Domingo German and Signings Yet to Come?

The New York Yankees non-tendered right-handed starting pitcher Domingo German this week before the non-tender deadline officially making German a free agent. German is a 23-year old prospect originally out of the Dominican Republic that came to the New York Yankees via trade in the Miami Marlins deal that sent Nathan Eovaldi to the Bronx and Martin Prado to South Beach. German suffered a torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after the trade forcing him to miss the entire 2015 season. The Yankees are currently fighting a 40-man roster crunch and German got the axe to clear a roster spot, does this mean more moves are on the way for New York?

The Yankees didn’t necessarily have to open up a 40 man roster, and truth be told the team will likely bring back German much like they did with Slade Heathcott before 2015, so why did they? Just to have the flexibility of having an open 40 man roster spot? Honestly, and I think I know the Yankees and the way they operate pretty well, that’s not likely to be the case. Something is in the works. The trade front went awfully quiet on Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller and something is going down, call it a hunch.

If the Yankees do lose German on some off chance they would be losing a guy who has posted a 2.05 ERA as a reliever and a starter from 2010-2013 and a fire-baller that has a 142:66 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 170.1 innings. In layman’s terms, an up and coming relief pitcher that is going to be something special. 

43 New Free Agents, Any Destined for Pinstripes?

The deadline has come and gone and now all 30 Major League teams have decided whether they are going to tender a contract to their non-tender candidates and players. When the smoke cleared 43 players were added to the free agency pool after being non-tendered and about half as many trades, signing and moves went down before the deadline. 43 more warm bodies for all 30 teams to choose from but will the Yankees take a waiver on any of them?

The field of 43 is highlighted by former Houston Astros slugger Chris Carter, former Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez and Kansas City Royals former closer Greg Holland. None of these three likely intrigue the Yankees much, Carter is a first baseman and hit just .199 with 24 home runs last season while Alvarez is a first baseman only out of necessity. He can’t field at third base and he’s barely marginal defensively at first base after falling out of grace with the Pirates. Holland had Tommy John surgery late in the 2015 season and will almost 100% miss the entire 2016 season as well while rehabbing the injury.

Other not-so-notable names to join the free agency frenzy includes Oakland A’s first baseman Ike Davis, former Giants World Series start Yusmeiro Petit, injured Miami Marlins pitchers Henderson Alvarez and Aaron Crow, relief pitcher Cesar Ramos, Padres third baseman and former Boston Red Sox player Will Middlebrooks, Neftali Feliz, Al Albuquerque, catcher Tyler Flowers, Jacob Turner and Atlanta Braves left-handed starter Mike Minor.

Minor league deals could be handed out to many of these players if they were willing to sign, especially Alvarez, Middlebrooks (the Yankees have almost zero insurance at third base for Chase Headley), and Minor (because, duh, he throws left-handed). Nothing really intrigues me on this roster although I do wonder if Cashman is intrigued by Tyler Flowers. Flowers could give Yankees backup catcher Gary Sanchez more time to fine-tune his development in Triple-A. No way to tell so you’re just going to have to stay tuned. 

Flurry of Backup Catchers off the Board Only Means One Thing

This has been a week of small milestones for Major League Baseball and for the New York Yankees specifically. The deadline to tender players a contract or not passed with a flurry of minor signings and trades while 43 players joined the free agency market while the Yankees sat back and lit some candles on a birthday cake. New York wished Gary Sanchez a very happy 23^rd birthday this week while a flurry of back up catchers were being scooped up in free agency and acquired via trade. The fact that the Yankees were content to stay away, at least at the time of this writing, from the backup catcher suggest only one thing.

Gary Sanchez is going to be the Yankees backup catcher on Opening Day 2016. Many speculated, beat writers specifically, that Sanchez would begin the season in Triple-A after spending just 35 games with the Scranton RailRiders in 2015 but at least right now that doesn’t seem to be the case. Sanchez got an extended look in the Arizona Fall League as he faced off against some of the premier talent across the league and showcased his power and talents all the way through the AFL Stars Game. It seems like the Yankees and Brian Cashman specifically have seen enough to hand the reigns over to Sanchez after trading John Ryan Murphy earlier this offseason.

I love the idea of having Sanchez on the bench. He is a right-handed bat with a ton of power at just 23-years old. Sure his development may be slowed a bit as the backup catcher, Murphy didn’t play all that much in 2015, but New York can move him around if need be. The Yankees absolutely cannot played Alex Rodriguez 150+ games next season, even as a DH, and Sanchez can play a huge role in that department filling in for A Rod while still giving the team some right-handed pop in the lineup. The lineup against left-handed pitching would be better as well with Sanchez, in my opinion anyway, as a significant upgrade over Murphy at least offensively.

Maybe in a pinch Sanchez could learn first base as well. You never know. All we know right now is all signs point to Sanchez as the backup catcher for Brian McCann next season.