Which Yankees are in Danger of Being Lost in Upcoming Rule 5 Draft?

With a 40-man roster crunch looming this offseason, the New York Yankees will face several decisions on which players to protect from the Rule 5 Draft.

Between their 40-man roster and the disabled list, the New York Yankees currently have 45 players under major league contracts at the moment. While a number of those players can easily be dumped after the season, they also have many top prospects who will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft for the first time this winter and will need to be protected.

When the season ends, players on the 60-day disabled list need to be placed back on the 40-man roster, so the Yankees have 45 guys for 40 spots at the moment, even before considering the prospects that need to be added.

The retirement of Mark Teixeira will free up one spot. Richard Bleier, Anthony Swarzak, J.R. Graham, Blake Parker, Tommy Layne, Kirby Yates, Austin Romine, and Eric Young also seem like strong candidates to get the boot this winter to make room for more deserving players.

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DL residents Nathan Eovaldi, Conor Mullee, Nick Rumbelow, Branden Pinder, and Dustin Ackley are also at various level of risk for being designated for assignment and/or released.

Getting rid of all those players would get the Yankees down to 30 players, or ten open spots. That would certainly be extreme, but is not completely out of the realm of possibility given how many top prospects need to be added to the roster. More likely they will have around five openings to work with after doing some housecleaning.

Two of those spots will definitely go to young infielders Jorge Mateo and Miguel Andujar, who rank third and eighth respectively on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Yankees prospects. Although both guys are young, they are talented enough that it would be worth a rebuilding team’s time to stash them on the bench for a year in order to snatch them away from New York.

A number of standouts from this year’s Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders club are strong possibilities to be selected if the Yankees don’t find roster space for them. Catcher Kyle Higashioka enjoyed a tremendous breakout, hitting .276/.337/.511 with 21 homers between Triple-A and Double-A this season. With Gary Sanchez, Brian McCann, and Romine already on the big league roster, he doesn’t have a clear role in the team’s future, but he may simply be too valuable to let walk for nothing.

Outfielder Jake Cave was the biggest name taken from New York in last year’s Rule 5. He was eventually returned by the Cincinnati Reds, but Cave may again find himself a victim of the organization’s logjam, even after the Ben Gamel trade. The team already has Aaron Hicks, Mason Williams, Tyler Austin, and Rob Refsnyder as outfield reserve options already on the 40-man. Cave had a nice season, but once again looks expendable.

Former first rounder Cito Culver is another long-shot to be added to the 40-man this winter even after reaching Triple-A and having his best season at the plate in years. He’s a superb defender that can play all around the infield, which could make him appealing in the Rule 5. Even if he’s not take, he has the option to walk after this year as a minor league free agent.

On the pitching side, the best bets to be selected are Dietrich Enns, Gio Gallegos, Brady Lail, and Tyler Webb. Enns has put up insane numbers in the minors the last two years and is a near-lock to be taken if he’s left exposed. Fellow Scranton starter Lail has some slight prospect cred, but had a 5.07 ERA in 17 International League starts, so he’s probably safe to leave off for now.

Relievers Gio Gallegos, Mark Montgomery, and Tyler Webb seem like they’re on the bubble given the number of young relievers the team already has. The call up of Jonathan Holder a year before he was Rule 5 eligible may end up costing the Yankees one of these arms.

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Other names in the lower levels who are Rule 5 eligible for the first time include Luis Torrens, Dante Bichette Jr., Rashad Crawford, and Ty Hensley. Torrens would be heartbreaking to lose, but he’s still just 20 and continues to have shoulder issues following surgery, so he’s probably safe.

With a 40-man roster crunch looming this offseason, the New York Yankees will face several decisions on which players to protect from the Rule 5 Draft.

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