Bomber Bites For March 30th

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

1. Yangervis Solarte Makes 25-Man Roster: The New York Yankees finalized their 25-man roster for the season on Saturday. Non-roster invitee Yangervis Solarte was chosen by Joe Girardi and company over Eduardo Nunez, who will begin the year in Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Solarte is valued for his defensive versatility in terms of playing multiple positions. Plus, he hit .429 over the course of this spring. With Brendan Ryan (oblique) starting the season on the disabled list, the Yankees now have a variety of shortstop options in Solarte and Dean Anna to backup Derek Jeter.
2. Opening Day Lineup Set? In an interesting twist, Girardi said that the lineup he would have put out there for Saturday’s cancelled Grapefruit League game against the Marlins will likely be the one he uses Tuesday against the Houston Astros. In that lineup, Brett Gardner was scheduled to bat seventh while Kelly Johnson was switched to the ninth spot.
3. Tanaka And Jeter Honored In Tampa: Even though he hasn’t pitched a regular season game in pinstripes yet, Masahiro Tanaka is already racking up awards. On Saturday, he was presented with the James P. Dawson Award, which is given to the most outstanding rookie in Spring Training. Tanaka went 2-0 this spring with a 2.14 ERA, including a 10 strikeout game Friday night against the Marlins. Tanaka will make his official Yankees’ debut this Friday against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Derek Jeter received an award at Steinbrenner Field, which was a key to the city of Tampa. Jeter was part of the first group of Yankees’ to play spring games in Tampa back in 1996.
4. Regular Season Starts Tonight in USA: Opening Day will take place in the United States tonight as the Los Angeles Dodgers (2-o in Australia) will travel to San Diego to take on the Padres (8:05, ESPN). Hyun-Jin Ryu gets the start for the injured Clayton Kershaw against Andrew Cashner.
5. YGY Series Preview Show Tonight: We want to remind you that the Yanks Go Yard Show will begin its fourth season tonight at 11:00 PM ET. We will be talking with Ray Kuhn from Climbing Tal’s Hill about the Bronx Bombers’ first series with the Houston Astros. It is your first chance to hear a breakdown of the pitching match ups and players to watch in this series. The YGY Show is your home for previews of every series in podcast form! You can listen to the show LIVE by clicking the link below at 11:00 PM! And those are your Bomber Bites for March 30th!

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