Yankees face serious roster decisions in September
By Tre LyDay
The Yankees have received huge contributions from guys that are filling in for injured stars. But now, those injured stars are coming back and the Yankees will be faced with tough roster decisions.
The New York Yankees currently hold a sizable lead in the American League East, and have been afforded the luxury of time. Time to tinker with their roster to see what works and what doesn’t. Time for guys that are currently injured to take their time in rehab and make sure they’re healthy before they return to the lineup.
Unfortunately for the guys who are filling in for injured stars such as Giancarlo Stanton or Luis Severino, time may not be on their side.
The Yankees currently have six guys on the 60-day IL, which causes a problem when it comes to their 40-man roster. Currently residing on the 60-day IL are Stanton, Dellin Betances, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery and Ben Heller.
When each of those players make their way back to the Yankees it’ll knock someone on the current 40-man roster off of it. So that raises the question of what the Yankees are going to do.
The short answer is pretty simple. Stanton, Severino and Betances are going to be on the active roster and they’re going to play an important role in the Yankees’ postseason run. A few guys could essentially be viewed as untouchable. Players like Clint Frazier, Chance Adams, Nestor Cortes Jr. and possibly Albert Abreu could be safe once those on the IL return.
Jacoby Ellsbury seems to have a free pass simply because the Yankees would be paying $21 million to not play which makes it extremely difficult to DFA and financially keep themselves clear of the luxury tax.
The one wild card in this whole thing is the possible promotion of top prospect Deivi Garcia who currently isn’t on the 40-man roster. With the struggles of J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia and the fact that the team wants to monitor Domingo German’s innings, a call-up isn’t out of the question for the 20-year old.
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The Yankees see this as a good problem to have, and general manager Brian Cashman has been a wizard when it comes to 40-man roster construction that provides the most flexibility. But with five guys set to return from injury and one potential call-up, Cashman has his work cut out for him this time around.