Youth Parade Leaves Yankees with Roster Crunch Dilemma

It was the right thing to do. The New York Yankees played their dismal hand admirably throughout Aug. 1, but eventually cashed in their two Aces (Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman), King (“King” Carlos Beltran) and Wild Card (Iván Nova) for a prospect jackpot.

Phase Two of the youth movement committed to bringing up deserving players to get their feet wet in the majors. Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Ben Heller and Jonathan Holder make just a handful of rookies who were given their first test this year.

It was, again, the right thing to do. Now after adding new faces to their roster, the Yankees are facing a numbers crunch this offseason.

Keep in mind the Yankees have seven injured players to be reinstated after the World Series, and only one free-agent-to-be in the retiring Mark Teixeira. They also have 11 notable Rule 5 eligible players to decide whether or not to protect. Their 40-man roster currently sits at 39, and we still haven’t factored in space needed for any 2017 newcomers via free agency or trade.

With a swarm of names flooding the Bronx and minimal real estate available, the Yankees will have to get creative this winter. Let’s preview how they may go about handling their business:

Rule 5 Eligible Players

Jorge Mateo (Yankees No. 3 prospect) and Miguel Andujar (No. 7) are near-locks to be protected. A middle-infield speedster and a third baseman developing respectable power aren’t worth risking. Mateo had a down year with discipline issues, but hit a career-best eight homers and handled second base nicely with a .994 fielding percentage in 362 2/3 innings. Andujar posted a solid .817 OPS in High-A Tampa, but struggled upon reaching Double-A Trenton.

The Yankees already have three catchers on their roster, but could protect Kyle Higashioka after his breakout season. Higgy has forced his way onto the radar after hitting .276/.337/.511 with 21 home runs between Trenton and Triple-A Scranton.

Jake Cave and Cito Culver are two more note-worthy position players the Yankees must decide upon. Cave was exposed in the Rule 5 once already. He was gobbled up by the Reds in March and later returned to the Yankees. He slashed .268/.330/.427 with 43 extra-base hits in the minors, so he could experience déjà vu if left unprotected again.

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Culver’s bat finally showed some life. He carried a modest .664 OPS over 398 at-bats, but had more strikeouts (119) than hits (101). His greatest talent is his defensive prowess all across the infield. Culver has positive Range Factors at each position throughout his minor-league career — 6.33 at 1B, 4.50 at 2B, 4.27 at SS and 2.49 at 3B.

Pitchers Dietrich Enns, Brady Lail, Giovanny Gallegos, Mark Montgomery, Ronald Herrera and Tyler Webb are all Rule 5 eligible.

Enns, Gallegos and Montgomery had standout years while Herrera and Webb were satisfactory. Enns boasted a 1.73 ERA and a microscopic 0.4 HR/9 over 26 games (22 starts). Despite the numbers, the lefty has low-profile stuff (read here) which is dangerous in the A.L. East, so he must demonstrate impeccable control to succeed if given the chance. It’s no secret though that the Yankees need pitching.

I’m still a tad surprised Montgomery didn’t receive a big-league invite this September. He dominated the upper minors with a 2.56 ERA and 12.4 K/9, but may have shot himself in the foot with his 4.3 BB/9. Still, the Yankees’ revolving-door bullpen has been all quantity with little quality and Montgomery’s touted slider-fastball combo is worth a look.

Final guess on who’s protected: Mateo, Andujar, Enns and Montgomery. Higashioka is a wild card, depending upon how the Yankees handle their catching situation.

Trade Assets

Trading Brett Gardner makes sense, but we’ve been saying that for multiple offseasons now. There was a time when his $52 million extension for 2015-19 was considered team-friendly by market standards. Unfortunately, 2016 sapped nearly all the power from his bat and his 16 steals to date have unveiled a concerning decline in his running game.

Defensive metrics have been kinder to Gardner this year. He owns a 2.3 UZR compared to a -2.7 calculation in 2015. A major factor in this upward trend is that Gardner has played only 11 innings in center field this year, whereas he spent 322 frames there in ’15. For the record, Gardner’s highest UZR reading was 26.7 in 2011.

Gardner’s defense unofficially saved two victories this season. Both plays were game-enders and came with bases full of Blue Jays — the first was a leaping snow-cone catch at the wall to stop the Jays’ comeback in New York, the other a spectacular sliding grab in foul territory in Toronto. Gardner’s defense, although fleeting, is easily his most marketable facet.

The historical emergence of Gary Sánchez makes Brian McCann expendable. The Yankees currently have three catchers — Sanchez, McCann and Austin Romine — and it’s hard to imagine them all sticking around for 2017 given the crowded roster.

McCann is an attractive piece to Atlanta with the grand opening of SunTrust Park coming next year. The Braves are a rebuilding team that needs to fill seats. It’s unknown, however, if McCann would be willing to waive his no-trade to return for a 10th and 11th season with his former team.

General managers Brian Cashman and John Coppolella shared dialogue about McCann at the trade deadline. Although a deal was never imminent, discussions are expected to resume this offseason. The Braves will also search the free-agent market for a catching solution, so McCann might become nothing more than their Plan B, C or D.

Next: Yanks Go Yard 2016 Minor League Season Awards

Yankees fans should mainly expect a flurry of low-level moves this offseason to reconstruct the team. There are a lot of moving pieces to be dealt with in this transition, so it’s still possible that names like Gardner or McCann could be in the mix. The core of the Yankees should remain intact, but I anticipate the peripherals having a dramatic turnaround.