Evaluating possible non-tender candidates for the Yankees
The
Yankees are going to need to make some minor moves soon in order to create
enough spots on their 40-man roster to protect their plethora of young talent
from the Rule 5 draft. Here is who could be on the chopping block as a
non-tender candidate or possible trade candidate in the coming weeks:
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| Photo Credit: AP |
The
Yankees were faced with a great deal of adversity at first base last season due
to injuries and underperformances. Greg Bird’s solid September and postseason
all but cemented him as the first baseman of the future barring injury. This
leaves this duo of first baseman without a clear starting position and the
Yankees will likely decide that one of them is not worth hanging on to at the expense
of a greater talent. Both Cooper and Austin have displayed glimpses of solid
play at the major league level, but one of them may still be seeing their way
out of the Bronx. Both players do have some trade value, so Cashman may seek
out a trade partner for one of these two players, but if it comes down to it,
their non-tendering may be inevitable.
Giovanny Gallegos/ Jonathan
Holder
Frequent
passengers on the infamous Scranton Shuttle, both Holder and Giovanny Gallegos
were odd men out of the bullpen once the Yankees bolstered it at the Trade
Deadline. Gallegos’ 4.87 ERA illustrates how mediocre he was in his brief stints,
but the Yankees may value his ability to whiff opposing hitters. Holder was
able to pitch 39 innings, but seemed to lose his edge in the month of June,
which led to his eventual demotion. With the bullpen mostly set for 2017, the
Yankees could opt to let go one of these guys in favor of adding a pitcher like
Albert Abreu to the 40-man.
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| Photo Credit: AP |
Bryan Mitchell/ Luis Cessa
Both
of these have solid stuff, but a combination of ineffectiveness and injuries
may help see themselves out of the Bronx. Mitchell was a frontrunner to win the
fifth starter job out of Spring Training last season, but saw his chances
ultimately crushed due to an injury. After coming back he was simply not the
same, and all Yankee fans remember the grand slam he served up at Citi Field
last summer. Cessa had some extended stints as a starter due to injuries to CC
Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, and Michael Pineda, but did not post fantastic
numbers. Both pitchers proved to be home run prone and are expendable due to
the Yankees strength of minor league pitching depth.
Article
by: Ryan Thoms
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