Yankees: 40-Man Roster Crunch Makes Them Explosive At The Deadline

Relying on the research done by James Vlietstra in a compelling story he wrote for Pinstriped Prospects; the Yankees face the prospect of losing Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, Tyler Wade, Ian Clarkin, and Billy McKinney to the draft since they are currently not included in the team’s 40-man roster.

Once a player is elevated to the 40-man roster, his status cannot change without the team exposing him on the waiver wire, risking the chance he will be claimed and therefore to another team with nothing coming back to the team. He’s simply gone.

So if for example, the Yankees decide to protect one or more of the above players by moving them to the 40-man roster, that will mean a subtraction from the current roster. In turn, this will lead to a downward spiral of roster changes for all teams in their farm system as one player moves up and another moves down until you reach the lower Class-A levels.

But that’s not the whole problem facing the Yankees. Because when you look closely at the composition of their current 40-man roster, who would you subtract if, for instance, you decided to protect only Clint Frazier and Tyler Wade?

To re-emphasize, this is not a problem the Yankees are used to having. And it’s likely that Brian Cashman will be relying heavily on his managers, coaches, and scouts who are watching these players on an everyday basis.

Among your pitchers, Luis Cessa, Dietrich Enns, Giovanny Gallegos, Domingo German, Chad Green, Ben Heller, Ronald Herrera, Yefry Ramirez, and Chasen Shreve all are currently protected.

As are position players Miguel Andujar, Tyler Austin, Jorge Mateo, Rob Refsnyder, and Mason Williams.

All of them, however, would lose that protection if removed from the 40-man roster to make room for someone else.

Which means for all of the players named, either use ’em or lose ’em. Or more likely, trade ’em while the getting is good. And to make matters worse, or better if you see the cup half-full, none of this includes the players who are going to have big years down below, making them worthy of promotion up the ladder causing an earthquake upward.

Also worth mentioning in the same conversation are CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda, both of whom currently have a bed, but only for this season as their contracts expire at the end of the year. Chase Headley and Brett Gardner each have one more year on their contract. And Masahiro Tanaka may or may not exercise his opt-out clause after 2017.

Add to that list as well, Matt Holliday and Chris Carter who both have one year contracts. Carter will be easily dismissed from the conversation, but Holliday warrants at least a second look as he is already proving to be an invaluable piece of the team puzzle this year.

In a different world, the Yankees would probably want to keep all of them. But since they can’t, they will need to turn to the trade method of subtracting by adding to solve their problem.

What this means is that we are likely to at least one or two of those blockbusters in which the Yankees add one proven and quality major league player in exchange for the subtraction of two or three prospects, similar to the deal in which the Red Sox landed Chris Sale last winter.

The trick, of course, is to do this without depleting the depth the team currently has and Brian Cashman worked so hard to get. Unfortunately, there’s no other alternative. And at least in this way, the Yankees are guaranteed to get value in return for the players they are losing.

Which leads us to the most intriguing questions as to who stays, who goes, and who do you trade for?

The current season and the production of each player will determine most of the answers as to who stays and who goes, but as we look at the players in question, the Yankees will have more of a need for position players than pitchers shortly. Presently, they have nine pitchers on their 40-man roster who aren’t yet pitching in the major leagues.

Couple that with the eventual loss of Gardner, Headley, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Matt Holliday, who is signed only for this season, and the Yankees would seem to have a need to retain the likes of Miguel Andujar, Tyler Austin, and Jorge Mateo at the very least.

Beyond that, everything else is only speculation at this point in the season.

The Yankees are in a position where they can get proven major league talent, who are both youngish and have favorable team contracts in exchange for their prospects. They do not need to grovel.

Despite what they say, which up to this point has been nothing but pitiful lies, the Pittsburgh Pirates will trade Andrew McCutchen in a heartbeat. The White Sox still have their trade chip in Jose Quintana, and even though the Yankees balked when they saw the price tag last time, they may be willing to come to an agreement now, when both teams have a need to make a move.

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The Milwaukee Brewers, who are in the midst of rebuilding and doing an excellent job of it, will listen to offers for Ryan Braun, who just might re-think his preference for the West Coast for dreams that include the right-field porch at Yankee Stadium.

And the Seattle Mariners, who can’t seem to get out of their way in anything they do, will desperately, though quietly, be trying to unload Felix Hernandez before either he or the team has a mental breakdown. Like Sabathia, Hernandez will soon need to alter his pitching style to accommodate what now is certain – he’s lost that dominating fastball – a change of scenery is imminent.

The Yankees may or may not be interested in any of these players. Brian Cashman will call the shots and right now he has the golden touch, so we’ll leave him alone to do his job.

The Yankees (Ironically) Have A Problem: There’s Too Many Arms

The Yankees, ironically, could find themselves in a position next season where they have too much pitching to support a starting rotation.

Buckle up though, because this is going to be a wild ride.