What First Rosters Cuts Really Mean

The New York Yankees made their first round of roster cuts from spring training to round out the week over the weekend sending 16 players back to the minor leagues. This happens with every team as we inch closer to Opening Day and as regulars need more playing time and the spring competitions heat up. The Yankees had a business as usual approach to their cuts sending players that had no legit shot at making the team out of spring back to the minor leagues, Jorge Mateo, Aaron Judge and James Kaprielian most notably, but one name really stood out to me. That name was Jacob Lindgren.

The Yankees bullpen is seemingly wide open aside from the “three-headed monster” and even more wide open with the fact that Aroldis Chapman is suspended for the first 30 games of the season. What did it hurt to have Lindgren in camp for another week or more?

You would think after Lindgren made his Major League debut in 2015 that the team would want to give him a shot at the 2016 bullpen but an elbow spur injury ended his season prematurely. Lindgren didn’t do himself any favors this spring struggling with command and effectiveness, but the same can be said for James Pazos who did not get cut just as an FYI, and will likely be the first one up if and when a need and/or an injury occurs.

Looking at the rest of the list no notable players really got cut but Lindgren, the rest are merely procedural. Here is the complete list again in case you missed it over the weekend:

Jacob Lindgren, Domingo German, Chad Green, Kyle Haynes, James Kaprielian, Brady Lail, Santiago Nessy, Tyler Webb, Francisco Diaz, Kyle Higashioka, Sebastian Valle, Jorge Mateo, Deibinson Romero, Tyler Wade, Lane Adams, Aaron Judge and Dustin Fowler.

Quick Hit: The Yankees NBA Pickup Team

Many fans of Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees in specific are solely baseball fans but other enjoy other sports. I've seen many of my Twitter follows tweet #KnicksTape or #LGR or tweet about the firing of this Jets coach or this Giants coach and that got me thinking, how would these Yankees stack up against other leagues in other sports? The Knicks and Nets are the home teams so let's compare them to these Yankees but not in the way you would think. It would be impossible to compare how Carmelo Anthony would do with a bat in his hand and it would be impossible to judge how Aroldis Chapman would do down in the paint at Madison Square Garden but we can see how they stack up another way, literally.

Yankees:
Lane Adams 6'4"
Greg Bird 6'4"
James Kaprielian 6'4"
Chasen Shreve 6'4"
Aroldis Chapman 6'5"
Ivan Nova 6'5"
CC Sabathia 6'6"
Tyler Webb 6'6"
Aaron Judge 6'7"
Andrew Miller 6'7"
Michael Pineda 6'7"
Dellin Betances 6'8"


Knicks:
Jose Calderon 6'3"
Arron Afflalo 6'5"
Thanasis Antetokounmpo 6'7"
Carmelo Anthony 6'8"
Robin Lopez 7'0"
Kristaps Porzingis 7'3"



Nets:
Jarrett Jack 6'3"
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 6'7"
Thaddeus Young 6'8"
Willie Reed 6'10"
Brook Lopez 7'0"

Yankees Cleaned House on Farm Before 2016

The New York Yankees have absolutely cleaned house this winter in lieu of the 2016 MLB and minor league seasons. I never knew the Yankees released or traded away this many prospects (and players in Brendan Ryan and Adam Warren) this winter until I put it all on one single list and looked at it. If the only constant in this world is change then the New York Yankees are a constant because their minor league system and affiliates will look a whole lot different in 2016.

Released:

3B Glen Arias
C Isaias Tejada
2B Angelo Gumbs
SS Bryan Cuevas
OF Jordan Barnes
OF Griff Gordon
OF Jose Infante
OF Teodoro Martinez
RHP Gean Batista
RHP Francis Joseph
RHP Matt Borens
RHP Lee Casas
RHP Taylor Garrison
RHP Corey Holmes
C Rainiero Coa
1B Kyle Roller
SS Gregorio Petit (elected free agency)
RHP Kyle Davies (elected free agency)

Traded: 

RHP Rookie Davis
RHP Caleb Cotham
RHP Adam Warren
INF Brendan Ryan
3B Eric Jagielo
3B Rob Segedin
2B Tony Renda
LHP Evan Rutckyj (Rule 5)
OF Jake Cave (Rule 5)
RHP Yoel Espinol (Rule 5)
RHP Luis Niebla (Rule 5)
C Eduardo de Oleo (Rule 5)
OF Danny Oh (Rule 5)
2B Jose Pirela

Added:

OF Lane Adams
INF Ronald Torreyes
OF Jared Mitchell
RHP Tyler Cord
C Carlos Corporan
3B Deibinson Romero
RHP Wandy Soto
RHP Anthony Swarzak
LHP Tyler Olson
RHP Tyler Jones
2B Donovan Solano
SS Jonathan Diaz
RHP Vinnie Pestano
LHP Richard Bleier
C Sebastian Valle
SS Jose Rosario (re-signed)
RHP Domingo German (re-signed)
OF Cesar Puello
OF Juan Silva
RHP Diego Moreno (re-signed)
SS Pete Kozma
RHP Luis Cessa
RHP Chad Green
RHP Daniel Marten
RHP Spencer Mahoney
C Kyle Higashioka (re-signed)
RHP Johny Brito
C Francisco Diaz
RHP Ronald Herrera
C Eddy Rodriguez (re-signed)
OF Jhon Moronta

TGP Prospects Night Open Thread featuring Lane Adams

We met Lane Adams earlier this morning in our Meet a Prospect daily post but reading my words can only do so much. Some have to see the man in action themselves so we allowed him to showcase his skills tonight on our Prospects Night open thread. Lane Adams, ladies and gentleman. This big bat could be in the Bronx in 2016 and would be a sight for sore eyes, the problem is finding him a position to play while he does it. Adams is a beast.

Meet a Prospect: Lane Adams

The New York Yankees have some flexibility for maneuverability after reshaping their 40 man roster this winter and it seems that anyone that becomes available with any sort of upside may be destined to wear pinstripes. We’ve seen it many times this winter with the signings of Anthony Swarzak and Vinnie Pestano and we’ve seen the trades for Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes (twice now) but one of these men left Lane Adams no longer on the team's 40 man roster. Adams was designated for assignment and traded to the New York Yankees just last month and has already been designated for assignment again, this time to make room for the newest Yankee to grace the 40 man roster, Torreyes.... again. Adams is now a former member of the Kansas City Royals but he's back with the New York Yankees and coming to spring training camp.


This is Meet a Prospect: The Lane Adams Edition. Lane Weston Adams was born on November 13, 1989 in Oklahoma where he attended Red Oak High School. Playing for the school’s basketball team Adams scored a whopping 3,251 points which was good for the fifth-highest scoring total in the school’s basketball history. This caught the attention of Missouri State University who offered him a basketball scholarship but the Kansas City Royals took a chance and drafted him anyway in the 13th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First year Players Draft. The rest, as they say, is history. Adams signed with Kansas City opting not to go to college and immediately begin his professional career in baseball, not basketball.


Adams spent the 2009-2013 seasons in the Royals minor league system until the team came calling on September 1, 2014 calling him up to the Major Leagues for the first time. Adams made his MLB debut that night replacing Raul Ibanez as a pinch runner in the 8th inning against the Texas Rangers. Adams was back in the minor leagues for the entire 2015 season before being designated for assignment this winter by Kansas City. The Yankees made a waiver claim on Adams and was awarded the designated hitter leading the team to designated Torreyes for assignment.

Adams is listed as an outfielder on Baseball Reference but is more thought of as a DH in many prospect circles. Adams is a big guy, he’s 6’4” and listed at 190 lbs. on Baseball Reference and is an imposing right-handed bat in the batter’s box. I cannot lie I’m a bit excited about adding his big build and big bat to the team. Welcome to the organization Lane and more importantly, welcome to the family.

Lane Adams Clears Waivers, Gets Invite to MLB Camp

The New York Yankees added another minor league option to their spring training camp this week, kind of, when they invited Lane Adams down to Tampa. I say kind of because the Yankees recently had Adams on their 40 man roster and designated him for assignment to make room for Ronald Torreyes for a second time as well. Adams cleared waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders and received his second invitation to Yankees spring training camp this season.

Adams fits the mold of may outfielders currently on the Yankees roster already. He's fast and he has a dependable glove but there is one major difference between him and say Slade Heathcott, Ben Gamel or Mason Williams. Adams can hit right-handed which is an obvious need for the Yankees going forward. Adams also has a minor league option remaining meaning he can potentially be part of Brian Cashman's Scranton Shuttle that is in the plans with the team's final bench spot.

The Last Yankees Bench Spot Battle Royal

The New York Yankees have added a ton of depth to the team and the infield in recent weeks after a few early offseason trades left the team a little thin at certain positions. After the trades of Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres and Brendan Ryan to the Chicago Cubs the Yankees middle infield was especially a concern but Brian Cashman and company has added a slew of players on minor league deals and such that are now fighting to make a difference and win the last spot on the Yankees bench in a free-for-all battle royal this spring.

Pete Kozma was the first name to be added to the list of participants in the battle royal and has since been joined by the likes of Donovan Solano, Lane Adams, Robert Refsnyder and Ronald Torreyes before he was designated for assignment. So who wins the spot? Before you can answer that you have to address the Yankees current situation and their needs.

The outfield is completely stacked with Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Aaron Hicks and Dustin Ackley on the roster and Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, Ben Gamel and Aaron Judge waiting in the wings while the catcher position seems solidified as well with some combination of Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez and Brian McCann. The infield is where the team may need some help though with obvious backup holes at third base and the shortstop position. As it stands right now Starlin Castro is the starting second baseman as well as the team’s backup at both positions leaving the options limited for Joe Girardi at this point.

Adams is a DH and outfielder so he seems unlikely, although his bat would look good in the Yankees lineup, while Refsnyder’s inability to play anywhere but second base may hurt his stock. You’re left essentially with Solano and Kozma who are defense first type players who carry little weight in the terms of offense. The one area that sets these two apart is the fact that Solano can play third base and the shortstop position as well as the outfield, all needs for the Yankees.

Solano has the win the job this spring, don’t get me wrong, but right now you would have to think that his name is at least written in pencil on Joe Girardi’s lineup card heading into spring training camp here in just about a month’s time. 

Meet a Prospect: Lane Adams

The New York Yankees have some flexibility for maneuverability after reshaping their 40 man roster this winter and it seems that anyone that becomes available with any sort of upside may be destined to wear pinstripes. We’ve seen it many times this winter with the signings of Anthony Swarzak and Vinnie Pestano and we’ve seen the trades for Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes but one of these men are already no longer on the team's 40 man roster. Torreyes was designated for assignment and traded to the New York Yankees just last week and already he has been designated for assignment again, this time to make room for the newest Yankee to grace the 40 man roster, Lane Adams. Adams is now a former member of the Kansas City Royals.

This is Meet a Prospect: The Lane Adams Edition. Lane Weston Adams was born on November 13, 1989 in Oklahoma where he attended Red Oak High School. Playing for the school’s basketball team Adams scored a whopping 3,251 points which was good for the fifth-highest scoring total in the school’s basketball history. This caught the attention of Missouri State University who offered him a basketball scholarship but the Kansas City Royals took a chance and drafted him anyway in the 13^th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First year Players Draft. The rest, as they say, is history. Adams signed with Kansas City opting not to go to college and immediately begin his professional career in baseball, not basketball.

Adams spent the 2009-2013 seasons in the Royals minor league system until the team came calling on September 1, 2014 calling him up to the Major Leagues for the first time. Adams made his MLB debut that night replacing Raul Ibanez as a pinch runner in the 8^th inning against the Texas Rangers. Adams was back in the minor leagues for the entire 2015 season before being designated for assignment this winter by Kansas City. The Yankees made a waiver claim on Adams and was awarded the designated hitter leading the team to designated Torreyes for assignment.

Adams is listed as an outfielder on Baseball Reference but is more thought of as a DH in many prospect circles. Adams is a big guy, he’s 6’4” and listed at 190 lbs. on Baseball Reference and is an imposing right-handed bat in the batter’s box. I cannot lie I’m a bit excited about adding his big build and big bat to the team. Welcome to the organization Lane and more importantly, welcome to the family. 

Yankees Claim Lane Adams, Designate Ronald Torreyes

The New York Yankees continued their roster shuffling this week when the team claimed Lane Adams off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. Adams will be added to the 40 man roster and will presumably fight it out for a spot on the roster out of spring training while Ronald Torreyes was designated for assignment for the second time in a month.

We will meet Adams the way we like to later this weekend.