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What We Know About the New York Yankees Offseason Strategy

By Evan Halpine-Berger

Oct 8, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning during game two of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning during game two of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 30, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (30) looks on at the end of the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 30, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (30) looks on at the end of the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

A Clean Out of the 40-man Roster

Since the regular season ended, the Yankees have dropped five players from their 40-man roster: outfielder Eric Young Jr., infielder Donovan Solano, and relievers Blake Parker, Kirby Yates, and Anthony Swarzak. They also outrighted reliver J.R. Graham with a few days left in the season. With Mark Teixeira retiring and Billy Butler expected to leave via free agency, that leaves New York eight open spots total.

When first baseman Greg Bird was activated off the 60-day DL to play in the Arizona Fall League, that filled up one of those open spots. There are six other guys currently on the disabled list that will need to be added to the roster following the end of the World Series, but at least three of them, Nathan Eovaldi, Dustin Ackley, and Conor Mullee, are strong candidates to be non-tendered.

Assuming they are, that leaves the Yankees with four openings on the 40-man to protect Rule 5 eligible players. Cashman already revealed that catcher Kyle Higashioka will be added to the roster imminently, and top prospects like Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Domingo Acevedo are also locks.

As things currently stand, the Yankees won’t have room for promising pitchers like Dietrich Enns, Giovanny Gallegos, or Tyler Webb unless they make more cuts in the coming weeks. 29-year-old rookie lefty Richard Bleier seems like an easy guy to let go, as does Johnny Barbato, who didn’t even receive a September call up after starting the year in the MLB bullpen.

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