankees prospect Corban Joseph also worked with Kevin Youkilis at third base today and it seems like it was on bunting drills. Joseph is a second basemen by trade and Dan Johnson is more of a first basemen and designated hitter type.

Spring Training Notes 2/12/13: State Of The Yankees Address

[caption id="attachment_14794" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Photo taken by Mark Feinsand of the Daily News[/caption]

Today may be the State Of the Union Address for the United States of America, but today was the State of the Yankees Address live from the minor league complex by none other than the Yankees manager Joe Girardi (who might I add is in the final year of his contract). Girardi covered a plethora of topics but one of the biggest topics that Girardi covered was Alex Rodriguez. Here's some notes and news from today.

Girardi on Alex Rodriguez:

"There really isn't a lot to talk about. My concern is for him to get healthy. This club is used to having what people might call distractions."

Girardi hasn't spoken to Alex Rodriguez about the PED topic and has confirmed that Alex Rodriguez will not be in camp this spring. Instead, Rodriguez will rehab in New York.

Girardi on the 2013 team:

"We're going to have to find a different way to score runs. Our offense is going to be different but I believe [we're going to score runs]."

Girardi also believes that the Yankees are going to win 95 games and the World Series. "There's a lot of talent in this room. If we play up to our capabilities, I believe we're a very good team."

Girardi's biggest concern:

Girardi's biggest concern is finding a right-handed DH bat before the actual season begins.

Girardi on Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Ichiro Suzuki:

As of today, Brett Gardner will be in LF, Curtis Granderson will be in CF and Ichiro Suzuki will be in RF. There's no plans on moving Gardner and Granderson as of yet, but it could change as he discusses it with his coaches.

Girardi on concerns of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera:

He doesn't have any concerns on both Yankees who are coming off of injuries.

MORE AROUND YANKEES CAMP

-- Austin Romine came into camp thirteen pounds lighter and his back in very good shape. He believes he sees an opportunity.

-- CC Sabathia is also 100% after having elbow surgery over the winter. He says that the surgery was a relief and he now has complete mobility of his elbow. Sabathia also lost a lot of weight, now weighing in at 290. His first bullpen session will be on Thursday.

-- We also have new locker arraignments and numbers in Yankees camp. Here they are:

-Travis Hafner takes Nick Swisher's old number and will now wear #33. Hafner's locker is now next to Youkilis, formerly vacated by Eric Chavez.
-Francisco Cervelli will now wear #29, formerly worn by Rafael Soriano.
-David Phelps changed his number to #35. Mike Mussina used to wear #35 back in the day as did Michael Pineda last season (who we never saw during the season).
-Michael Pineda will now wear #43. His previous number was #35.
-Kevin Youkilis wears #36 and now has Nick Swisher's old locker.
- David Aardsma will now wear #34.
- Matt Diaz will now wear #22.
- Dan Johnson will now wear #27.
- Juan Rivera will now wear #54.

Looking Back At The Free Agency Predictions

A few months back I took a stab at predicting the rest of the free agency class, seen here, and here are the results. Spoiler alert, I am terrible at this game. The BOLDED are correct predictions and the incorrect predictions are crossed out like THIS with the correct team out to the side. Some guys have not signed yet but with pitchers and catchers reporting tomorrow I figured we would go ahead and look at the results anyway. 

Catchers
Rod Barajas (37) - New York Yankees Arizona Diamondbacks
Henry Blanco (41) - Retirement  Toronto Blue Jays
Jesus Flores (28) - Pittsburgh Pirates Los Angeles Dodgers
Miguel Olivo (34) - Detroit Tigers Cincinatti Reds
Ronny Paulino (32) - Miami Marlins Seattle Mariners
A.J. Pierzynski (36) - Chicago White Sox Texas Rangers
 

First basemen
Lance Berkman (36) - Houston Astros Texas Rangers
Miguel Cairo (39) - Retirement
Jason Giambi (42) - Retirement Cleveland Indians
Aubrey Huff (36) - Tampa Bay Rays
Dan Johnson (33) - Houston Astros New York Yankees
Casey Kotchman (30) - Pittsburgh Pirates
Adam LaRoche (33) - Washington Nationals
Carlos Lee (37) - New York Yankees
Carlos Pena (35) - Cleveland Indians Houston Astros
Nick Swisher (32) - Cleveland Indians
Ty Wigginton (35) - Baltimore Orioles  St. Louis Cardinals

Second basemen
Yuniesky Betancourt (31) - Los Angeles Dodgers Philadelphia Phillies
Kelly Johnson (31) - Arizona Diamonbacks Tampa Bay Rays
Ryan Raburn (32) - Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians
Ryan Theriot (33) - San Francisco Giants

Shortstops
Jason Bartlett (33) - San Diego Padres
Stephen Drew (30) - Oakland Athletics Boston Red Sox

Third basemen
Miguel Cairo (39) - Retirement
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement Toronto Blue Jays
Chone Figgins (35) - New York Yankees Miami Marlins
Placido Polanco (37) - Chicago White Sox Miami Marlins
Scott Rolen (38) - Cincinnati Reds 
Ian Stewart (27) - Colorado Rockies Chicago Cubs
Ty Wigginton (35) - Baltimore Orioles St. Louis Cardinals 

Left fielders
Bobby Abreu (39) - Retirement
Endy Chavez (35) - Baltimore Orioles
Johnny Damon (39) - Kansas City Royals
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement Toronto Blue Jays
Matt Diaz (35) - Atlanta Braves New York Yankees
Kosuke Fukudome (36) - Miami Marlins
Scott Hairston (33) - New York Mets Chicago Cubs
Bill Hall (33) - Philadelphia Phillies
Josh Hamilton (32) -Texas Rangers Los Angeles Angels
Raul Ibanez (41) - Seattle Mariners
Ryan Raburn (32) - Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians
Cody Ross (32) - Seattle Mariners Arizona Diamondbacks
Delmon Young (27) - Tampa Bay Rays Philadelphia Phillies

Center fielders
Rick Ankiel (33) - St. Louis Cardinals Houston Astros
Michael Bourn (30) - Seattle Mariners
Josh Hamilton (32) - Texas Rangers  Los Angeles Angels
Nyjer Morgan (32) - New York Mets
Grady Sizemore (30) - New York Yankees Will Sign Mid-Season

Right fielders
Endy Chavez (35) - Baltimore Orioles
Mark DeRosa (38) - Retirement Toronto Blue Jays
Kosuke Fukudome (36) - Miami Marlins
Scott Hairston (33) - New York Mets Chicago Cubs
Nyjer Morgan (32) - New York Mets  Japanese Baseball League
Ryan Raburn (32) -Detroit Tigers Cleveland Indians
Cody Ross (32) - Seattle Mariners Arizona Diamondbacks
Ryan Sweeney (28) - Kansas City Royals Boston Red Sox
Nick Swisher (32) - Cleveland Indians

Designated hitters
Bobby Abreu (39) - Retirement
Johnny Damon (39) - Kansas City Royals
Travis Hafner (36) - Cleveland Indians New York Yankees
Raul Ibanez (41) - Seattle Mariners
Hideki Matsui (39) - Retirement
Jim Thome (42) - Tampa Bay Rays
Delmon Young (27) - Tampa Bay Rays Philadelphia Phillies

Starting pitchers
Erik Bedard (34) - Baltimore Orioles Houston Astros
Dallas Braden (29) - Chicago Cubs
Ryan Dempster (36) - Boston Red Sox
Freddy Garcia (37) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim San Diego Padres
Rich Harden (31) - Chicago Cubs Minnesota Twins
Roberto Hernandez (32) - Miami Marlins Tampa Bay Rays
Edwin Jackson (29) - Baltimore Orioles Chicago Cubs
John Lannan (28) - Colorado Rockies Philadelphia Phillies
Francisco Liriano (29) - Cleveland Indians Pittsburgh Pirates
Kyle Lohse (34) - St. Louis Cardinals
Derek Lowe (40) - Cleveland Indians
Shaun Marcum (31) - Kansas City Royals New York Mets
Daisuke Matsuzaka (32) - Seattle Mariners Cleveland Indians
Jamie Moyer (50) - Retirement
Brett Myers (32) - San Diego Padres Cleveland Indians
Roy Oswalt (35) - Retirement
Carl Pavano (37) - Kansas City Royals
Mike Pelfrey (29) - New York Mets  Minnesota Twins
Anibal Sanchez (29) - Detroit Tigers
Jonathan Sanchez (30) - Colorado Rockies Pittsburgh Pirates
Joe Saunders (32) - Baltmiore Orioles Seattle Mariners
Chien-Ming Wang (33) - Washington Nationals
Carlos Zambrano (32) - Arizona Diamondbacks

Closers
Matt Capps (29) - Toronto Blue Jays Cleveland Indians
Brett Myers (32) - San Diego Padres Cleveland Indians
Rafael Soriano (33) - Detroit Tigers Washington Nationals
Jose Valverde (35) - Milwaukee Brewers
Brian Wilson (31) - Los Angeles Dodgers

Right-handed relievers
Mike Adams (34) - Milwaukee Brewers Philadelphia Phillies
Jose Contreras (41) - Retirement
Kyle Farnsworth (37) - Kansas City Royals Tampa Bay Rays
Francisco Rodriguez (31) - Texas Rangers
Takashi Saito (43) - Retirement Japanese League Baseball
Jose Veras (32) - Milwaukee Brewers Houston Astros
Cory Wade (30) - New York Yankees Chicago Cubs

Left-handed relievers
Pedro Feliciano (35) - Washington Nationals New York Mets
Mike Gonzalez (35) - New York Yankees Milwaukee Brewers

2013 Minor League Options & The Yankees

Chad Jennings over at Lohud had an interesting article earlier discussing who has options left for the 2013 season, who is out of options, and who has certain clauses in their contracts allowing them to opt out of minor league deals. I will direct everybody over THERE for the full write up but I wanted to touch on a few things that I thought were interesting.

Eduardo Nunez, Francisco Cervelli, Cody Eppley, and Ivan Nova all have one minor league option remaining and guys like Clay Rapada and Chris Stewart do not have any options left. David Phelps obviously still has options left and is a no brainer along with the rest of the guys on the 40 man that have not seen major league time outside a September call up. Theoretically the Yankees could start Nunez in the minors to work on being an every day short stop again, the Yankees could start Cervelli in the minors one more time if they decide to trade for a serviceable catcher, Cody Eppley could be sent down to make room for a guy like Mark Montgomery, and if Ivan Nova continues to forget how to pitch he can be sent down to Scranton as well. If the Yankees decide to upgrade either of Rapada's or Stewarts positions those two would have to clear waivers, and they probably wouldn't, before accepting a minor league assignment.

Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera, due to a clause in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement based on their MLB service time, can both opt out of their minor league deals at the end of Spring Training if they are not put on the 40 man roster. Obviously as it stands right now one of these two guys are going to make the club and the other will probably opt out so the competition should be interesting to watch this spring. Dan Johnson has a set opt out date that Brian Cashman would not recollect but if I had to guess I would say it is in late May as they usually are in that time frame. Dan Johnson is all but going to Scranton to start next season due to the Yankees 40 man roster crunch and the delay in the opt out. Thomas Neal, Bobby Wilson, and Gil Velazquez signed your run of the mill minor league deals and can and probably will be assigned to Scranton after Spring Training. Jayson Nix, Jim Miller, and Josh Spence were all designated for assignment and either outrighted to AAA or signed a split contract and can be sent down to the minors after Spring Training as well without having to clear waivers.

Cesar Cabral was the Yankees Rule 5 draft pick last season and a stress fracture kept him from making the big league club out of Spring Training last year so the same Rule 5 draft pick rules apply for 2013. If Cabral does not get added to the 40 man roster when he is activated off the 60 day DL then he will have to go back to the Boston Red Sox. The good news is he can be assigned to the minor leagues under a 30 day rehab assignment barring any set backs or new injuries. This will complicate things because unless a Boone Logan is traded or we decide to carry three left handed pitchers we will lose Clay Rapada or Cesar Cabral once the calendar turns to May 2013.

Yankees Sign Dan Johnson To Minor League Deal

The Yankees have announced that they have signed 1B Dan Johnson to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Dan is entering his age 33 season and will earn 900K if he makes it to the big leagues at any time in 2013. I cannot see him as anything more then our starting first basemen for the Scranton Rail Riders because of his lack of speed, batting for average, or anything productive like that. Cannot go wrong with a minor league deal though in my opinion.