State of the 2017 Yankees Roster Following the Winter Meetings

After their two big moves at the Winter Meetings, the New York Yankees 2017 roster appears to be more or less set, barring anything unexpected.

While New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman continues to scour the market for pitching help, on the final day of the Winter Meetings he told Pete Caldera of the Bergen County record, “It’s unlikely for us to make any changes on the position player side unless we traded Gardy.”

That means, although there are several jobs still up in the air, the components for the 2017 Yankees lineup and bench are probably already in the organization. Let’s take a look at how the roster is likely to shake out.

Lineup

1. Jacoby Ellsbury– CF
2. Brett Gardner– LF
3. Gary Sanchez– C
4. Matt Holliday– DH
5. Didi Gregorius– SS
6. Starlin Castro– 2B
7. Chase Headley– 3B
8. Greg Bird– 1B
9. Aaron Judge– RF

The biggest change that seems inevitable at some point before the spring is finding a new home for Gardner. He’s been openly shopped the last two winters, and the team already completed a similar trade when they sent Brian McCann to Houston.

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If he’s dealt, Aaron Hicks, Mason Williams, and Rob Refsnyder are all possibilities to hold down the fort in left until Clint Frazier is ready, although I wouldn’t completely rule out Big Red winning the left field job with an impressive spring performance. Didi would probably take over the second spot in the lineup with Gardy gone.

Finally, youngsters Bird and Judge will be counted on to produce like middle-of-the-order hitters, but they will have to earn their way up the ranks. Until they show they belong, expect them to hit in the bottom third of the lineup.

Bench

Austin Romine– C
Ronald Torreyes– IF
Aaron Hicks- OF
Tyler Austin– 1B/OF

Other possibilities include catcher Kyle Higashioka, recently acquired infielder Ruben Tejada, and outfielders Refsnyder and Williams. Bringing in another free agent bat like Luis Valbuena to play a super-utility role would be a lot of fun, but seems very unlikely to actually happen.

Rotation

Several times during the Winter Meetings, Brian Cashman expressed his doubts that the Yankees would acquire a starter. When asked by George A. King III of the New York Post about the possibility, he answered:

"I don’t anticipate it. It’s a tough market and the price tags are extremely high. We could play on a lot of things because we have a lot of prospects people desire and we desire them, too. I would say it’s less likely for us to acquire a starter."

The team has plenty of talented young arms in the upper-minors who look like they have the potential to be capable big league starters, but also come with significant question marks. New York will presumably fill their two open rotation spots from this group, as they did in the 2016 season’s final two months.

There are five serious candidates who will duke it out for those two spots next March, but I think the team’s pair of Luis have a leg up.

1. Masahiro Tanaka
2. CC Sabathia
3. Michael Pineda
4. Luis Severino
5. Luis Cessa

Bryan Mitchell, Chad Green, and Adam Warren are also strong possibilities for the back of the rotation. Dietrich Enns, Jordan Montgomery, and Chance Adams could receive consideration as well.

Bullpen

CL- Aroldis Chapman
SU- Dellin Betances
SU- Tyler Clippard
MR- Adam Warren
MR- Chasen Shreve
MR- Tommy Layne
LR- Bryan Mitchell

Next: Predicting the Yankees Next Core Four

The bullpen is probably the area of the roster that remains most in flux. The front office is rumored to be pursuing a veteran lefty reliever to take the place of Layne or Shreve. Ben Heller, Jonathan Holder, Giovanny Gallegos, and Enns are all deserving of serious consideration for a spot as well.